ezvc

Hi all,

Turns out I will be about 4 short of PLat 100 by the end of this year 12/31/12.

I will be in Bangkok however at NYE and wondering if it would make sense to book an additional room at a cheaper SPG Bangkok hotel for 4 nights in order to meet the 100 night requirement.

It will cost about $400-500 USD for this and I'm wondering if PLAT 100 is worth it?

Or should I ask them to give it to me since I will spend about 100+ nights next year in SPG hotels.

Or is there another option?

Thanks for any thoughts.

Keyser

in bangkok i think you should be able to get 4 nights for under $400 & in my opinion its completely worth it....i love the ambassador experience & while some have not found an ambassador to be very helpful, i think its an amazing perk from starwood....

plus, you can also use points or c&p in bangkok at a number of cat 1 or 2 properties....that would cost you a lot less....

MSPeconomist

Why does the OP believe that SPG should give him/her Ambassador status on the basis of a claim that he/she will spend over a hundred nights in Starwood hotels next year? Talk is cheap.

RogerD408

Just a caution here. The credit for multiple rooms the same night is for the same property, so booking a second property should not earn credit. Now if you move to the lesser property and book additional rooms, then that should fly.

Also, I recall reading some posts where people were "close" and SPG granted the higher status. It wasn't asked for and it can't be guaranteed to happen, so if you're up for a bit of a risk, you can see what they might do.

Astrophsx

Not knowing the rules I will ask the question:
If he gave his credit card to a friend to stay the night at a cheap hotel, does he not get credit for the room as long as he is paying for it? Or would the hotel do a share-with and only check in his friend and leave him as not checked in? This would have to be on a night where he was not staying at a hotel.

RogerD408

The T&Cs call for the member to STAY & PAY, so if he does not stay at the property credit should not post. Plus, every hotel I've stayed at has asked for my CC and photo ID when checking in. If SPG does an audit and finds two different hotel stays on the same night, one should be voided and they will most likely remove the highest point earning property. Yes, there may be extenuating circumstances and it would be up to the member to make their case. A bogus stay to keep/earn status probably not the best.

Some properties may not be as diligent as some and this MIGHT work, but is worth the cost/risk? If you follow the rules there should be no question of getting credit, if you don't everything becomes suspect.

ezvc

Well I achieved 100 nights in about 6 months. So my "run rate" is about 200/nights a year if I wanted. I would think based on my consumption rate they would be open to giving me a few nights on margin and letting me make it up... but who knows... it's a valid point though...

ezvc

Really helpful, thanks for this.

jibi

I've had plenty of cases where I booked rooms in two locations (additional names on the other reservations) and received credit. For example, I booked a room at the St. Regis Atlanta (for me) and two rooms at the Sheraton Atlanta (one for my brother, one for my mother ... both in my name). I received three stay credits and three night credits.

The "PAY & STAY" rule is very easy to get around ... book it, check in, watch TV for a little bit, drink the free water, take a quick shower (or not ... simply squirt some of the hotel shampoo and leave it open), remove the cover from the bed, take a 2-minute nap, put something in the trash, leave the property. Not that I've ever done this, of course... but just throwing it out there.

whimike

This is completely wrong. Having a single room on a single day at multiple properties has always credited, the recent changes enables multiple crediting at a single hotel.

RogerD408

I am sure there are instances we all can quote where the rules were not followed and we "got away with it". However, that does not make policy and these infractions are subject to reversal should SPG feel the need to do so (I understand AA actually "patrols" FT, especially Coupon Connection, and EBay for infractions in their program).

I do not expect hotels to start doing bed checks and the such. I hear some people do have a need for a room for a few hours (if that long) during the day or night and if they actually show up and check in, then credit should be granted. However, moving from one property to another during the course of a day/night, or adding others to a reservation, maybe not.

I suspect the Lurkers will claim any such actives as "proprietary", but do feel if they made their actions public, there would be fewer posts on how to game the system. AA is very effective at this.

JPCAG

Guaranteed you will get Ambassador when you spend 100 nights in SPG hotels in one calendar year

Why set rules and limits and then make a bunch on exceptions

What an Ambassador-100 it is
Want to fly first class "for sure" then pay for F

It is really not that difficult

jibi

Upon reading the SPG T&C's and referring back to a number of former reservations, there's actually no reference on a specific minimum time a person must stay at a hotel in order to earn stay credit... so long as they do not violate the early departure restriction. It appears that a general rule of thumb for early departure can be placed on midnight to meet that requirement (if it is specified as a fee-generating event).

RogerD408

I never said anything about how long one needed to stay to qualify for credit. The question was more towards how many each day/night for credit. I believe it is general consensus that someone would only stay in one place for one night and that's what they should get credit for, a night's stay. Sending someone in their place does not fit the terms of the program. Changing properties every hour does not fit the program either.

If a member wishes to check-in, pay for the room, and never stay, I'm fine with that. But for only one room a night. A simple program change that allows a member to buy his status would be an easier solution and reduce costs greatly (no reservation transaction, no check-in activity, no housekeeping, no travel costs).

Again, there are valid exceptions, but that was not the point being posted.

dparkinson

After having a long knock down, drag out fight with Account Integrity over two properties on one night, I can assure you, SPG will catch it at some point and they will strip you of the points/stays/nights. Serial offenders will get the banhammer.