Thoughts from a lame duck Platinum
Mar 26, 2008, 2:26 pm
#46
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Northwest NJ
Programs: Starwood Platinum,Marriott Platinum, United Silver
Posts: 2,313
Back and forth for me to. I'm NOT a typical FTer - my points are mostly amassed from the Starwood AMEX and my stays are mostly free due to the points. I got Starwood Platinum via AMEX Centurion and had a remarkable run. That summer I had three trips - New Orleans "W", Mont Tremblant and Princeville and scored 3 for 3 in suite upgrades. I was sold.
Obviously, I was also depressed when I learned that I would no longer have it! A double stay promotion and a very low rate at a local Sheraton got me Platinum status thru next February.
I generate lots of points on the credit card but my vacation stays have been limited by the recent birth of three grandchildren within four months! I also realized that some of the hotels in Europe (like the Prince des Galles) charged a minimum in extra points for a Junior Suite and that they were sometimes actually two rooms. So I would book the Junior Suite but again, each time be upgraded to a full suite.
Last Christmas, when Puerto Vallarta was only 7,000 points per night, I decided to simply pay the extra points for a two-story suite and not worry about the upgrade. Where can you get a suite in a vacation resort between Christmas and New Years for 14,000 points per night.
These months later, the devaluation has thrown me for a loop. 20,000 points per month on the AMEX now barely gets me one night (save Cash & Points), while the same spending would generate 60,000 points on the Hilton AMEX and get me almost two nights. It looks like when the Starwood Platinum ends, there will be no more mileage runs for me - just no longer worth it. As Hilton Gold, I may just have to make do with the free breakfasts.
The only place where I cannot replace the Starwood AMEX is flights. Three summers in a row, we transferred points to Cathay Pacific who booked us Business Class seats on British Air. The first year it was First Class - 145,000 Starwood points for TWO tickets! Now it's 65,000 per BC seat - still a fabulous bargain and a great use of points.
But as I've said elsewhere, the writing is on the wall - too many points out there and these businesses are having to deal with it the only way they can - to make them less valuable. If someone had told me two years ago that I would waffle on Starwood, I would have thought they were nuts but I guess nothing is forever. Yet the flight conversions and Cash & Points (three nights at the Hotel Eden in Rome this summer) still keep me around.
Obviously, I was also depressed when I learned that I would no longer have it! A double stay promotion and a very low rate at a local Sheraton got me Platinum status thru next February.
I generate lots of points on the credit card but my vacation stays have been limited by the recent birth of three grandchildren within four months! I also realized that some of the hotels in Europe (like the Prince des Galles) charged a minimum in extra points for a Junior Suite and that they were sometimes actually two rooms. So I would book the Junior Suite but again, each time be upgraded to a full suite.
Last Christmas, when Puerto Vallarta was only 7,000 points per night, I decided to simply pay the extra points for a two-story suite and not worry about the upgrade. Where can you get a suite in a vacation resort between Christmas and New Years for 14,000 points per night.
These months later, the devaluation has thrown me for a loop. 20,000 points per month on the AMEX now barely gets me one night (save Cash & Points), while the same spending would generate 60,000 points on the Hilton AMEX and get me almost two nights. It looks like when the Starwood Platinum ends, there will be no more mileage runs for me - just no longer worth it. As Hilton Gold, I may just have to make do with the free breakfasts.
The only place where I cannot replace the Starwood AMEX is flights. Three summers in a row, we transferred points to Cathay Pacific who booked us Business Class seats on British Air. The first year it was First Class - 145,000 Starwood points for TWO tickets! Now it's 65,000 per BC seat - still a fabulous bargain and a great use of points.
But as I've said elsewhere, the writing is on the wall - too many points out there and these businesses are having to deal with it the only way they can - to make them less valuable. If someone had told me two years ago that I would waffle on Starwood, I would have thought they were nuts but I guess nothing is forever. Yet the flight conversions and Cash & Points (three nights at the Hotel Eden in Rome this summer) still keep me around.
