Starwoods Points for the Dolphin/Swan?

[ndepaola]

Hi all,

I'll be in hotels for work for the next ten weeks , and should accumulate PLENTY of points for the couple of nights we're staying at Disney after our cruise next April.

So my question is this: should I book the room now the normal way, so that I know I have a room or do you think its safe to wait until I actually have the points? Once the room is reserved, can I change the reservation so that its a points reservation?

If it matters, I'll hit gold membership by the end of December and platinum by the end of Jan/early Feb. And trust me, the points will be there - the sticker shock for the Sheraton in midtown Manhattan is beyond imagining.

Thanks!

 

[SteveH]

So my question is this: should I book the room now the normal way, so that I know I have a room or do you think its safe to wait until I actually have the points? Once the room is reserved, can I change the reservation so that its a points reservation?

Yes I am pretty sure you can. We had enough points for all but our last two nights when we booked, we since have enough for the two nights with points. Wife is calling to set the last two nights paid by points. Staff at S/D are great and will confirm this when you call for a reservation.

 

[PrincessDez]

Yes, you can. We did this a few years back. Starwood is extremely helpful! Especially once you become a Platinum member. Just reserve your room, and call back once you have all of your points. Just make sure it is within the cancellation period for your original reservations.

Regardless, it is not hard to book a room there. I would also suggest spending an extra 1000 points a night for a better room. Between that and your Platinum membership, you may end up in a suite.

I LOVE Starwood. They are good to their members!

Have a great trip.

 

[rodkenrich]

,

 

[ndepaola]

Thanks all!

It definite makes it easier to travel for work knowing that it will all add up to a few free nights at Disney.

Thanks for the info - I'll book the rooms now! We'll be there right at the tail end of school vacation week - so better safe than sorry.

 

[NancyIL]

Remember that if you're staying 4 nights on points, you get the 5th night free!

 

[vettechick99]

Sheesh. I just became a member this year because we went to one of their resorts in Mexico. Well even though we spent over $1k on the room, it only let me count that much. So I officially have just over 2,000 points.

Anyway, when I saw this post I ran over to see how many points the S/D was per night. 10,000! I'm a long way away from getting even just one night!

How else do you guys earn points? I don't travel for work so if I earn them it has to be another way. ?

 

[PrincessDez]

Sheesh. I just became a member this year because we went to one of their resorts in Mexico. Well even though we spent over $1k on the room, it only let me count that much. So I officially have just over 2,000 points.

Anyway, when I saw this post I ran over to see how many points the S/D was per night. 10,000! I'm a long way away from getting even just one night!

How else do you guys earn points? I don't travel for work so if I earn them it has to be another way. ?

Get the Starwood American Express card. We use it to pay all of our bills every month and then just pay the $$$ to the card that we would have used on our bills. I believe we get 2 points for every dollar. Also you get more points per dollar when you stay at a Starwood resort and pay with the American Express card. I am a total point w*%re.............

 

[ndepaola]

Just a quick update. After my original post I booked a room the regular way with my CC.

Just called and changed it over to a points reservation with absolutely no problem at all. Called the Starwood numbers though - not the hotel directly.

 

[duffy]

I got their AMEX card, and got 10,000 points just for getting it.

I used the card for a few months, eventually I went to the spg.com website, played around with dates for both the Swan and the Dolphin, and got an option of 3 nights at the Dolphin for $60/night + 4,000 points per night. I had almost 12,000 points, I paid $30 for 1,000 points, and that gave me the necessary 12,000 points.

So I'm booked for Feb. 6th thru the 9th at the Dolphin, for $60/night.