NEW-STARWOOD PREFERRED GUEST-Questions/Answers
- Thread starter LBYC-19
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Pkdcoastrs
Guest
Hey,
My dad signed up for that AMEX card that gives you SPG points I believe? Can someone tell me exactly what you get by getting the card...and then using it....We leave for our trip in 13 days and hopefully these points will be available that we got for signing up!
Mike
My dad signed up for that AMEX card that gives you SPG points I believe? Can someone tell me exactly what you get by getting the card...and then using it....We leave for our trip in 13 days and hopefully these points will be available that we got for signing up!
Mike
P
Pkdcoastrs
Guest
Well doesn't this stink. You see last November we recieved a call from Visitina Villags with a special offer! We would be given 4 nights at the Dolpin for $200 if we did a tour of their facilities. Well since we are good with getting through Timeshares we took the offer. Since then we have added additonal days at $120.00 ! Well we assumed we would be able to show our SPG card at check-in and get credit for the stay....maybe upgrade. But today we were told by the hotel tha since we didn't book through SPG we would recieve no SPG credit for our stay and would not be able to use points from our stay last year. It was dissapointing because we thought like many peopl on this board who had their reservations switched from the Dolphin directly to SPG so they could use their account. We even just signed up for the American Express Card.
Well we aren't mad at the hotel....It's too bad we didn't know in advance that you had to book directly through SPG t be able to use points....etc....
I really hope we aren't stuck with a crappy room because of the rate we are paying (Average of $95 a night). Last year we were upgraded without even knowing it! When checking in we "asked" if there were any EPCOT views with a balcony and the cast member said no that they were all out. Well too our suprise the cast member had TRICKED us and actually given us that room.
I hope that same type of thing happens this year.
Mike
Well we aren't mad at the hotel....It's too bad we didn't know in advance that you had to book directly through SPG t be able to use points....etc....
I really hope we aren't stuck with a crappy room because of the rate we are paying (Average of $95 a night). Last year we were upgraded without even knowing it! When checking in we "asked" if there were any EPCOT views with a balcony and the cast member said no that they were all out. Well too our suprise the cast member had TRICKED us and actually given us that room.
I hope that same type of thing happens this year.
Mike
dreamflight99
<font color=deeppink>Princess of THIS Castle!<br><
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"Hold onto the MAGIC" which occurred last time you visited the Dolphin. As I posted on the other thread, I am positive the info you received is incorrect. Just "talk" with the associates upon check-in, and I'm sure everything will work out for the BEST! Keep a positive outlook...and never, ever, lose your wonderful perspective and happy outlook!!
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
PIXIDUST Wishes for you & yours!
********************************************************************************************************************************************************************* PIXIDUST Wishes for you & yours!dreamflight99
<font color=deeppink>Princess of THIS Castle!<br><
- Joined
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You had me going there for a second Nancy...until I read the word "DON'T!" Ugh...there goes a TON of points. I also use the Discover card...& love the ca$hback bonus. Darned Schools...just like DD's H.S., Mastercard or Visa ONLY! So...be happy for small miracles, at least they accept DC.Originally posted by NancyIL
I thought dreamflight99 would enjoy this: I just found out that we can CHARGE our daughter's college costs to our credit card without an additional fee!Oh well - we'll get a nice cash-back bonus from Discover Card.
Just to update everyone. I sent a forceful email to starwood stating I was getting the runaround on my offer for the 4000 points for first use for AM EX and the bonus points for my first stay at a starwood. Said to please forward this email to a manager. Well, today received an email and the points are in my account! So you can get this, you just have to pull teeth to do it.
AliciaNYC
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2002
- Messages
- 1
Hello, everyone. I just wanted to take a second to introduce myself (after finally finishing reading through this thread!) My name is Alicia and I'm currently working on some special online promotions with Starwood, so I was excited to find this discussion. I'm still getting the details together, but I'll have info on the promotions, as well as some opportunities for free SPG points for people who can help in getting the word out about the offers. I'll post more here very soon, but please feel free to email me in the meantime if you think you might be interested in this.
Thanks, and I look forward to getting to know you all better!
Alicia
Alicia@electricartists.com
Thanks, and I look forward to getting to know you all better!
Alicia
Alicia@electricartists.com
Hi Alicia, Welcome. We would love more point opportunities. Let us know if we could help.
