Dear Members, SPG is very excited for our new benefits to be launching in just a few short hours. We expect SPG.com to be updated with Lifetime Status in applicable member profiles, plus Suite Night Award and Your24 request capabilities (for those eligible) among a few other small changes you'll see. These should be appear approximately around midnight Eastern Standard Time, however be patient if you don't see the changes right away. Regarding the new Suite Night Awards benefit, SPG is ensuring that we have maximized the available upgraded room types eligible for request at hotels and resorts around the world to best serve our members. We are continuing to add upgraded room types to the system, so over the next few days you could see an increase in room types when requesting to use your Suite Night Awards for a particular hotel. As always, we look forward to your feedback, and please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have. spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com Thyetus Lee | Social Media Specialist Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd
Went to spg.com first thing this morning, and saw a few helpful additions... including the number of years elite and nights towards lifetime status. Interestingly, the number of years elite said just that; maybe because in my case I've only ever been Gold, there's no need to differentiate? I'd be curious to know if others see years Platinum vs. years Gold. Also, I think it said for the first time that I was an SPG Amex card holder. At least I don't think it ever said that before. Anyway, looking forward to claiming my first Gold amenity this month!
Thanks for this. I have been a trifle critical of SPG for not upping the benefits for high-nighters, but you're making all the right moves. I may just let a couple fo my other statii expire, Hyatt and Hilton Diamond both are near the chopping block for me as these improvements are happening. Now we need SPG hotels in more places!!
And we also need consistent application of benefits across all properties, as well as consistent quality across all Sheratons and Four Points!
The new web site page for Lifetime members is nice. But, there seems to be a glich in trying to request a suite using points. Today I have dealt with 3 people so far, and no one seems to know why they can't do it (and you can;t do it on the web site either).
Can you send me the details in a Conversation here at Milepoint. I will need the reservation number at a minimum. Best regards, William R. Sanders Social Media Specialist Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com
I looked at upgrading a couple of cash and points stays today using suite night awards, but it seemed to increase the cash required from my original reservation; is that a glitch, or a cost of using this benefit? Separately, I found no upgrade request was possible for one upcoming stay (W Bali); my SPG ambassador tells me that suite night awards are not accepted at all hotels (including this one). Maybe I should have known or expected as much, but didn't, and feel it diminishes the value of this particular benefit considerably -- as those properties which accept suite night awards are probably ones where the usual upgrade process works well enough and upgrades happen, whereas those that don't accept the awards are probably ones where upgrades are harder to come by and where I'd most like the edge that the suite award night supposedly would provide. Certainly, I figured on using my allotment of 10 suite upgrade awards towards what might have been the tougher upgrades -- but I'm starting to think those are exactly the situations where the benefit won't be available.
If you can send me the confirmation numbers for these, I can look into it further. My apologies, but there are some instances where these cannot be used. These can include properties without standard suites or upgraded room types, SVO properties or other residential properties. Best regards, William R. Sanders Social Media Specialist Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com
Thanks much William, I'll send the confirmations shortly, and will be interested in what you can make of it. As for the benefit carveout for properties without standard suites/upgraded rooms, etc., I may just be ignorant, but it's not at all clear to me how the W Bali (which has quite a lengthy litany of types of rooms and suites) fits that bill (nor is it SVO or other residential, as far as I would have imagined).
Thanks. I'm not that familiar with this particular property and am running out of time for the day, but if there standard award is a suite award, then that might explain why it can't be bumped up any further. Is this an all-suite property? I thought I remembered that it was. Best regards, William R. Sanders Social Media Specialist Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com
As far as I know -- and I'm pretty sure of this -- it's not an all suite property. I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean by "if there standard award is a suite award, then that might explain why it can't be bumped up any further", since I'm in an "entry level" room with nowhere to go but up -- but maybe we can pick this up tomorrow -- I'm heading out for the day myself.
LOL. Sounds like a plan. Best regards, William R. Sanders Social Media Specialist Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com
The requirement is ten years at Plat, not just ten years at elite. Were you Gold for some of these years?
Nope. Plat for 10 years. And the other way to get Lifetime Plat is 500 nights, correct? So I qualify by both methods.
No, it's not a matter of the other way. One must qualify by having BOTH ten years as Plat AND 500 nights, just as Lifetime Gold needs five years as Gold or Plat and 250 nights. There also seems to be some rule that the elite years must have been earned based solely on nights, stays, and SPG AmEx credit for a few stays and nights, so that status comped from AmEx Plat and Centurion, status matches, etc. don't count.
I was able to confirm that W Retreat & Spa Bali - Seminyak will not be participating in Suite Night Awards. There are no available room types that qualify for inclusion. Best regards, William R. Sanders Social Media Specialist Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com
Thanks William. I do still scratch my head over what "no available room types that qualify for inclusion" means. I imagine it refers to the limitation (which I saw in the FAQ) that “hotels without Standard Suites or upgraded room types will not be available for Suite Night Awards”—but this particular hotel has several categories of lower end rooms, several categories of suites, and several categories of villas. Perhaps none of the suites are "standard" given their differences; but there sure are any number of upgrade possibilities from the room that I have booked -- so the idea that there are "no upgraded room types" (or available room types that qualify for inclusion if you'd rather) just doesn't make sense to me. Again, maybe I'll find this benefit is more useful than it seems when implemented, but if this sort of thing is any indication of when I can use it and when I can't, I'm underwhelmed.
I think you are going to find instances such as this one to be the exception rather than the rule. Best regards, William R. Sanders Social Media Specialist Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com
I appear to have become less of a Platinum during the conversion. My account showed 273 nights on the day that the new changes were announced, and I've had some stays since then. I now show 265. Still lifetime Gold, but I guess SPG feels like I need to push the rock a little further up the hill
