Email congratulating Plat Status (and an extra goodie!)

Just got an email from Starwood congratulating me on attaining Platinum status and offering an extra bonus:
To celebrate your Platinum status, we'd like to offer you the choice of a US$25 SPG® Award Certificate or a one-year subscription to the magazine of your choice, compliments of SPG.


SPG® Award Certificate: If you choose this option, you will receive one (1) US$25 SPG Award Certificate within 4–6 weeks of registration to the name as indicated on your member profile and the address specified upon registration. Certificate is valid one year from month issued and may be used toward any goods or services that are charged to your folio at a Starwood Preferred Guest participating hotel by the expiration date. Upon checkout, the face value of the certificate will be applied to your folio. Certificates are not redeemable for cash. No cash or credit will be given for any unused portion of any certificate surrendered. When certificate is redeemed outside of the United States, currency conversion rates of the day will be utilized and confirmed by the hotel. Certificate must be surrendered to the hotel at time of use. Certificate is not transferable and cannot be resold. Use by any person other than the recipient named is invalid and void. Certificates may not be duplicated, may not be accepted if altered in any way, and may not be replaced if lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed.
Magazine choices were:
Architectural Digest Bon Appétit Condé Nast Traveler Details Glamour Golf Digest GQ Lucky The New Yorker Self Vanity Fair Vogue W Wired

Congratulations. Is this your first time to achieve Platinum? Was it part of the challenge?

No, thanks for congrats. I qualified on stays last yr and have been plat since (Gold for 10 yrs), so I was confused about the email. Still, I will take the cert and use it wisely!

I believe this is the reward for achieving/retaining Platinum status for 2011, while the picture book was an appreciation gift for being Platinum status last year. In any case, congrats and enjoy the cert. I requested the $25 cert a week and a half ago and I am still waiting for mine to arrive.

I got the same email a few months ago. I dont think I've received my cert yet???

Lucky you! I qualified for platinum a couple weeks ago (first time ever), and I didn't get anything!

I was status matched from Hyatt last year, but requalified on stays earlier this year, but no email for me?

No email for me either

As I posted in another thread, I did just get an email the other day encouraging me to give it that little extra push and choke out a few more stays to requalify as Platinum (which I did on June 15), so I'm thinking perhaps the left hand hasn't caught up with the right?

My $25 cert arrived this week!

I also received this email and received my certificate several weeks ago. I status matched for platinum in 2009 and earned platinum again last year. Perhaps the criteria was having platinum before and earning it again through 2011. I haven't yet earned it again this year but I'm working on it.

Thanks for posting this. I just made Plat for the first time (moving from HHonors to SPG) and got the "congratulations" e-mail but didn't read it. On digging it out of my trash I discovered the offer and picked the $25 cert. So big :thumbsup: to the OP for getting me $25 I would otherwise have missed.

The $25 cert also shows up under "My Earned Awards" under My Account, so no need to hang on to the certificate!

You are going to need that certificate when you check out if you intend to redeem it. It shows up under "My Earned Awards" in order to confirm that its distribution has been fulfilled and to give you a record of it.

Best regards,

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

spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com

Thanks for clarifying William!

$25 certificate is hilarious. That seems like a really lame gift for having stayed so many nights to earn platinum status. A free night certificate or something like that seems a lot better. Could be just me....

William, was the $50 concert cash I was unable to redeem due to everyone else jumping on that bandwagon my version of this award, or might I also receive this one? (Re-qualified in June.)

I takes what I gets!
In all honesty, SPG has been pretty good to me and so far, with Platinum status, SPG has treated me well. The 500 points per stay as my amenity choice is a nice bonus relative to being Gold. Upgrades (though suites seem to be VERY hard to get) are also nice, especially if the hotel has a lounge.

It was not. It might be a while yet if you re-qualified in June...maybe even next year.

Best regards,

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

spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com

I guess that lame...to me...would be if nothing at all was given. Now that we've gotten to the point where SPG can't give anything away for free without being criticized for it, it wouldn't surprise me if that became a self-fulfilling prophecy. YMMV.

Best regards,

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

spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com

I agree. I actually hope that the carping and whining and gift-horse-in-the-mouth looking is not what you're taking back to corporate. Most of us, I think are thrilled to be given a small gift, and over the moon when it's something really cool like last year's gift book. I think you're seeing a vocal minority post whines and bellyaches.

LOL. Well, believe me when I say that I don't have to take a single thing back to SPG corporate. They can read as well as I can.

Best regards,

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

spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com

Speaking on behalf of all the SPG Platinums who appreciate the $25 award certificate... Thank you for the nice unexpected bonus.

You probably did earn a few free nights in your quest to obtain platinum status, based on spend/bonuses/promos,
so the $25 certificate is a little unexpected sweetener on top. Also, remember it is the thought that counts, not
the amount.

I have not yet had one, but I do recall a fair number of nice treats, including the original match that got me to SPG in the first place, thanks to William. All the benefits are not quite as rich as some others, but the qualifications are easier too. If there were a level above Platinum I imagine the benefits would be richer reflecting the higher threshold. I do wish the upgrades and breakfast offers were more consistent. In the beginning the fre internet was not so consistent either, but they have solved that problem nicely IME.

really the only Starwood problem I ever have is lack of consistency and lack of clarity in brand definition. The gifts are just fine IMO.