Starwood Preferred Guest vs. Hilton Hhonors

[sanibelover]

We are going to be doing some major renovations and would like to pay with a credit card to rack up points, etc. I can't seem to decide which one to use, Starwoods or Hilton Hhonors. We have 3 children so Embassy Suites works well for us (Hilton), BUT we love the Swan and the Dolphin (Starwoods). I love the fact that if a room is available at a Starwoods property, you can get it unlike Hilton properties at which it is nearly impossible to get a rewards room sometimes. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!!

 

[ducklite]

We are going to be doing some major renovations and would like to pay with a credit card to rack up points, etc. I can't seem to decide which one to use, Starwoods or Hilton Hhonors. We have 3 children so Embassy Suites works well for us (Hilton), BUT we love the Swan and the Dolphin (Starwoods). I love the fact that if a room is available at a Starwoods property, you can get it unlike Hilton properties at which it is nearly impossible to get a rewards room sometimes. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!!

We prefer Hilton Honors because they offer a mutual fund account, and unless something has recently changed, Starwood doesn't.

So my DH and I can both rack up points in one account even when we are staying without one another which allows us to consistantly maintain at least a gold level.

Anne

 

[chrissyk]

We like SPG because you can get 5 free nights at the S+D for 40K points. That's a good deal! Right now, we're getting 50% more points for Oct. and Nov. too. They sometimes send out targeted offers like that. I think that they usually offer 10 or 12K free points when you sign up for the card and use it for the first time. Also, we always try to get our $30 annual fee credited back, and it usually works. Once you have the credit card, you can call up and get upgraded to SPG Gold level, too.

 

[NancyIL]

If the majority of your points are going to be earned by credit card use rather than hotel stays, the Starwood AMEX is the best choice. Hilton hotels require more hotel points for free nights than Starwood hotels. If you want to use your points for free flights, 20,000 SPG points = 25,000 airline miles on most major airlines.

 

[shamrock30]

We prefer Hilton Honors because they offer a mutual fund account, and unless something has recently changed, Starwood doesn't.

So my DH and I can both rack up points in one account even when we are staying without one another which allows us to consistantly maintain at least a gold level.

Anne

Unfortunately, Hilton stopped letting people get mutual fund accounts a while ago. Existing mutual accounts are still valid, but they won't open new ones.

 

[lifeasahampster]

Hello,
Does anyone know the points to dollar spent ratio for Starwood is? How many nights do you need to stay to get any of these benifits? And what benifits do you really get? Thanks!

 

[disneysteve]

I know this wasn't one of the two choices in the OP but have you looked at Marrriott Rewards? We love their program and card and have earned quite a bit of free travel in just a few years. Marriott has a nice range of properties from budget (Fairfield Inn) to family (Springhill Suites, Residence Inn) to luxury (JW Marriott). Free nites start at 7,500 points and as low as 5,000 points/nite on a multi-nite stay. We find we rack up points pretty quickly between stays and CC use.

ETA: We've never had a problem getting a rewards room and you can book them online. Plus, you get a 20% points bonus if you have a Marriott CC. They upgrade you automatically to Silver Rewards status.

 

[In Luv with Disney]

Hello,
Does anyone know the points to dollar spent ratio for Starwood is? How many nights do you need to stay to get any of these benifits? And what benifits do you really get? Thanks!

Maybe I can help!

For every dollar you spend on your Starwood AMEX, you get 1 Starwood Preferred Guest Point (StarPoint). To join SPG, all you need to do is go to SPG.com. Anyone can join! SPG includes the following hotels: Four Points by Sheraton, Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis & Luxury Collection. You can get a room at Four Points for as little as 3,000 points! And like another poster said, you can stay at WDW Swan or Dolphin for 10,000 points a night. Oh, and if you stay 4 nights, the 5th night is always free! HTH...

 

[lifeasahampster]

Hey! Thanks for the help. What if you are just a member of SPG and do not pay with an Starwood Amex? Do you receive points at all? Or just fewer? Thanks for your help!

 

[sanibelover]

Thanks for all of the input. We have the Starwoods AMEX, but I'm not thrilled about the $30 fee. I got it for the sign up bonus and our trip to the SWAN in September. I will call and try to get the fee waived. If not, I may have to cancel it. I also have the Hilton Amex and VISA. Wish you could get a VISA with Starwoods - so many places don't take AMEX - like the grocery store I always shop at...........

I can just call and get upgraded to GOLD?? That's cool. I'll have to try it.

 

[In Luv with Disney]

Hey! Thanks for the help. What if you are just a member of SPG and do not pay with an Starwood Amex? Do you receive points at all? Or just fewer? Thanks for your help!

If you are a member of SPG and don't have the SPG AMEX, you get points by staying at Starwood hotels.

 

[robinb]

My DH is HHonors Diamond and SPG Gold. Even though he is a lower level at SPG, they usually treat him nicer than Hilton. He *aways* gets upgraded at SPG (can you say suites at the Dolphin and the Kauai Sheraton?), while he rarely gets upgraded at Hilton. BUT Hilton will usually put him on the execultive floor lounge access. If I were to pick only ONE hotel rewards program, I think it would be SPG.

 

[mill4023]

I know this thread is a year old, but I'm trying to decide between these two programs also. I actually just got a Starwood Amex because it sounded like the best deal with the things like 5 nights for the point cost of 4 and being able to combine points and cash for stays and being able to transfer 20k points into 25k airline miles. Plus, I'd love to be able to stay at the Swan or Dolphin.

But then I was thinking about the fact that we have 4 kids and Hilton seems to have a lot more options for families of 6 without having to get 2 rooms. Places like Doubletree Suites and Embassy Suites. So it seems like Starwood would be great for DW and I, but not as useful for free rooms for family vacations.

It seems like the value you get for your spending is about the same. Starwood Amex:
1 point for each dollar
10,000 points for 1 night in a hotel that costs $250 to $350 per night.
So about 2.5 to 3.5 cents for each dollar you spend.

Hilton Amex:
5 points per dollar at supermarkets and gas stations
3 points everywhere else
4 points average for each dollar you spend.
I did the math on the points needed for hotels in certain price ranges and it came out to being worth 0.5 to 0.8 cents per point.
So about 2 to 4 cents for each dollar you spend.

Pros of Hilton: more options, especially for a family of 6
Pros of Starwood: easier to redeem rewards without blackout dates, ability to transfer points to miles.

Any opinions?

 

[robinb]

I guess it depends on how you think you will use your hotel points. For instance my rule is to never use ours for anything in the Continental United States. We're going to Hong Kong and Tokyo next year on airline miles and hotel points.

If you think that you will use your points at suite-type hotels then I would go with Hilton. There are Sheraton Suites, but there are fewer than Hilton's Embassy Suites, Doubletree Suites and Homewood Suites. I think you'll get more "bang for your points" with Hilton and if you are not a frequent traveler the difference between HHonors Diamond and SPG Platinum doesn't make a difference.