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I’ve been digging into the Starwood hotel program because of the once-a-year 30,000 point bonus on the Starwood 30,000 point personal and 30,000 point business card. This offer ends on September 3, 2013.
30,000 Starwood Points Ends on September 3, 2012
HOW TO EARN & USE STARWOOD POINTS:
Part 1: Earning, Transferring, and Preventing Your Points From Expiring
Part 2: 11 Ways to Use Your Starwood Points
Part 3: The 9 Best Airline Transfer Partners
Part 4: The Best Keep Secret of Nights & Flights
Part 5: Starwood Elite Status
Part 6: Regular Starwood Hotel Redemptions
Link: Regular Redemption Chart
The simplest way to use Starwood hotel points are for hotel redemptions. You can book them easily online and can pay in full using points. You don’t pay taxes on award nights when you use your Starwood points, though some hotels may charge a resort fee.
Starwood hotels have no blackout dates, so if there is a standard room available for sale, you can book it using points!
Hotel Redemptions Start at 2,000 Starwood Points
Hotels are divided into 7 categories. However, some hotel categories cost more points on weekdays and some hotel categories (category 5 & above) charge a different number of points depending on whether you book in peak season or not.
The Sheraton Genova Hotel in Italy is an example of a Category 1 hotel. It sells for ~$150 a night, but costs only 2,000 points on weekends and 3,000 points on weekdays.
Category 1 Starwood Hotel
On the other end, the Prince de Galles, Paris is a Category 7 hotel and costs ~$1,000 a night and 30,000 to 35,000 points per night.
Category
I wouldn’t redeem Starwood points for the high end hotel categories, and prefer to use my Hyatt points (instead of Starwood points) where the top hotel categories cost only 22,000 points a night.
Starwood points are good for the lower and middle category hotels. That said, Starwood has some of the nicest top-end hotels and could be worth a splurge if you have the points.
How To Book A Starwood Hotel
You can book Starwood hotels with points online or via phone.
Step 1
Sign-in to your Starwood hotel account, and enter your destination and dates of travel in the search box.
Step 1 – Enter Your Search in The Box
Step 2
Click on the “Compare Rates” tab.
Step 2 – Click on “Compare Rates”
The price in points will be displayed in a column to the right called “SPG Free Nights” as shown in the picture below.
For example, I searched for hotels in New York City at the end of September and found the following hotels.
12,000 to 35,000 Starwood Points for 1 Night in New York
If your preferred hotel says “Please contact us to redeem your Free Nights,” try searching for a standard room using cash. If you can buy an entry-level room with cash, you should be able to use your points for a free night (though it may require a phone call to do so). That’s because Starwood guarantees no blackout dates for an entry-level room if you pay in full using points.
If there are no standard rooms available for cash it could mean that the hotel is sold out, so try changing your travel dates.
Step 3
Select your room type.
You can usually cancel Starwood hotel night redemptions for free up to a day or two before-in. But be sure to check the fine print when you make your reservation, because some hotels require more notice to cancel a reservation.
You’ll See The Cancellation Policy When You Make Your Reservation
Starwood Hotel Pros
Starwood hotels has a strong presence in many major world cities. And sometimes there are nicer Starwood hotels in a city than any other type of hotels. Starwood hotels has lots of hotels in Paris, Rome, Bangkok, Hawaii, etc.
1. Rome
When searching for hotels in Rome, Italy, I found 5 Starwood hotels…
Starwood’s Great Hotel Options for Rome
…and no Hyatt hotels (just a suggestion to stay in Nice ~300 miles away!)
Hyatt Says I Should Stay in Nice instead of Rome!
2. New York City
In New York, Hyatt has Category 6 hotels for 22,000 a night and a Category 5 hotel for 18,000 points.
However, Starwood has a few hotels in New York City, for example the Sheraton in Times Square for 12,000 points.
Starwood seems to have nicer hotels than most other top-end hotels, but Starwood’s mid tier hotels are still quite nice.
The St. Regis hotels are very nice, but for 35,000 points you’ll be paying for that quality!
What Can Starwood Points Get Me?
On the other hand, you can stay in Disney World and redeem your points at The Swan or Dolphin. One night costs 10,000 SPG points or ~ $240 after taxes.
Use Your Starwood Points to Stay at the Walt Disney World Swan
Using 10,000 Starwood points saves you $240. So 1 Starwood point is saving you 2.4 cents if you would have paid cash for the room ($240/10,000 Starwood points)
The DisneyWorld Swan Hotel for $240 or 10,000 Starwood Points
There is no rule of thumb for what makes a good redemption. To me, the best redemptions are the ones which wouldn’t have been possible without miles and points. Going to see family in Ohio is as worthwhile a hotel redemption as going to Paris (I’ve used points for both).
I usually try to get at least 2 cents towards the retail cost of a hotel, per Starwood point, if not more.
This means that if you take the cost of the room (say $200) and divide it by the number of points required (10,000 points), you should get at least $0.02 (2 cents).
But part of what makes a hotel great, is the location, not just the price tag. So if you’re a family going to Disney, it could make sense to book a Starwood hotel for even less than 2 cents per point if it means saving time and having a better vacation.
Why do I try to get at least 2 cents towards the retail cost per Starwood point?
Because Starwood points could save a lot more money in other places. London is a great example because it’s such an expensive city.
Starwood’s great award prices for London
For example, The Park Lane Hotel, London sells for $550 (360 GBP) or 12,000 Starwood points. I’m getting 4.6 cents towards the retail cost ($550/12,000 points).
The Park Lane Hotel for Only 12,000 Points A Night
I’m paying 2,000 more points compared to the 10,000 points needed for 1 night at the Swan in Disney World.
But I’m getting a room that’s more than double the price of a room in Disney.
On the other hand, this doesn’t matter if you don’t plan on visiting London, but want to visit Disney.
Do what you’re comfortable with and what makes sense for you! Use your points in the way that matters most to you!
5th Night Free
You get your 5th night free (in category 3 to 7 hotels) if you book 4 nights in a Starwood hotel using points.
Award Chart for 5th Night Free
To book online, you simply select 5 nights and that’s it.
The price should automatically be adjusted. In the picture below, the Bangkok Le Meridien is normally 7,000 points…
Price of the Bangkok Le Meridien selecting 1 night
but the free 5th night free comes through in a reduction in the number of Starwood points you pay for 4 nights.
Price per night of the Bangkok Le Meridien selecting 5 nights
Note that if you book 4 nights, you will pay the regular price for 4 nights.
And if you book 3 nights in one hotel and 2 nights in the same hotel after a few days, you won’t get the 5th night free. You have to book 5 consecutive nights to get the 5th night free.
Bottom Line:
Using Starwood points for hotel stays can save you lots of money and make lots of happy memories.
But Starwood points aren’t the best to use for their highest category hotels because you need a lot of points!
Comments
You left something important out Yes, 30,000 is a bunch, but in ... by Steven S
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