Last week I wrote about how the terms are changing for the Starwood Platinum Challenge tomorrow, November 1st.
Current Terms:
- 15 paid nights
- 90 day time frame
New Terms Starting November 1, 2011
- 18 paid nights
- 3 month time frame beginning on the first day of the month enrolled
While this is not a huge change, if you are planning on enrolling in the challenge and the timing works for your 15 nights, I would suggest enrolling today. If you wait till tomorrow you will have to hit 3 additional nights (which might be tough for some of you).
To enroll for the challenge, call Starwood Guest Rewards customer service (1-888-625-4990, option 2). Upon enrolling, you will receive a confirmation email outlining the program. You should receive the confirmation email within 48 hours.
Also, they seem to be pretty strict and will not retroactively count any stays prior to your enrollment, even if you ask a million times. This has to be qualifying paid nights, so any nights booked with a third-party booking site (Expedia, Hotels.com, etc.) will not count. Additionally, cash and point redemption as well as free nights using points will not count towards this challenge.
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Will cash and points, or reward stays count ?
@Levi – No, cash and points / reward stays will not stay. Has to be a paid stay.
[…] Reminder: Last Day for Better Terms for the Starwood Platinum Challenge […]
[…] The only way to get Platinum status without the normal stays/nights is to enroll in the Platinum Challenge. This requires 18 nights in 3 months. It will then give you status for the remaining year plus the following calendar year. Status actually expires in February, so if you earned your 18th night January 2, 2012, you would keep your platinum status until February 2014. Only paid stays count. You can read my prior blog post for more details on enrolling: http://boardingarea.com/dealsw…num-challenge/ […]