Currently the points and cash is my fav, so if you had a hand in that congrats.
Would love to see more of the same.
Currently the points and cash is my fav, so if you had a hand in that congrats.
Would love to see more of the same.
I am moving that question to this thread. Hope someone is out there who can help. Thanks.
I am woefully ill-prepared for our upcoming WDW trip (unlike our debut trip last year when I had a thorough gameplan). We arrive Mon. July 29 at the Dolphin for a 7-night stay.
We recently got a Starwood membership and I think I have enough points to eke out an upgrade. Should I call now (and whom--the hotel or Starwood?) to try to upgrade for view and complimentary breakfast? Or should I roll the dice
upon arrival and hope for the best? Keep in mind, we have a late night arrival (approx. midnight).
Thanks for your prompt help!
I am woefully ill-prepared for our upcoming WDW trip (unlike our debut trip last year when I had a thorough gameplan). We arrive Mon. July 29 at the Dolphin for a 7-night stay.
We recently got a Starwood membership and I think I have enough points to eke out an upgrade. Should I call now (and whom--the hotel or Starwood?) to try to upgrade for view and complimentary breakfast? Or should I roll the dice
upon arrival and hope for the best? Keep in mind, we have a late night arrival (approx. midnight).
Thanks for your prompt help!
ozziewags
Go Warriors!
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2000
- Messages
- 1,471
Nancy and others are better equipped to answer your questions, but I think you have to call where you made your original reservation. I would try beforehand and see what they say. Some agents know more than others. It seems that if you ask for Paul, Marie or Blanca you may have the best luck. Any other disers to help out here?
Carol
Carol
Welcome to the DIS, Alicia! I am always interested in more SPG points!
Shelly - I'm glad your persistence paid off in getting the 4,000 bonus points!
Fargoman - I'm sorry your questions weren't answered on another thread. I've never used points for an upgrade - but my understanding is you need 1250 points per night for an upgrade to a balcony room, or 750 points per night for club level. For a 7-night stay, you'd need 5,250 points for a club room or 8,750 points for a balcony room - and that's a LOT of Starwood points! If you have the points and want to use them that way, then I'd call the hotel first.
Shelly - I'm glad your persistence paid off in getting the 4,000 bonus points!
Fargoman - I'm sorry your questions weren't answered on another thread. I've never used points for an upgrade - but my understanding is you need 1250 points per night for an upgrade to a balcony room, or 750 points per night for club level. For a 7-night stay, you'd need 5,250 points for a club room or 8,750 points for a balcony room - and that's a LOT of Starwood points! If you have the points and want to use them that way, then I'd call the hotel first.
It appears that all of my efforts to gather points for an upgrade at the Dolphin are for naught.
I was under the impression that 8,750 points would get me a nifty upgrade that would, at minimum, ensure me that I could have continental breakfast privileges.
Armed with that knowledge, I jumped through all the hoops to start accumulating points. I even signed up for AT&T online billing with the promise that I would receive 2,000 points just for enrolling. THAT NEVER HAPPENED. I've paid two online bills and not received a single point. That leaves me about 2,000 points shy of the 8750 I THOUGHT I needed.
So, first I fired off an e-mail to AT& T asking what happened. Next, I called customer service--I mean customer APATHY-- at Starwood hoping to get some sympathy for my plight. The customer apathy person there coldly informed me that this was an AT&T problem, not theirs. I explained that even if AT&T tried to rectify the situation it would be too late to help for next week's trip. Her response: dead air. Thanks for nothing, customer APATHY.
So, then I called the Dolphin direct. A very nice woman there explained that unless I had "Platinum" status there would be no upgrade to club level privileges--even if I had the necessary points. IS THAT TRUE? IF IT IS, what has been the point of this wild goose chase I've been on the last 4 MONTHS?
All I can do now is hope for a fairly quiet room with a parking lot view--especially with a midnight check-in. And with no chance at continental breakfast, I'm pretty bummed out.
Sorry for the negative tone of this message, but I simply feel DEFEATED!
I was under the impression that 8,750 points would get me a nifty upgrade that would, at minimum, ensure me that I could have continental breakfast privileges.
Armed with that knowledge, I jumped through all the hoops to start accumulating points. I even signed up for AT&T online billing with the promise that I would receive 2,000 points just for enrolling. THAT NEVER HAPPENED. I've paid two online bills and not received a single point. That leaves me about 2,000 points shy of the 8750 I THOUGHT I needed.
