NEW-STARWOOD PREFERRED GUEST-Questions/Answers

[NancyIL]

Originally posted by zurgswife
Just added my third night on points for my Christmas trip in a 2 bdrm suite....YIPPPPEEEEE!!!!!

Dec 26, 27, 28 we will be relaxing in the Dolphin in the Exec Suite...I hope the view is good....

Did you know that if you scrape up 20,000 more points for a 4th night, the 5th night is free? If you have the Starwood American Express Card and charge everything to it between now and then - you might earn enough points!

We stayed in an Executive Suite 2 years ago - and it didn't have a great view. It was on the 5th floor, on a corner - and didn't have balconies. But the suite itself was very spacious, and just perfect for our family.

 

[Shelly]

for Maggiew
Depends on how many points you have. I stayed at the safari last year for eight days and used my points for four nights free at 3,000 a night and then I think for 1500 I got a half off certificate to use for the four remaining nights. Otherwise I say save them. The resaurant was yucky. Would never eat there again.

 

[luvdisney14]

How many points are needed for upgrade from standard room at swan/dolphin?

 

[Shelly]

I beleve that would be 1500 points.

 

[marymrg]

Shelly - thanks for the heads up about the restaurant. I'll be there next week. Thankfully, there are tons of restaurants nearby plus we'll be eating in the parks as well.

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by JM1
I was on the starwood & AT&T sites for 30 minutes trying to figure out how to sign up for the 2000 point offer. I finally called AT&T and after being on hold for another 30 minutes found out that the link from the AT&T loyalty page is NOT correct. Use this link below and sign up to get 2000 starpoints. This is a really great deal!!!!!!!! I can really use the points.

http://www.att.com/starwood

I completed all the hoop-jumping to get to the last page where I found that they had inserted someone else's address instead of my own that I must have typed out for them in three places! The error comes up next to the link marked MOVED? and asks for your NEW address...

Their little helpful Hannah or whatever the thing is called is no help. I typed an explanation of my problem in a box that opened in response to my giving "Hannah" a failing grade. Wonder if they'll correct the address? Wonder if I'll get my points? Wonder if I'll get the right bill? Ahhh, the excitement!

 

[dorisdvu]

I'm planning a first time trip to DW 3-21-04 - 3-26-04 3 adults 2 kids (7 & 4). With my AAA discount I am able to get a room at the Swan for $220 per night for a Traditional Room Water View or $232.50 for Deluxe Room Lake View. What's the difference? What's a Jr Suite? I also read that they guarantee the lowest room price. I emailed they and asked them about Hotwire.com. I told them while I did not complete the transaction (because it's non refundable) would they honor the quote for a 4 star hotel at $149 per night during this time period. I'm sure they won't but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask. I have also just signed up as a preferred guest.

Which view is best?
What are my chances of upgrading? If I book now, does this improve my chances?
Is there a certain floor/area that is better?
Will the hotel assist in arranging charactor meals, priorty seating etc?
Do they offer any discounts on UPH tickets?
I thought I read somewhere where kids (under 9) eat free with paying adult. Is this true?

Any other suggestions/comments?

I also emailed Swan with some of these questions. Do they respond?

 

[Mouseteacher]

doris ~ a Jr. Suite at the Swan is a large L shaped room - I am posting pictures for you. The view we had was spectacular. Our room had 3 large windows plus the sliders to the balcony. The room is at the end of the east wing -6th floor- so it had a wrap around view. We had a King room with sleeper sofa. It was an awesome room.

The bed area:

The dining area:

I am Gold spg and we received this room as a comp upgrade the last week of July.

Comp upgrades depend on the time of the year and how busy the resort is. But whatever room you receive the resort is awesome - the location can't be beat.

 

[videogal1]

Thank you SO much for continuing this thread! I did my SPG card signup and got my SPG AMEX card, thanks to the info. in the last (brief?) burst about this program and, like being hooked on a serialized novel, I just can't put it down. Up until 4AM reading through it I applied for this, charged for that, until I came to the wall...needed sleep...how weak. Refreshed and back at it later this morning I reviewed the damage and found I have a question or two of my own..
Did anyone else get a 50% off SPG award with their shiny new Starwood SPG AMEX card? The fine print on mine states that you get 50% off the rack rate......when you pay with your AMEX SPG credit card. There's a raft of fine print on the back but nowhere do I see anything about using it with an on-line reservation. I made an on-line reservation for the night before I fly off to WDW in January last night and paid with my AMEX card. Now what? How do I use the coupon? Take it to the counter when I check in/out? Is that room technically paid for or just reserved when I entered the card number during the on-line reservation process? Am I terminally confused and just too tired to think this through properly? Hmmm, come to think of it, as it is good for an up-to 5-day stay, I should probably try to use this to land another few days at WDW (Dolphin?) after my Disney cruise vacation next year. The coupon Expir. is 12/31/04. But even then, the question is the same...How do I, or can I, use this for an on-line reservation transaction?
Help, please....And thank you all again! I wanna stay at the Dolphinin May 2004

 

[Shelly]

videogal 1

I would call and ask. for some reason to use the certificate I think you have to call and speak to someone. I've never used mine, but yes everyone gets one. You also get a new one every year when your AM ex renews.
No your room isn't paid for yet the credit card is just to hold it a one hotel night charge is put on it. Which they refund when and if you cancel.

 

[hulabird]

Has anyone ever joined the AAApro plan, if you are an AAA member, you can join this and it upgrades your spg to AAApro. It says that it gives you an automatic upgrade. Anyone use this?

