Boraxo

Because it is so easy to design a promo (like the prior stay-2, get 1 night free) where viritually everyone benefits and nobody is excluded. UA and AA current DEQM promos are another good example. Sure, they won't benefit people who have already earned top tier, or people who had heavy summer travel but light fall travel, but at least they don't exclude anyone who wants to sign up.

Mrs. B also appreciates the benefits of all these promos - the ones that aren't targeted.

flyalotlm

This promotion is great. Never thought one like this would happen. Platinum in 2010 now seems possible.

RedPanda5

as I've mentioned before I'm at 1stay/1night. Starwood just guaranteed they will get another 12 stays this year.

Happy that I will be able to maintain PLAT, I changed jobs and haven't had any biz travel this yr. Plat going on for 5 years now.

morerainplease

Because we're loyal customers and human beings. We'd like Starwood to take care of us the same way everyone else would. It's called self-interest and it's at the core of who we are as people. Not everyone "complaining" should be dismissed just because you don't understand it. Starwood made a business decision, but it will not garner any more favor or revenue from some travelers. Like me. So I'd like the folks making the decisions to know that it didn't hit the mark for some of their valuable customers. I've been SPG Platinum for several years and this promotion is likely sending me to Hilton for the rest of the year. What, exactly, is the problem with pointing that out? Do you expect me to be grateful for a promotion that is meaningless to me because I've had a busy travel year? If I had a year with little travel, I'm sure I'd love this one. But I've been on the road heavy so this does me little good. And if the promotion did you no good, I'd have no problem with you pointing it out to the strategists at Starwood who watch this forum. I think a 3rd option would have been smart for this one. Like the MANY options offered last year.

CNWO4LIFE

Good luck with that. Did you see the new unemployment numbers today? Up to 9.7%. More "change we need" lol!

morerainplease

I know, I know. It hasn't been this bad since Ronald Reagan was president (10.8% in his second year).

Sooner or later, every thread goes strangely awry, I suppose. And I think this one has served it's purpose. Thanks for the good times. We'll always have this moment.

thepointsguy

+1.. this promo does nothing for road warriors.

kitsura

Being one of the Plat-lites (qualified from more than 50 nights spent at a Four Points) I can't help but agree with some of the posters about SPG's internal platinums ranking.

As it is I hardly get any upgrades when gold and since the Four Points I stay at doesn't really have a proper suite that I can upgrade to I don't find this promo beneficial in any aspect.

Whether i requalify as plat the next year or not doesn't really matter to me seeing how there are almost no noticeable benefits for me. Maybe I will consider status running at another hotel chain.

CNWO4LIFE

Then why go with spg to begin with. You were stuck at the Four Points no matter if they had this promotion or not, so your query really makes no sense. You may have been better off picking a brand in that area that offers better upgrades.

yosithezet

This is quite true. My experience as a Platinum in Asia and ANZ is significantly different than the experience I'd be having in another region. The 4 Points in Darling Harbour in Sydney has some amazing suites, some great suites and some rooms which seem to use space that was left over during construction. I heard the 4 Points in Beijing is an amazing property. The Le Meridien in New Delhi has at least 40 suites from what I can tell. I do very well on upgrades as an SPG plat.

I travel to places where there are Hyatt properties which are either cheaper or comparable to SPG properties. This enables me to chase Hyatt status as well, though the lack of suite upgrades keeps me at just making Diamond whereas I blow away the Plat reqs each year.

Choosing the right chain or right airline is something which takes a lot of factors into account. Not every program is right for every person. It sounds like SPG may not be the right program for kitsura based on the information posted here. With more info we could make a better judgement.

kitsura

Due to location issues. The closest hotel to my overseas branch office is the *wood four points. But if I had a choice for vacation or other purposes I'll be thinking of other hotels in the future.

MGL

I hope those who, in the future, ask the "which program is better?" question find this thread. Inventive, original, and very helpful to SPG's more frequent customers in an unusual economy that has made re-qual exceedingly challenging for many of us. Way to go on the promo, and thanks for the heads-up!^

DownUnderFlyer

Thanks for the heads up! ^

I was unsure about my Plat re-qualification for this year but due to the promo I will send more of my private $$$ the *wood way.

True. But the road warriors are coming anyway (or at least this is the assumption). This promo is designed to incentivice some people to go the extra mile.

thepointsguy

Whose assumption? I think thats a pretty false way of thinking that just because someone travels a lot, they will automatically be loyal to any company. In fact, I think those who travel the most look clearly at all options in order to maximize their time and dollars spent.

I have no doubt this promo incentivizes those who can't make the posted status requirements, but I still firmly standby that this does not incentivize the true road warrior whose main goal is to rack up tons of points so they can take their family on great vacations to make up for their absence throughout the year Last year I already qualified for Plat but was going crazy staying at Starwood properties for the 10 stay/ 25k SPG Point "You Choose" bonus. During that same time, people who needed the double stays could choose so as well. This year, I have 1k Stay a Night bonus (instead of 2500) and a double stay/rollover option that I don't need. All I am saying is that it would have been nice to have a choice.

BanffJasper

Thank you very much for this response! ^ Previously I was aiming at becoming Gold this year, but now I am thinking Platuinum is reachable. Personally though, I would like to clarify that my original post was not #36, but #52. And here is what I said initially: