NEW-STARWOOD PREFERRED GUEST-Questions/Answers

[lvinay]

I too have been having a terrible time getting these bonus points. I have received two e-mails from ATT telling me they would be posted within 2 weeks, but those deadlines have come and gone each time. I have been getting the points for paying online (about 49 or 50 each time, depending on my bill). Has anyone been successful in getting the 2000 bonus points?
Linda Vinay

 

[lvinay]

Hi all,
We just returned from the Swan. We had a great time, I'll post about the renovated rooms later. My question concerns the amount of points needed for an upgrade to club level. We were automatically upgraded to a balcony room (garden view) due to our SPG gold level, and I requested a renovated room, which I got. I then requested club level, which I "paid" for with points. When I spoke with Starwood 5 days earlier, they were supposed to have noted it on my reservation, and I was told it would "cost" 750 points a night. At the Swan, the desk clerk, Rosalina, told me that it is 1250 points to upgrade to club. 750 would get me a balcony (which I already had). 1250 is also what it costs to upgrade to a studio, but she claimed there was no way to have both a studio and club privies! I was sure she was incorrect, but since there was no renovated studio available, choose to only ask for the club.
Anyway, my question is, does a club upgrade cost 750 or 1250 pts a night?
Thanks, Linda Vinay

 

[ozziewags]

I remember seeing it too, but I did not sign up, so I am no help. Did you try a 'search' yet? I have had success in this search engine trying to find something I had read and didn't copy or save. Also, several of us had signed up for a different promo(getting 4000 points for getting an Amex cc) and had difficulty getting the points. We had to email and call several times until it finally went through. Don't give up; I am sure others signed up for this promo too. Good luck.

 

[ozziewags]

Linda,
You are correct. It is 750 points for CL. Guess we need to take the info with us for the CM's!! See below from the SPG site:

Starpoints Required Options

750 Specialty 1 upgrade*(see 1 below)


1,250 Specialty 2 upgrade*(this would be preferred view)


3,000 Suite upgrade in a Category 1 hotel*


4,000 Suite upgrade in a Category 2 hotel*


7,000 Suite upgrade in a Category 3 hotel


10,000 Suite upgrade in a Category 4 hotel


10,000 - 14,000** *Suite upgrade in a Category 5 hotel


14,000 - 20,000** *Suite upgrade in a Category 6 hotel



Contact your Customer Contact Center to Redeem Starpoints for a Room Upgrade.

¹A Specialty Room is defined as a Club Room, Westin Guest Office, Corporate Club Room, Smart Room, or a room on a floor that may include Club Lounge Services or Concierge Services. In some resort locations, upgraded rooms will be based on preferred view or room style offered. Not available at all resorts.

 

[livsea2]

I have called twice to upgrade to Club Level. Both times I've been told it is 750 points for an upgrade to balcony 1250 for club level. This makes sense because if you check the reservation prices a balcony room is less expensive than club room.

Ozziewags, I've reread the SPG page several times and found that it doesn't specify wether club room is a specialty 1 or specialty 2 upgrade. The important thing to note is that the employees awarding the upgrade say it's 1250 point to upgrade to club level. That's what counts.

I need 350 more points before my trip to get the upgrades I want. Anyone willing to loan me a few?

 

[disneywith6kids]

lvinay-Do you remember when you signed up?

Also I did do a search and looked for online billing. It brought up the Swan/Dolphin thread and this thread. I searched through every page around the dates of June 2002 and didn't find anything

 

[lvinay]

I signed up in July, and have paid Aug, Sept, and now Oct's bills online.
I received an e-mail from ATT with a telephone number to call about the points
1800 532-8400. I called and spoke to Gary, who was fillng out a form to send to
the awards dept. to request that the points be posted asap.
I too had a similar problem with Amex 's 4000 points, but once it was resolved they
gave me an additional 1000 points for my troubles!

As for the 750 vs 1250 pts for the CL upgrade, I plan to wait and see how many they
actually charge me, then I can call Starwood to double check. We checked out yesterday, so I don't know when it will be posted. The points I earned for my BIL's room (he checked out Sunday) have already been posted.

Hope the ATT number helps those of you still waiting for your bonus.

Linda Vinay

 

[Dead End Kid]

I was wondering if anyone has ever used Starwood Points to pay for free nights at the Swan/Dolphin? We are thinking about a Feb trip and naturally want to stay at the Swan. We did Club Level with points this past July - it is 750 per night, by the way- and are totally spoiled by this hotel.

We are thinking of staying 6 nights at the Swan Right now we have nearly 13,000 points. I know we need 10,000 for a free night. If we want that to be Club Level will it cost another 750 points?

I would also be using points to upgrade to Club Level for the other five nights of our stay. Thanks to the Starwood AMX card (and the upcoming holidays) I know I'll have more than enough points to cover it.

I an unsure how to make these reservations. Do I need two separate reservations - one for the "free" night and one for the other nights? Or can I just book all six nights and then when we arrive at the Swan tell the front desk CM that I want to pay for one of my nights with points? Is that allowed?