So, first I fired off an e-mail to AT& T asking what happened. Next, I called customer service--I mean customer APATHY-- at Starwood hoping to get some sympathy for my plight. The customer apathy person there coldly informed me that this was an AT&T problem, not theirs. I explained that even if AT&T tried to rectify the situation it would be too late to help for next week's trip. Her response: dead air. Thanks for nothing, customer APATHY.
So, then I called the Dolphin direct. A very nice woman there explained that unless I had "Platinum" status there would be no upgrade to club level privileges--even if I had the necessary points. IS THAT TRUE? IF IT IS, what has been the point of this wild goose chase I've been on the last 4 MONTHS?
All I can do now is hope for a fairly quiet room with a parking lot view--especially with a midnight check-in. And with no chance at continental breakfast, I'm pretty bummed out.
Sorry for the negative tone of this message, but I simply feel DEFEATED!
I'm sorry for your troubles, fargoman. If you want the Club room and NOT the balcony with a view - that's 5,250 points - which it appears you have. Here's the link to the chart showing the points needed for an upgrade: http://www.starwood.com/preferredguest/starpoints/upgrade_nights.html
I believe the woman at the Dolphin was mistaken, as you certainly CAN upgrade to Club level using points! Perhaps a call to Starwood again is in order. (Hope you don't get the same customer APATHY woman!)
It really is in AT&T's hands to credit the points to your Starwood account, so I'd do a little breathing down the necks of THEIR customer service personnel.
Good luck - and I sure hope your experience at the Dolphin is MUCH better than what you are anticipating at this moment!
I believe the woman at the Dolphin was mistaken, as you certainly CAN upgrade to Club level using points! Perhaps a call to Starwood again is in order. (Hope you don't get the same customer APATHY woman!)
It really is in AT&T's hands to credit the points to your Starwood account, so I'd do a little breathing down the necks of THEIR customer service personnel.
Good luck - and I sure hope your experience at the Dolphin is MUCH better than what you are anticipating at this moment!
WiscMomof2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2001
- Messages
- 1,210
Boy, I sure hope I have better luck than you Fargoman2. I too have been on a "point chase" trying to gather enough points to upgrade to club level for our trip. I'm disappointed to say the least to hear that I may have trouble doing this. Has anybody here actually used their points for a room upgrade and if so did you experience any of the troubles that Fargoman2 is reporting?
Dead End Kid
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2001
- Messages
- 41
I too was in a "point chasing" mode to get our family a Club Level upgrade at the Swan for our 5 night stay in July. I got the AMX card and quickly reached my point goal. However, when I called in early June to secure the upgrade, with points, I got a variety of responses from Starwood and the Swan (see previous posts in this thread).
Bottom line was that I needed to call Starwood 5 days ahead to upgrade using points. They would NOT make the upgrade any earlier. My other choice was to be bold and daring and try to get a "free" upgrade when we arrived.
We really wanted the Club Level and I was more than willing to "pay" for it with points, but I didn't think there would be much of a chance if I waited (especially when a Swan CM told me there was only 1 non-smoking room left on Club Level). Yet after making many, many phone calls I knew that was all I could do.
After such a frustrating experience in early June, I wasn't all that hopeful, but I called Starwood early Tuesday morning, 5 days before our arrival. I spoke with a very nice young woman who made the change for me with no problems. We booked the rooms thru Dreams at the gov rate. The Starwood person told me we had the same gov rate and that we would be on the Club Level. She even offered to send me an email confirmation of the change (which I agreed was a good idea).
The confirmation arrived within 20 minutes. All was correct, except for one small problem - the initial reservation said 2 adults, 2 children. The ugrade listed only 2 adults in the room.
The email also said if there were any questions or problems to call Westin (the Swan is a Westin hotel) directly - an 800 # was supplied.
Instead, I decided to call the Swan directly. I explained my problem and was then transferred to the one staff person who handles Dreams reservations. I told her everything was fine, I had been upgraded with my points, but somewhere along the line they lost my kids! I just wanted to make certain we had a room with 2 queen beds and I also wanted to make sure the hotel knew I had two teenagers along. This CM assured me everything was in order.
