And the SPG Contest Winners Are...

Aug. 14, 2012

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3 min read

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I greatly enjoyed reading through the entries of the "Stretch your Starpoints" promotion we ran last week. I am always amazed at my readers' creativity and if you didn't get a chance, check out the entries in the comments section of this post. I spent several hours on Saturday reviewing the top entries that provided the most bang per point and that were original and I'm happy to announce the following two winners.

Cash and Points Redemption: Matty submitted on 08/07/2012 at 10:34 am

Matty discovered that he could book an 18-night stay at the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel Beijing using 1600 points and $30 per night. Using the dates 2/10/13 - 2/28/13 (right around the Chinese New Year), he was able to redeem 28,800 points and pay $540 for a value just under 45 cents per point. Here is the breakdown:

RACK rate for 18 night stay at Great Wall Sheraton Beijing.

Cash and Points rate for 18 night stay at Great Wall Sheraton Beijing.

1 Room, 2 Adults, King Bed
RACK Rate: 4,080.00 CNY = $641.34 per night
Estimated Total for 18 Nights: 84,456.00 CNY = $13,265.72
Total Cash and Points Rate: 28,800 points and $540
Room Total - Cash Component: $13,265.72 - $540 = $12,725.72
Final Point Value: $13,185.72 / 28,800 = $0.442

Free Night Redemption: AdamB submitted on 08/07/2012 at 12:55 pm

Adam found a way to stretch his Starpoints to save $8,456 by using all 30K of them giving him a value of 28.18 cents per point. Here were his findings:

12/19/2013 Four Points by Sheraton Manhattan SoHo Village ($3491.06 or 12,000 SPG points)
12/22/2013 Four Points by Sheraton Manhattan SoHo Village ($3491.06 or 12,000 SPG points)
12/06/2013 The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel Beijing ($737 (CNY 4,692) or 3,000 SPG points)
12/07/2013 The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel Beijing ($737 (CNY 4,692) or 3,000 SPG points)

Night of December 19, 2013 Four Points by Sheraton Manhattan SoHo Village.

Night of December 22, 2013 Four Points by Sheraton Manhattan SoHo Village.

Nights of December 6-8, 2013, at The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel Beijing.

Congratulations to our winners! We will be in contact directly to put you in touch with American Express so they can fulfill your prizes. If you didn't win, you can still bank 30,000 points with the current limited-time offer on the Starwood American Express Personal and Business cards, which runs until September 4, 2012.

Update: The 30,000-point bonus is no longer available. The bonus is now 25,000 points for the Starwood Amex business and personal cards.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.