Annual Starwood Hotel Category Adjustments Announced
The past few weeks have been all about hotel points program changes and devaluations, with Hilton and Marriott announcing both individual hotel category changes and the addition of new top-tier categories requiring even more points for redemptions, and Starwood making sweeping changes to its Cash & Points redemptions.
Well, the trend continues with Starwood now announcing its annual hotel category adjustments, which is rarely good news for loyalty program members since more hotels tend to go up in category than down. In a post on Milepoint this morning, Starwood Social Media Specialist Christopher Carman wrote the following:
"We're making our annual hotel Category adjustments for 2013 and would like to provide you with an advance look at the preliminary list of changes. We want to be sure you are able to maximize the use of your Starpoints, so please review the information to decide if it makes sense to redeem before or after the changes take place on March 5, 2013.
While our Categories remain the same, individual hotels may move between Categories each year. You can click here to see each Category's Starpoints requirements.
This year the majority of our hotels have stayed the same, but we have a few more hotels moving up than down. To view a list of the upcoming changes, please see the attached PDF. Please note that a select number of additional hotels may be added to the list prior to March 5th."
You can find the full list of properties in this file: CatChange2013 and for reference, here is the SPG redemption table:
There are just 47 hotels moving down by a category, including some interesting ones like the W Istanbul and the landmark Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens, both of which are dropping from Category 6 down to Category 5.
By comparison, over 200 hotels are jumping up a category. The ones that are being raised include a property I frequently stay at, the SLS Hotel Beverly Hills, which was a Category 5 property, but will now be a Category 6, meaning each award night will cost me an extra 8,000-9,000 points. The W Westwood, where I also stay a lot, is staying put in Category 5, so I'll probably shift more of my stays over there.
Four of Starwood's eleven Hawaii properties - the St. Regis Princeville (which I loved) and the Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas on Kauai, the Moana Surfrider in Waikiki and the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas on Maui are also jumping categories and the St. Regis and the Kaanapali property will both be top-tier Category 7 properties requiring 30-35,000 Starpoints for an award night, or 15,000 Starpoints + $275 for Cash & Points.
Last year,The Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers, Westin Times Square, W New York, and W New York-Downtown all moved up to Category 6, where they'll remain, but this year, just a few New York City hotels are increasing, including the Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel, Aloft New York Brooklyn and Four Points by Sheraton Long Island City/Queensboro Bridge.
One of my other go-to Starwood properties around the world, the Westin Palace in Madrid, appears to be remaining at Category 5 property, and a good value proposition at that requiring just 12,000 Starpoints for rooms that can go for near the $400 mark.
Preemptive Redemption
All in all, this is just a continuation of the devaluation trend I noted in an earlier post today with about 20% of Starwood's hotels rising a category level, requiring more points for award stays, and devaluing those points we all work (and spend) so hard to earn even further.
My suggestion is to check out the new listings and if you have upcoming travel taking you to a property that's about to change categories upwards, book your travel plans for this year before March 5 when these go into effect to take advantage of the current rates!
On the bright side, all SPG stays—award or not—count toward elite status, so even if you have to book a property whose category has been adjusted upward, you might still reap some value from your redemption.
[card card-name='The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN' card-id='22034407' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']
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Rewards
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
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| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. |
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Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
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- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
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- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
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- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.
Rewards Rate
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Intro Offer
You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.As High As 100,000 points. Find Out Your Offer.Annual Fee
$325Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.Excellent to Good
Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.