I’m Letting All Of My SPG Suite Night Awards Expire Again This Year

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And, I’m wondering if I’m crazy enough to pick them again in 2017.  I’m letting most of my Suite Night Awards from Starwood Preferred Guest expire again this year.

For those unfamiliar, Suite Night Awards were part of SPG changes back in 2012.  These were a way to differentiate the Platinum members who qualified by staying 50 nights instead of 25 stays.  It was a way to raise your hand and point out which reservations were more important, giving you a bump in the queue for suite upgrades.

They weren’t a guarantee of a suite.  And, they underperformed moderate expectations.  One of the first indications that they weren’t working well was SPG extending the expiration dates.  I had some expire in 2013 and 2014 as well.

In 2015 SPG tried to tweak the benefit by giving 50-night Platinum members other choices.  At first, I was pretty happy they were tweaking things.  However, since the value of the alternatives was, at most, $100, Suite Night Awards was still the top choice for many.  Given those choices, I elected for Suite Night Awards again in 2015 and 2016.

I had more bumps and bruises in 2015, especially with some confusion at the Arion in Greece.  We had another bump earlier this year when a property upgraded me using Suite Night Awards, but did so instead of giving me connecting rooms.  The connecting rooms were key since we were traveling with our children and ultimately had to spend a bunch of time at the front desk undoing the upgrade.

I never did get those 4 Suite Night Awards deposited back into my account.  My account still shows 6 available, but I actually didn’t successfully redeem any in 2016.

SPG Suite Night Awards

SPG announced new benefits this year for 50-night Platinum members.  They are:

  • A free night at any SPG property (up to category 5).
  • 5 Elite Qualifying Nights-a shortcut to elite status.
  • A free 5-day car rental with Silvercar.
  • 40% off a hotel bed (Westin Heavenly Bed, and hopefully a new one!).

What To Do For 2017?

That leaves me wondering what I should select for 2017.  I already have lifetime Platinum status with SPG, so elite qualifying nights have no use for me.  I don’t want a Westin Heavenly Bed or a rental from Silvercar.  I’m trying to figure out if I can get more value out of 1 free night or if I stick with Suite Night Awards again.

Is It Worth Giving Up A Free Night To Have The Possibility of Suite Upgrades In 2017?

The post I’m Letting All Of My SPG Suite Night Awards Expire Again This Year was published first on Pizza in Motion

9 Comments

  1. I’d take either the free night or the 5-day Silver Car rental — I’d value each of those at around $200 or so. Since you say you don’t want the car rental, go for the free night. You’ll probably figure out a use for it.

  2. To our author, I would like to ask how many comp’d Platinum suite upgrades (total nights and properties) you received over the course of the year? If you received many without using SNAs, then I’d say it’s a wash…and worked out fine. If you didn’t receive many, then you should choose another benefit.

  3. No. It’s not the definition of insanity and Einstein never wrote of said it. It’s. Not described that way in psychology either. I hope people she finally stop repeating this.

  4. 111 nights & only 6 suite upgrades? That’s terrible odds for a top-tier member! Guess I’d go with free-car or free night.

    1. Happy birthday, Maureen! I wouldn’t go free car, might go free night. But, obviously, if I can upgrade only one family trip to a suite, it’s well worth it to take the upgrades. Decisions…..

  5. How can you not score suite upgrades at the St. Regis Rome, St. Regis Florence, not even the Danelli? I run out of my suite upgrades by the latest in September of each year and always reserve them for Italy where it counts. It must be that you can only book the family trip in the summer or during school holidays.

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