This week Starwood announced some exciting changes for their gold and platinum members. While some of the changes are better than others, all will give some extra perks to those frequent travelers. All changes start March 1, 2012.
Receive 10 suite night awards to be used for confirmed room upgrades to a suite or premium room; Suite upgrades expire at the end of the following year in which they were earned, for example: if you earn the awards June 2012, they will not expire until December 2013. The good thing is that they are even back dating this award, and if you stayed 50+ nights in 2011, you will also receive these upgrades!
On top of the 10 suite night awards, earn 4 Starpoints for every dollar spent at Starwood hotels.
Overall, I am pleased with these changes. I am a platinum member, but will most likely never achieve it by staying the 50 nights a year, so unfortunately will not be able to take advantage of the confirmed suite upgrades. However, I do think platinum status is pretty easy to achieve, so I understand the additional level of perks given to those more loyal guests. These changes along with the flexibility of this program will ensure they keep my business! Now let’s just hope that free nights come back this summer – one of my favorite promotions (RIP Hyatt FFN’s).