briancw80

Could you elaborate more on what direct deposit is vs. other options on collecting points?

And is direct deposit only available for points earned while staying @ an SPG property and not everyday spend?

Lastly, if the 1:1 xfer is only for direct deposit, is the normal xfer rate 2:1 to UA (i.e., 10,000 SPG points = 5,000 UA miles)?

Starwood Lurker

If you search for "Direct Deposit" here at Flyertalk, it will bring up numerous threads where this has been discussed previously, but - basically - when you sign up for Direct Deposit, you are choosing to send the Starpoints earned from hotel stay transactions and a handful of other property-related transactions over to your airline frequent flyer program as an automated transfer. The Direct Deposit will hit your SPG account first, giving credit for any eligible spending and stay/night credit where applicable.

Basically, any property-originated credits are sent over to the airline. This would include room revenue, eligible incidentals, and any promotion bonuses that happen to post along with the stay.

Other credits, such as earning from our marketing partners and any promotional bonuses that are not given with a stay posting still accumulate in your SPG account and are not sent over.

The standard member-initiated transfer ratio from SPG to United is 2:1 as it is outlined here. Note: You have to be logged into your account to see the list of transfer ratios to specific airlines.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

briancw80

Great, thanks for the information.

controller1

The OP was asking about United Airlines. The answer you provided does not apply to UA.

A 10K transfer of Starpoints will result in 5K UA miles.

A 20K transfer of Starpoints will result in 12.5K UA miles.

TSNWork

[Post moved to appropriate thread.]