Starwood Preferred Guest or SPG as its commonly know is the loyalty program of the hotel Group of Starwood Hotels and Resorts. The SPG currency is know as Starpoints and the current program has three levels of status plus the new SPG Pro for professionals.
SPG claims to give the best rewards and benefits in the industry and it is true that given the high quality of the Starwood portfolio this is possible. Value of benefits is of course always how it is perceived and very dependent on the cash comparisons and how much your points have cost you to earn them in the first place.
As a member at any level you will earn starpoints on most cash bookings with increased points earned per US$ as you move up the SPG Tiers. There are some exceptions, most notably stays and rewards at the Designer Collection which we discuss below.
SPG Tiers and how to achieve each SPG membership level:
- Starwood Preferred Guest – Just join to receive the basic SPG rewards and collect points.
- Starwood Preferred Guest Gold – Complete 10 Stays or accumulate 25 nights annually.
- Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum – Complete 25 Stays or accumulate 50 nights annually.
- The New SPG Pro – Exclusively for Professionals who arrange travel and meeting spaces for work colleagues. Personal membership of a professional body is required – For more details see the SPG Pro Page FAQ.
SPG Membership benefits:
- Starwood Preferred Guest Benefits – Earn 2 points per US$ spent. Redeem points for nights with no black out dates. In-Room Internet when booking direct. Complimentary In Room Bottled Water.
- Starwood Preferred Guest Gold Benefits– Earn 3 points per US$ spent. Redeem points for nights with no black out dates. In-Room Internet when booking direct. Complimentary In Room Bottled Water. 4pm Late Check-Out. Enhanced Room upgrade at Check-In. Gift of 250 Bonus Starpoints (125 at Aloft, Element, Four Points) or Free Drink.
- Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum Benefits– Earn 3-4 points per US$ spent. Redeem points for nights with no black out dates. Upgraded complimentary Internet. Complimentary In Room Bottled Water. 4pm Late Check-Out. Best available Room upgrade at Check-In including suites. Gift of 500 bonus Starpoints (250 at Aloft, Element, Four Points), Local Gift or Continental Breakfast.
- The New SPG Pro Benefits – As above based on the level of membership earned through your SPG pro bookings.
Design collection Starpoints earning and rewards stays.
Points will be earned at a rate of 2,3,4 points respectively based on membership level. Blackout dates including March apply to reward bookings. Complimentary Internet is offered to all levels when booking direct. Welcome gifts will only include bonus Starpoints at 0, 250 and 500 dependent on membership levels and no other alternative choice is available. None of the other benefits mentioned above apply to Design Collection bookings.
SPG Lifetime Status:
Lifetime status with Starwood Preferred Guest is available in two variants. Lifetime gold achieved when you have spent 5 years as an elite member and accumulated 250 nights. Lifetime Platinum membership is available to you once you have spent 10 years as a platinum member and stayed over 500 nights.
Redeeming Starpoints for free nights:
SPG reward stays start at 3000 Starpoints per night for a category 1 hotel and go up to 35,000 points per night for a category 7 Hotel. Starwood category 1 hotels are generally from the Sheraton, Four Points and A Loft brands. As the typical price per night rises then so does the category therefore mid range hotels will be spread across all categories and the 5 Stars resorts among the St Regis and Luxury Collections will be category 7.
Redeem 5 reward nights and the 5 is essentially free. The points cost when booking five nights will be lowered to the equivalent of four nights.
Other ways to use your SPG Starpoints:
- Instant Awards – Use your points in hotel for dinning and spa rewards.
- Room Upgrades – Redeem points at check-in or online for extravagant room upgrades including Suites.
- Cash and Points – Combined Starpoints and cash to get the rooms you want faster.
- Flights and Travel – Transfer Starpoints into over 30 Airline partners or use to book flights with SPG Flights direct with availability on over 150 airlines.
- Car hire – Redeem points for car hire with Avis and Sixt rentals.
- SPG Moments – Use your points to indulge in one of a kind VIP experiences from concert tickets, Backstage passes, front row seat sporting events and celebrity meet and greats.
- Transfer Out – Transfer points to other loyalty schemes.
- Gift – Starpoints can be gifted to other SPG members or even donated to charity.
More ways to collect SPG Starpoints:
- Credit and Charge Cards – You can transfer in American Express Member Reward points or Dinners club points as well as earning points with any of SPG`s branded credit cards.
- Earn Starpoints with Selected partners – Points can be earned when presenting your membership card with selected partners including Avis car rental.
- Flying with Delta or Emirates – Collect starpoints when flying on selected Delta and Emirates flights.
- Hotel Partners – Earn Starpoints when staying a hotel partners including Caesars Palace and Planet Hollywood.
- Earn with Uber – Collect 1 Starpoint per US$ spent with Uber.
Remember we always recommend that if possible it is beneficial to be a member of a few Hotel loyalty schemes such as Hilton HHonors and IHG Rewards so you can make the most of offers and get the best value without being tied into a brand.
SPG Links:
Starwood Preferred Guest special offers and related articles:
- Earn 2x and 3x Starpoints with SPG More this Autumn 2016
Starwood Preferred guest has recently announced its latest bonus points promotion called SPG More. SPG Members will earn double points on stays during weekdays and triple points during weekend stays.
To participate in the promotion SPG ...
