Sep 18, 2018, 10:00 am
Spend $300 get $60 back - Amex Sync Starwood offer [US cards & hotels only]
Sep 17, 2018, 7:02 pm
#46
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 35
Have you had this problem with $300-$60 Amex Offer before?
So... Back in July, I signed up for a "Spend $300 or more get $60 back with SPG" offer with Amex.
I stayed one night with Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare for about $90, and another night with Grand Sheraton Chicago for about $230. I was waiting for my $60 credit but only to find...
NO.
The $90 stay with Four Points was not recognized as an eligible transaction. Amex customer service agents (I spoke with several of them) and I figured out that the transaction was within the promotions period and was for indeed room charges. And the actual problem turned out to be...
SPG did not recognize Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare as a Four Points by Sheraton property. WHAT???
According to the last Amex agent I spoke with:
Well, WHY? I asked. Amex didn't know. She simply said:
Then we discussed about possible resolutions.
The initial offer the last Amex agent I spoke with made was to issue me a $10 courtesy credit for the "confusions". After rounds of negotiations, I was able to get $50. I can't say I'm dissatisfied, but clearly, I'm not satisfied, either. Especially when she said...
I don't blame her for saying this, but it somehow makes me feel that I've run into this trouble because I didn't check additional details an offer exclusions.
But I did. I no longer had access to the details of this particular offer because it expired on September 4. But I absolutely did this:
I clicked on "View Participating Locations" (the ongoing "$300-$60 for Marriott" offer has this link, too), and was directly brought to SPG.com. That means, Amex didn't come up with a list of participating locations themselves, except for defining Design Hotels as ineligible. Then, I think it's perfect normal for me to believe that everywhere I can book through SPG.com is eligible. Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare was one non-Design Hotels location I was able to book via SPG.com, and I naturally believed that this location was eligible.
As for "Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare" being different with "Four Points by Sheraton", the most relevant thing I could find was something like, again, copied and pasted from the ongoing Marriott offer:
But if you want me to agree that Four Points by Sheraton qualifies while Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare doesn't... you'll have to persuade me really hard.
Well, why do I want to bring this up? First, I want to make sure I didn't miss anything in the offer details which might have mentioned that Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare was not eligible, for whatever reasons.
Second, for the ongoing Marriott offer, it appears to me that Marriott has an a lot more complicated system, with lots of properties individually owned and operated (correct me if I'm wrong), especially with the lower-tier brands. Then, how can I make sure that a particular location is a "participating location" or not before I book with them? I appears to be really difficult.
I stayed one night with Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare for about $90, and another night with Grand Sheraton Chicago for about $230. I was waiting for my $60 credit but only to find...
NO.
The $90 stay with Four Points was not recognized as an eligible transaction. Amex customer service agents (I spoke with several of them) and I figured out that the transaction was within the promotions period and was for indeed room charges. And the actual problem turned out to be...
SPG did not recognize Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare as a Four Points by Sheraton property. WHAT???
According to the last Amex agent I spoke with:
SPG did clearly mention that Four Points by Sheraton is eligible but they denied for Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare
Actually Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O’Hare and Four Points by Sheraton are 2 different kind of properties as per them ("them" being SPG, not Amex)
The initial offer the last Amex agent I spoke with made was to issue me a $10 courtesy credit for the "confusions". After rounds of negotiations, I was able to get $50. I can't say I'm dissatisfied, but clearly, I'm not satisfied, either. Especially when she said...
In future, I would request you to please always check additional details and offer exclusions
But I did. I no longer had access to the details of this particular offer because it expired on September 4. But I absolutely did this:
I clicked on "View Participating Locations" (the ongoing "$300-$60 for Marriott" offer has this link, too), and was directly brought to SPG.com. That means, Amex didn't come up with a list of participating locations themselves, except for defining Design Hotels as ineligible. Then, I think it's perfect normal for me to believe that everywhere I can book through SPG.com is eligible. Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare was one non-Design Hotels location I was able to book via SPG.com, and I naturally believed that this location was eligible.
As for "Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare" being different with "Four Points by Sheraton", the most relevant thing I could find was something like, again, copied and pasted from the ongoing Marriott offer:
If American Express does not receive information that identifies your transaction as qualifying for the offer, you will not receive the statement credit.
Well, why do I want to bring this up? First, I want to make sure I didn't miss anything in the offer details which might have mentioned that Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare was not eligible, for whatever reasons.
Second, for the ongoing Marriott offer, it appears to me that Marriott has an a lot more complicated system, with lots of properties individually owned and operated (correct me if I'm wrong), especially with the lower-tier brands. Then, how can I make sure that a particular location is a "participating location" or not before I book with them? I appears to be really difficult.
Sep 17, 2018, 8:57 pm
#47
Company Representative - Starwood
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Guangzhou
Programs: SPG
Posts: 1,021
So... Back in July, I signed up for a "Spend $300 or more get $60 back with SPG" offer with Amex.
I stayed one night with Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare for about $90, and another night with Grand Sheraton Chicago for about $230. I was waiting for my $60 credit but only to find...
NO.
The $90 stay with Four Points was not recognized as an eligible transaction. Amex customer service agents (I spoke with several of them) and I figured out that the transaction was within the promotions period and was for indeed room charges. And the actual problem turned out to be...
SPG did not recognize Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare as a Four Points by Sheraton property. WHAT???
I stayed one night with Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare for about $90, and another night with Grand Sheraton Chicago for about $230. I was waiting for my $60 credit but only to find...
NO.
The $90 stay with Four Points was not recognized as an eligible transaction. Amex customer service agents (I spoke with several of them) and I figured out that the transaction was within the promotions period and was for indeed room charges. And the actual problem turned out to be...
SPG did not recognize Four Points by Sheraton Mount Prospect O'Hare as a Four Points by Sheraton property. WHAT???
We would like to have our AMEX liaison to look into this. Could you please provide your loyalty account information to us via private mail here or by email below?
[email protected]
Best Regards,
Christina Zhou
Social Media Specialist
Marriott International
Last edited by Starwood Lurker III; Sep 17, 2018 at 9:02 pm Reason: add email add
Sep 18, 2018, 12:04 am
#48
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 35
Hi SYL,
We would like to have our AMEX liaison to look into this. Could you please provide your loyalty account information to us via private mail here or by email below?
[email protected]
Best Regards,
Christina Zhou
Social Media Specialist
Marriott International
We would like to have our AMEX liaison to look into this. Could you please provide your loyalty account information to us via private mail here or by email below?
[email protected]
Best Regards,
Christina Zhou
Social Media Specialist
Marriott International
Thanks for reaching out. I've sent you a private message.