[ANALYSIS] Starwood Preferred Guest
The Starwood Hotels & Resorts has about 1,175 properties in nearly 100 countries worldwide with the following brands: Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, St. Regis, Le Méridien, Aloft – a Vision of W Hotels and Element by Westin.
The loyalty program associated with Starwood Hotels & Resorts is the Starwood Preferred Guest (“SPG”) program where you can earn Starpoints. You earn 2 Starpoints as a regular member or 3 Starpoints as a Gold or Platinum member for every $1 US spent (converted to $US for point calculation purposes depending on where you stay) depending on which elite level you have.
The reward redemption are as follows:
- Category 1 = 2,000 – 3,000
- Category 2 = 3,000 – 4,000
- Category 3 = 7,000
- Category 4 = 10,000
- Category 5 = 12,000 – 16,000
- Category 6 = 20,000 – 25,000
- Category 7 = 30,000 – 35,000
*If you redeem 4 nights, get the 5th night free
Another excellent use of your points is to transfer them to frequent flyer programs. Below is the list of frequent flyer programs that you can transfer to:
- Aeromexico Club Premier 1:1
- Aeroplan/Air Canada 1:1
- Air Berlin 1:1
- Air China Companion 1:1
- Air New Zealand & Air Points 65:1
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan 1:1
- Alitalia MilleMiglia 1:1
- All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club 1:1
- American Airlines AAdvantage 1:1
- Asia Miles 1:1
- Asiana Airlines 1:1
- British Airways Executive Club 1:1
- China Eastern Airlines 1:1
- China Southern Airlines’ Sky Pearl Club 1:1
- Delta Air Lines SkyMiles 1:1
- Emirates Skywards 1:1
- Etihad Airways 1:1
- Flying Blue 1:1
- Gol Smiles 2:1
- Hainan Airlines 1:1
- Hawaiian Airlines 1:1
- Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank 1:1
- LAN Airlines LANPASS Kms 1:1.5
- Miles and More 1:1
- Qatar Airways 1:1
- Saudi Arabian Airlines Alfursan 1:1
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer 1:1
- Thai Airways International Royal Orchid Plus 1:1
- US Airways Dividend Miles 1:1
- United Mileage Plus 2:1
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club 1:1
- Virgin Australia 1:1
Keep in mind that for every 20,000 Starpoints transferred within the same transaction, Starwood will automatically add another 5,000 points of the program that you are transferring to.
You can also jump-start your SPG account with the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card, which has the following highlights:
- $120 annual fee
- $50 for supplemental cardholders
- Earn 20,000 sign up bonus points after spend $500 in the first three months
- Earn 1 points for every $1 spent on all purchases
- Receive a Free Weekend Night Award when you spend $40,000 each year (based on the anniversary of your card)
- Automatic upgrade to Starwood Gold Preferred Guest membership when you reach $30,000 in purchases each year (based on the anniversary of your card)
I am a big fan of the SPG program and there is a lot of value that can be had if you leverage your points carefully.