 

[dorisdvu]

Is it worth getting the points by subscribing to Inside Flyer? I'm new to SPG and have 0 points.

AAA/PRO--I'm a AAA member and a SPG member so does this mean I qualify for AAA/PRO? What kinds of discounts do I get? Where do I find info? I booked a room at the Swan and under promotion I selected Automobile Association. I had put in my SPG # on the request. Should I have received more of a discount. I got a club level room 3 adults for $262.50 per night.

 

[ozziewags]

I would also like more info on this AAA Pro. I am AAA Plus, but have never heard of 'Pro'. How do the benefits compare with 'Plus'?

 

[robinb]

I've been wading through this thread (I'm currently on page 68!) for the past few days. We have reservations at the Dolphin for 12/21-12/28 at the AP rate. My DH is Hilton HHonors Diamond and thanks to this thread he is now SPG Platinum and we applied for the AMEX card with a 4,000 point bonus link. We're staying at our first intentionally booked Starwood property tonight as my DH usually books Hilton because of the perks. We'll see how Plat compares to Diamond .

Anyway ... I was looking at the SPG website and found this:

Effective January 1, 2004, Platinum level members are not eligible for any in-hotel benefits when booking through third-party channels, such as, but not limited to, priceline.com, expedia.com, hotels.com, hrn.com, hotwire.com, lastminute.com, site59.com, orbitz.com, travelocity.com, cheaptickets.com, quickbook.com, travelweb.com, lodging.com, yahootravel.com, AOL Travel.com, msntravel.com, etc.


I also occasionally read Flyer Talk (www.flyertalk.com) which has an extensive thread about this change. Personally, I think it's a big mistake and many very loyal customers will be angry. This targets the cream of the crop who frequently stay at Starwoiod properties specifically for the perks. I can understand why SPG would not want to offer benefits to opaque bookings like Priceline and Hotwire, but it doesn't make any sense to nix companies where the customer actually chooses a Starwood property off a list. It makes me wonder what's next. Convention bookings? Special rates? Not a good sign, AFAIK.

 

[madge]

Originally posted by hulabird
Has anyone ever joined the AAApro plan, if you are an AAA member, you can join this and it upgrades your spg to AAApro. It says that it gives you an automatic upgrade. Anyone use this?

www.starwood.com/aaa

I signed up for this promotion earlier this summer. I was able to keep my SPG gold status and add the promo to earn extra points.

 

[ozziewags]

Thanks, Madge! Where have I been? I didn't know anything about this promo....and I can use all the help I can get!

 

[madge]

Originally posted by ozziewags
Thanks, Madge! Where have I been? I didn't know anything about this promo....and I can use all the help I can get!

not a problem! I learned about it over at flyertalk--pretty informative, albeit no-frils, site if I understand it correctly, you get the AAA *wood points in addition to an online booking bonus, or AmEx points, as well. apparently they are stackable....as long as I didn't lose my gold status, I figure it was worth a shot to sign up!

 

[dorisdvu]

Originally posted by hulabird
Has anyone ever joined the AAApro plan, if you are an AAA member, you can join this and it upgrades your spg to AAApro. It says that it gives you an automatic upgrade. Anyone use this?

I booked a club level room at the Swan at AAA rate. I called to inquire about the spg status to see if it was AAApro. The change was made. I asked if that would change my rates and they said no. I asked about the auto upgrade and they said that since I'm already at club level I would not get an upgrade. If I had booked a traditional room and there was availability I would have probably been upgraded to club level. That just doesn't seem quite right to me. Granted I'm a new member with 0 points, but from the way Starwood reservations talked that wasn't an issue. I also asked for a Jr Suite rate quote and was informed that there were not any vacancies during my vacation time frame so she couldn't give me a quote.

 

[crc6]

Below is an excerpt from an article in today's WSJ about how Starwood plans to limit upgrades to its frequent customers. It quotes the message on the SPG website that RobinB posted earlier:

(WSJ 8/27/03 P. D6)
"If you are using Expedia to book a room at the W Hotel next year, don't expect a free upgrade to one of its "mega" rooms.

In the latest move by a travel company to give less to good customers who happen to land a great deal, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., White Plains, N.Y., plans to stop giving free upgrades to elite members of its loyalty program who book their rooms on discount Web sites.

In a posting on its Web site, Starwood announced that as of Jan. 1, frequent customers who normally get goodies like room upgrades, late-checkout times and a choice of a free gift upon check-in "are not eligible for any in-hotel benefits when booking through third-party channels," including Priceline.com, the airlines' Hotwire and Orbitz, and InterActive Corp.'s Expedia and Hotels.com."

There is a little more to the article (its a short one) but I am hesitant to post here because I am not certain about copyright restrictions. (I am a media relations specialist by trade and spend all day making sure I am not violating copyrights!) But if you'd like more info, feel free to pm me.

This may not be big news, nor affect too many of you all, but I thought it was good information to post here, just in case.

Have a great day everyone!
Caitlin

 

[ozziewags]

It is not just Starwood that is doing that. Other chains with card perks are doing the same, such as Hilton and Hyatt. I can understand their point; it is money out of their pocket. BUT, upon checkin, if noone is using the room, what is the problem? Maybe it is just easier to say no in the first place, thinking that some might reserve through their own websites or by calling the hotels directly, so they have at least have a possibility for an upgrade or will pay for it. Does that make sense? Hmmm, been a long day.