We leave on Saturday and will be checking-in on Sunday. I'll be bringing along ALL of my emails and hoping there isn't a problem. I promise to let you all know what happens.
But I guess the moral of the story is not to be discouraged with the point upgrades! I really was feeling low about it in June, but I followed the rules, called 5 days ahead of time and was able to make the upgrade for a July vacation. And July is a very busy time of the year.
Hope everyone gets the type of room they are hoping for to make their vacation even better!
Dead End Kid
Bottom line was that I needed to call Starwood 5 days ahead to upgrade using points. They would NOT make the upgrade any earlier. My other choice was to be bold and daring and try to get a "free" upgrade when we arrived.
We really wanted the Club Level and I was more than willing to "pay" for it with points, but I didn't think there would be much of a chance if I waited (especially when a Swan CM told me there was only 1 non-smoking room left on Club Level). Yet after making many, many phone calls I knew that was all I could do.
After such a frustrating experience in early June, I wasn't all that hopeful, but I called Starwood early Tuesday morning, 5 days before our arrival. I spoke with a very nice young woman who made the change for me with no problems. We booked the rooms thru Dreams at the gov rate. The Starwood person told me we had the same gov rate and that we would be on the Club Level. She even offered to send me an email confirmation of the change (which I agreed was a good idea).
The confirmation arrived within 20 minutes. All was correct, except for one small problem - the initial reservation said 2 adults, 2 children. The ugrade listed only 2 adults in the room.
The email also said if there were any questions or problems to call Westin (the Swan is a Westin hotel) directly - an 800 # was supplied.
Instead, I decided to call the Swan directly. I explained my problem and was then transferred to the one staff person who handles Dreams reservations. I told her everything was fine, I had been upgraded with my points, but somewhere along the line they lost my kids! I just wanted to make certain we had a room with 2 queen beds and I also wanted to make sure the hotel knew I had two teenagers along. This CM assured me everything was in order.
We leave on Saturday and will be checking-in on Sunday. I'll be bringing along ALL of my emails and hoping there isn't a problem. I promise to let you all know what happens.
But I guess the moral of the story is not to be discouraged with the point upgrades! I really was feeling low about it in June, but I followed the rules, called 5 days ahead of time and was able to make the upgrade for a July vacation. And July is a very busy time of the year.
Hope everyone gets the type of room they are hoping for to make their vacation even better!
Dead End Kid
WiscMomof2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2001
- Messages
- 1,210
Dead End Kid
Glad to hear everything worked out for you for your club upgrade. That's good news. I guess I'll follow the same strategy and hope for the best. Either way I can't wait to go. BTW I just noticed my countdown timer is going wacky. I only wish I was leaving that soon.
Glad to hear everything worked out for you for your club upgrade. That's good news. I guess I'll follow the same strategy and hope for the best. Either way I can't wait to go. BTW I just noticed my countdown timer is going wacky. I only wish I was leaving that soon.
Good advice to be persistent. I will call Wed. July 24 and see what happens. I'm trying to take a more positive approach and perhaps my results will improve. Good luck on your trip Dead End Kid!
By the way, I got a response from AT&T customer service (concerning the 2,000 points they were supposed to award me for subscribing to online billing) and the e-mail said, "Sorry I can't help you with your request (it wasn't a request, it was a DEMAND!) If you'd like more information about enrolling in the Starwood program..blah ...blah..blah.."
Obviously, the customer service person there thinks I'm a complete moron that simply "imagined" I had signed up to get 2,000 points or that I am some sort of scam artist who whittles his meaningless time away by trying to dupe companies into awarding erroneous points. GIVE ME A BREAK!
Anyway, I've just chalked it up to the way big business works in the 21st century. Remember those ancient times when "the customer is always right?"
By the way, I got a response from AT&T customer service (concerning the 2,000 points they were supposed to award me for subscribing to online billing) and the e-mail said, "Sorry I can't help you with your request (it wasn't a request, it was a DEMAND!) If you'd like more information about enrolling in the Starwood program..blah ...blah..blah.."
Obviously, the customer service person there thinks I'm a complete moron that simply "imagined" I had signed up to get 2,000 points or that I am some sort of scam artist who whittles his meaningless time away by trying to dupe companies into awarding erroneous points. GIVE ME A BREAK!
Anyway, I've just chalked it up to the way big business works in the 21st century. Remember those ancient times when "the customer is always right?"
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