sbtinme

That makes a truckload of assumptions, including that you'd be able to easily find seats on the days you'd like in C/J for 80K on BA. Not the easiest task, is it?

As has been said clearly, this is not a perfect program for one and all. It's a solid addition to the current SPG program. Like you, I'd probably not opt to use 300K points for one ticket from LHR, but I'd be happy to use 30,000 points to get home for a family funeral at the last minute and not be dinged with $125 booking fees from an airline for "late redemption" charges. Additionally, for that 30K ticket, I'm eligible for my standard upgrades to F (since the ticket is purchased) and I earn miles on the airline.

That's not the worst thing to come down the pike.

Pizzaman

There have been a few opportunities where I wasn't able to book the exact award I wanted. If these do come out of paid fare buckets, then this also would have extra value for me in terms of requalifying. I have a couple of flights next year overseas that I'm redeeming miles for. If, instead, I had the opportunity to burn points on SPG and get a paid fare on my airline of choice, I might be willing to pay a worse conversion rate, as it would save me the time and aggravation of a MR if I wasn't going to requalify with regular business flights.

holtju2

IMHO this program is mainly beneficial only for those who normally redeem their SPG points for domestic Y in "cheap" routes. I only redeem point for international C/F and thus "redeeming" via SPG Flights is out of the equation.

As I posted in the other thread these will book into revenue buckets so you will received miles/eqm's though.

gozetta

This is smart for SPG's AmEx, as it competes directly with the affinity cards which offer any flight, any time, no blackouts. This card definitely has the most options.

One question: what happens in refund situations (hurricanes, flight route cancels, etc.) to the points burned on the fare?

troyb

I feel that this benefit won't be of much use to most of those here on FT, at least not on any sort of regular basis. However, it's great that SPG is adding new options and even better that they are making the effort to roll them out on a conference call with Q&A session for FT members.

I highly doubt that I'll use this program unless I end up in some tough financial position and need to travel somewhere - no matter how many points I have banked up. The value just isn't there on a per point basis. I'd be more likely to spend the cash and suspect most here would as well. Nevertheless, its nice to have an additional option.

ManUtd99

Ditto.

Guess someone missed the daily medication.

Markie

LHR-MIA Business Class
NW = 215k
Alitalia (!) = 235k
DL/LH/VS = 315k
US/AA=355k
BA=375k
CO=395k

Ha Ha Ha!

gj83

At first glance this seems like a good program to me since it offers quite a bit of flexibility. Obviously a transfer to an airline program would yield the most points per $, but sometimes you just want to use the points you've been banking for so long.

Delta availability is crap to navigate through and United transfers aren't good. having the taxes and fees paid is a good thing, but doesn't seem to offset the points per mile.

I do like how it displays results like Sidestep does.

I may use this if I am strapped for cash or just really need to burn miles. It gives the starwood program more flexibility, but is by no means a primary redemption option.

Recreation

Isn't that what the current policy already is?

But you asked for an 8am GUARANTEED check-in, not "the earliest time slot available," which is entirely different. Once you say the word 'guarantee" then people (correctly) change their expectations from "I hope" to "I expect." If the hotels cannot possibly deliver on those guarantees, then they are inviting bitter, disillusioned customers.

***

I'm a mere Gold but I read a lot of the gripes by Platinum members. I think that we'd all be much happier lot if:

1) We didn't have to beg, cajole, convince or demand that managers give us the benefits that Starwood promises. If you say "platinums will receive a complimentary upgrade to the best available room in the joint, subject to availability" then that's what they should do. If Starwood says that Gold members will be given a bottle of water and a bag of peanut M&M's, then, By gawd, that's what we should get. Every single time. Without asking.

2) We didn't have to track down our points. If Starwood has a promotion, then it should work with IT to ensure that all promised points will be delivered into customers' accounts without a follow-up. No more "We can't possibly be acquainted with every promotion that Starwood offers." Oh yes, you should be, even if the CSRs have a hard copy master list that they have to look up.

3) As a Gold member, I'd love an "upgrade for less" benefit. Examples: For $30/night we can be upgraded to a Club room. For $75/night, we can be upgraded to an ocean view room, etc.

ingy

Sure the award chart may need some tweaking, but I don't see Hilton, Marriott or IC putting out a redemption chart without blackouts and have bundled all the fees included.

I say, nice job Starwood, just for being proactive in a changing market.

lesmiz99

No I didn't. Didn't even think the word 'guaranteed'. Re-read the post first before having a seizure.

broadwayblue

While I agree that the conversion is a bad deal...compared to the rates WHEN an award ticket is available, the fact that there are no blackout dates makes the program valuable as a backup to our frequent flyer mileage balances. So while I can't see too many of us using it as our first choice, it could come in handy when we value flexiblity over points.

sbtinme

Exactly right. But as savvy FTers we all know that one of the best deals around has been business class award seats using airline miles when one could actually find availability. No doubt about it. And, one of the worst deals out there was actually paying for C/J seats out of pocket.

Since the SPGflights program does, indeed, pay for these tickets, it's a safe bet that biz class seats to anyplace will never be a good deal using SPG points. That's a given. If one is looking for biz seats, by all means be smart about it and use your airline miles -- if you can find a seat available.

But, I still think this program has legs. Here's my 00.02:

- Starwood looks for value added options that will make sense for SPG members

- They correctly identify that redeeming airline miles for airline seats has become increasingly miserable and costly for the average Joe (fees, no availability, etc. A great percentage of domestic award seats now simply going for the premium 50K, etc)

- Their research proves out that an award seat on DL or UA or US could be 50K to the consumer, but SPG could arrange for it to be ticketed and offer it to the consumer for 35000 SPG points.

- They launch the spgflights program and the folks for whom this makes sense will be delighted with the new options. Remember that a lot of people learn about the SPG Amex card by researching airline affinity cards. Not everyone wants hotel points. So, they get the SPG Amex card and now have the option to transfer miles (with the 5K bonus) directly to their airline of choice OR ... if it makes better sense ... they can ticket immediately on line using their points without a service charge or award fee. (This is essentially exactly what Citibank's THANK YOU NETWORK for affinity cards has been doing for two years.)

It's very important to remember that we here on FT are "special", most consumers have never given much thought to the intrinsic value of an SPG point! Many of us may have a tendency to analyze these sorts of programs and offers far more than the general public. Many of us may not see great value in the new spgflights program, but I think that's shortsighted. I think it's a great new offering that I may be able to use from time to time. It's not the best "spend" of my points, but it's not positioned as such.

We all know that Starwood is in the hotel business. They're not in the airline ticketing business. It costs them a lot less to offer a week of free hotel nights than it does to get someone to London in Business Class. But, for many consumers, having the option to use points to book an instant award trip with NO FEES that is upgradeable is worth more than a passing glance.

I salute SPG for launching this new program. ^

Jumpgate

I think guaranteed suite upgrades is unreasonable to expect.

I'd prefer something like guaranteed free breakfast. In the club lounge if the hotel has one, otherwise a voucher will do just fine.

Also, though the conversion rate for SPG flights it not good, it's a good backup program. If I need to get somewhere and there are no seats available for use with my miles, and the ticket is not affordable, I'll be happy this option is available to me.

BlindPilot

Completely agree with this statement. Uncalled for.