Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Best Rate Guarantee Success - Sheraton Los Angeles Downton Hotel

SPG has a generous Best Rate Guarantee, in which they offer an extra 10% off or 2,000 Starpoints if you are able to find a better rate than what it advertised on their website.  Although the 10% off is less than competitors Hyatt, Hilton or Marriott, the 2,000 Starpoints can be of much more value, especially if you are a frequent traveler.

At a recent stay at the Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown Hotel, I was able to find a better rate and thus was able to bank an extra 2,000 Starpoints.

The best available rate on SPG.com was ~$190, but I was able to find a rate of ~$126.  Not only did I get a savings of $64 before taxes, I also managed to bank an extra 2,000 Starpoints.

With the current "Better by the Night" Promotion of double points, an extra 250 points for booking online (as I don't have an iPhone which would have been worth 500 points rather than 250 points), and the current Foursquare promotion of 250 points for checking in, I managed to snag 2,752 points for this stay, or 21.8 points per dollar spent.

As a Starwood Preferred Guest, you can either earn 2-4 Starpoints per dollar spent, depending on your “status”.

As you can see, an extra 2,000 Starpoints may be the equivalent of a $1,000 “spend”.  If you can find rates around $100 per night, you are in essence receiving over 20 Starpoints per dollar spent, a great way to increase your Starpoint balance for future award stays.

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