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Effective 02/02/15 all SPG members will receive free WiFi in their Starwood hotel rooms.
Non-elite members will get standard level internet access for free, while SPG Gold and Platinum members will get premium level internet access for free. Delta and Emirates elites will also get premium level internet access for free via Crossover rewards.
Only stays booked via SPG.com will qualify for free internet access.
Currently Fairmont and IHG give all members free in-room internet access and Marriott will as well as of 01/15/15.
So what are the benefits of each Starwood elite status level?
1. Starwood Preferred (base) members get free standard internet. Anyone can signup free on SPG.com
2. Starwood Preferred Plus status is an unpublished elite status level that is given for free to anyone with a Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express. It’s also offered to AAA and AARP members.
Preferred Plus members get 4pm confirmed late checkout and room upgrades when available.
3. Starwood Gold status is given for free if you have Platinum Card® from American Express or if you spend $30,000 in a calendar year on the Starwood AMEX or if you spend 25 paid or award nights or have 10 stays in Starwood hotels in a calendar year. You can get lifetime gold status by accumulating 5 years of Starwood elite status and 250 nights in Starwood hotels. Some people have been able to get free Gold status for a year by calling up and telling a rep that they want to start staying in more Starwood hotels, but YMMV on that one.
Gold members get free premium level internet access, a 250 Starpoint amenity on paid and award stays, 4pm confirmed late checkout, and room upgrades when available. They also get 3 Starpoints per dollar spent on paid stays and 1 Starpoint per dollar spent on Delta flights.
4. Starwood Platinum requires 50 paid or award nights or 25 stays in Starwood hotels in a calendar year. Having the Starwood credit card gives you 5 nights and 2 stays towards meeting that and having 2 Starwood credit cards gives you 10 nights and 4 stays towards meeting that. You can get lifetime Platinum status by accumulating 10 years of Starwood Platinum elite status and 500 nights in Starwood hotels.
Platinum members get free premium level internet access, a 500 Starpoint amenity on paid and award stays, 4pm confirmed late checkout, and suite upgrades when available. They also get 3 Starpoints per dollar spent on paid stays, 1 Starpoint per dollar spent on Delta flights, and Priority Check-in, Priority Boarding, Unlimited Complimentary Upgrades, and first checked bag free when flying Delta.
Platinums who stay 50 nights also get 10 confirmed suite upgrade awards. Platinums who stay 75 nights get 4 Starpoints per dollar spent on paid stays and the ability to stay for a full 24 hours in a hotel room regardless of when they checkin.
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21 Comments On "Starwood To Offer Free In-Room Internet To All SPG Members; A Roundup Of Current Starwood Elite Status Benefits And How To Earn Status"
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Only Gold gets late check out and upgrade, not Preferred Plus.
Gold also gets a free drink
@Eli:
Incorrect:
http://i.dansdeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/spg.png
@Eli:
You would forfeit your 250 point Gold amenity if you take the beverage, hardly a good deal.
Do I have to book through spg to get these benefits? I’m booking at an spg hotel but with a group rate.
@Sammy:
Yes.
Dan,
If Preferred Guest Plus is unpublished, how do I get the benefits? I have an SPG Amex but have never been offered anything. I can just request a room upgrade or late checkout on check in?
@Abraham:
Yes.
I have The Business Platinum Card® how can i get Starwood Gold status?
@charliyankee:
Call up AMEX or Starwood.
@Dan: from experience (10+ stays while I’m gold). The 250 points got credited to me automatically even when I requested a free drink.. I did it once to test it out, and it worked. So that’s what I do for now on, I ask for the free drink and amazingly 2 days later there’s also 250 starpoints account
How can I check on SPG.com what my current status is?
@Iym: look in the app
I have a platinum card how do I register it to become gold status? Does the status continue if I cancel the card eventually?
Preferred Plus is also offered to AAA members.
I really don’t understand why the Starwood SPG card is so special. I mean, the hotel rewards are fantastic, but because there are no bonus categories, even if you make a good living and are putting 50,000 – 100,000 dollars a year on a credit card, how many nights stay is that already? With the chase trifecta you have a few nice hotel options and can earn tons more points if you use your cards right. Am I missing something?
Dan- how many cents/ point are you valuing the 250 starwoods points at? Even if at 3c/pt youre talking $7.50… that would buy you 1/2 a drink at most lobby bars throughout starwoods better hotels.
(they also usually give you 2 if traveling with a companion but lets leave that be for now.
any way to upgrade to gold from regular spg status?
@Anonymous:
Interesting.
@Iym:
Login and it will say.
@Berel:
Call AMEX or Starwood.
@Berele:
I’ve stayed at $150/night hotels for 2,000 points.
Plus points transfer to dozens of airlines with a 25% bonus.
@Itshappening:
I don’t value a coke at what they charge for it, I value it at what I’d pay for it.
@upgrade?:
Read the post?
Is there a way to make an AMEX business card into a Starwood eligible card?
To get lifetime gold you need 5 years or 250 nights or both? Is it 250 a year or 250 total over the 5 years?
Is parking an amenity that could be comped?