SPG Platinum members who stay 50 or more nights a year have been granted 10 free upgrade night certificates over the past few years. While you only need 25 stays to earn Platinum status, this is an extra benefit for those that stay more and obtain those 50 nights. These upgrade certificates can be applied to a hotel stay prior to actually arriving at the hotel up to 5 nights in advance. Of course one of the benefits of Platinum status is that you are given best room available upon check-in, the ability to know in advance is really nice! While I actually have never met this stay requirement, I know many people have complained that their free suite nights never cleared at hotel and ended up going to waste.
Yesterday, View from the Wing broke the news that those who meet the 50+ night requirement are actually able to select a different benefit instead if desired. Starting March 9, 2015, you can select one of 6 benefits:
- 10 Suite Night Awards, as present
- (4) free rides with Uber up to $25 each
- Gift Gold status to friend or family member
- TSA PreCheck (Starwood covers the fee) – worth $85
- $100 Amazon gift card
- Donate $100 to UNICEF (Checkout for Children)
These are by no means amazing options, but still something if you have experienced your Suite Night Awards going to waste every year. My two personal recommendations are giving SPG gold status to a friend (a very nice gesture) or the $100 Amazon gift card. I still think the Suite Night Awards are best, even if you only are able to use half of them during the year.
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