The Value Proposition

Redeeming your Starwood Points for airline miles is such a good deal, it is easy to overlook the obvious, using your points for hotel rewards in the Starwood chain of hotels. The question is: Are you maximizing your reward benefit by earning Starwood points on your Amex, only to redeem them for hotel stays.

Fortunately, the Starwood web site shows the cost of all stays in both dollars and points. At the lower end you have the Sheraton chain with awards typically available for 2,000 to 10,000 points. From both my experiences, and from looking at current prices and redemption options, it is apparent that redeeming points for stays at Sheratons is an above average value. For example, a weeknight stay at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel & Suites San Francisco Airport would cost $165 a night, yet can be redeemed for a mere 4,000 Starpoints, yielding a healthy 4.125 cents per dollar spent reward. Results vary widely, as I have found other Sheraton properties asking for 7,000 Starpoints for a free night at hotels that cost less.

As you move up to the Westin chain, the value seems to decline slightly as you are asked to pay 7,000 to 10,000 or more points for rooms that normally sell for $200 -$350 range, leaving you with a 2.5 to 3.5 cents per dollar spent value.

Moving up even further to their highest end boutique hotels can sometimes yield some good values, such as the St. Regis hotel in Washington, D.C. A room there normally sells midweek for $675, yet can be had for 25,000 points. While it is only 2.7 cents per dollar spent, try redeeming an airline’s standard award for a ticket that would have cost $675.

Maximizing Your Return

The real savings come when you utilize their fifth night free offer, effectively increasing the value of your reward by %25.

The ultimate value of your Starwood Amex is in the ability to offer hotel stays with no blackout dates, capacity restrictions, booking fees, or even cancellation penalties. This seals the deal for those of us who want to actually want to redeem rewards on our schedule without feeling like we entered a lottery. If a room is available with cash, you can book it with Starpoints.

Who should use their Starwood Amex towards hotel rewards?

If you have more frequent flier miles than time to spend them, and you need to minimize your hotel costs, this is a great option. For the many people are even eschewing airline travel altogether, using your Starwood card towards a hotel stay makes even sense. Also, if your business or vacation plans have you spending at least five nights at a Starwood property, you will often find your reward value to be up in the range that premium international travel is worth, even if you are staying at Starwoods budget brands.

Any Drawbacks?

The Starwood chain of hotels is not as big as some other major brands, and they may not have properties at all of your favorite destinations. Finally, I have yet to find a Starwood hotel redemption opportunity that exceeds the value of a %5 cash back award.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 23:50 and is filed under Maximize your Credit Card Rewards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.