I know you can upgrade with points at the front desk, but it is unclear if you can "pay" for the room with points at check-in.

To further complicate matters we will most likely be booking the room thru DreamsUnlimited. We qualify for the government discount and at this time there are NO discount rooms available via the Starwood website. However, Dreams does have those great rates, so we will be using them.

Will that make any difference when trying to redeem the 10,000 points for the free night?

And finally, can anyone give me any info on the Jr. Suites? As I said, we love the Swan, but find the rooms a tad small for our family - we have two teenage sons. Is there a lot of extra room in the suites and what is the cost? I've looked at the pictures on the website and confess I can't really tell. And they all say there is a "murphy bed" in the sitting area. Isn't that the type that comes out of the wall? Would my two sons - age 13 and 16 be able to sleep on it? Or better still, could we get a rollaway in the suite so they wouldn't have to share a bed? We can't get the rollaway in the regular room - we already asked about it this summer and were told there wasn't room (and I have to agree - there really isn't).

Thanks in advance for any assistance in these matters!

Dead End Kid

 

[ozziewags]

Dead End Kid,
Can't help with the point question, but I have a Jr. Suite reserved at the Swan for Christmas, as I have two older kids also. The Swan is a large L shaped room with a king bed and a queen sofa bed. We asked for a complimentary roll away. The Dolphin is the hotel with the murphy bed. I do think the Jr. Suites at the Dolphin are larger. I think they have a King(or 2 q) a sofa bed and a murphy bed. And the room is actually two rooms, a parlor and a BR. I have a link that shows the set up.

http://www.swandolphinmeetings.com/meetings/s_suites.htm

 

[Dead End Kid]

I appreciate the information. I too had seen this same room configuration on the website - I just wasn't sure if this was the "smallest" suite.

What about price? Is it very expensive? Any discounts available? We have Disney Club (which is also an entertainment card), as well as Annual Passes. And my wife is a government employee, so we usually pay a fantastic rate of $129 per night for a standard room ($143/tax). We had thought about going for two rooms but then wondered if the suite would be more reasonable.

As for points, I thought I had read it was 10,000 points to upgrade to the suite. And I think that is for each night! If so, what does it cost, in points, to get a free night at a suite - and how do you go about booking it???? Anyone know???

Dead End Kid

 

[ozziewags]

I had a teacher's rate of $249/n for the Jr. suite, including CL. But when I went platinum with my SPG card, I got it for $129! And it includes CL. I called the Swan directly. If $249 is govt. rate with CL, it must be less w/o CL. As for points, yes it is 10,000 per night to upgrade to a suite. I think you have to call spg for that. It is also possible to use cash and points if it is available on your dates. That is a great deal. I don't think you can do any better than the teacher/gov/nurse rate!!(except for cash and points!) Hope this was helpful.

 

[MouseKids]

I stay in hotels quite often, but book through priceline. Sometimes I end up with a Sheraton hotel -- can I use these stays to earn points? Please share your experiences. Thanks!

 

[Muffy]

Absolutly, We got MOWC a few years ago from Priceline and I got my marriot points by giving my marriot membership number!

 

[Dead End Kid]

Wow - those rates for the Jr. Suite are fantastic! I hope your family has a wonderful time.

We are only Gold status members, so I guess we wouldn't qualify for that low a rate. I'll have to call the Swan directly and see what they can do for us.

Thanks so much for all the info.

Dead End Kid

 

[jgates]

Ozziewags-

I believe the difference in rate would occur when you become platinum because a plantinum member receives Club Level automatically. Consequently you should be paying the room rate for a room of same type w/o Club but still receiving Club. Make sense?

 

[ozziewags]

You got it. I became platinum when they matched another card I have! I never asked the rate for different views, etc. But I did ask about rates for CL. It was $189 for a reg. room w/ CL. $60 seems a bit high for CL privledges. I also think I saw someone say the balcony view for teacher/etc. rates was $174. Not sure.

Carol

 

[disnurse]

OK now I'm really confused. CL shuld be 750 points. Swan or dolphin are not listed as 5 or 6 star that require 1250 points. Also on spg.com it states you can upgrade online but can't figure out how to do this. has anyone tried with sucess?
Oh yeah and everymonth I get +500 bonus points for: SPG AMEX CREDIT CARD STAY BNS. This has happened 4 consecutive months and the only time we stayed anywhere were 2 free fridays.

 

[WolfpackFan]

I'm not sure who has had success of being upgraded to SPG Gold by getting the SPG AmEx card, but I just called and politely asked that this be done and was turned down. I was told the only way to get Gold is to stay 10 nights, etc. Just thought I'd share this since it has been brought up numerous times here. If anyone does have luck doing this please share how you went about it.

 

[ozziewags]

I only got gold spg when I called and said I had another gold hotel card and they matched it. I also had the Amex cc, but didn't know they would upgrade you to gold for having it. I guess it depends on who answers the phone when you call, sort of like CRO!

 

[MouseKids]

Thanks for the good news about stays booked through Priceline. I was also wondering how long it generally takes for points to show up on the website account. Thanks again.