Indian view on hotel loyalty programs - Starwood Preferred Guest

A reader question prompted me to hasten my series on hotel loyalty programs in India. This is the second post in that series, and is about Starwood Preferred Guest. You can read the other posts (that have been published, or will soon be) using the master post as an index, or go to the end of this post for individual links.


SPG 101

SPG has three levels - Preferred, Gold and Platinum - read more here. (There's also a little-publicised SPG Preferred Guest Plus, between Preferred and Gold, which offers a room upgrade on check-in and 4 pm late checkout.) At the base level, SPG earns 2 Starpoints per eligible US$ of spend. Redemption rates vary by hotel category, and can be anywhere between 3,000 (2,000 for weekends) to 35,000 points a night. 



You can use this link to search which hotels are under what category, which in turn determines the number of Starpoints needed for a room night's redemption. Like HHonors, there's a 5th night free when redeeming 4 nights' worth of points. You can also use Starpoints to upgrade yourself to a higher room category.

SPG in India

SPG is the international chain with the largest presence in India - they operate 40 hotels as of date, and as of now have plans to open another 22 over the next 4 years. That's a whopping 62 hotels! Internationally, however, they are one of the smaller chains. Also in India, virtually all ITC hotels are part of SPG.

Here is a summary of redemption rates across SPG properties in India.



Given the overall redemption rates of SPG hotels in India, and assuming an average room night costs Rs 6,500++, SPG in India offers (on average) a redemption value of a shade over 1:24, or roughly just over 4%. In other words, 24 paid stays will get you a free night's stay, which is a bit better than Hilton and virtually the same IHG. That's just the math, and it is my math, to be specific. [All of this is based on averages and based on prices for random dates. YMMV.]

I mentioned earlier that in India, virtually all ITC hotels are part of SPG. ITC also runs its own loyalty program called Club ITC, which you may want to consider as well, though you cannot double-dip with SPG.

SPG and me

I'm a Gold level member with SPG, and I do earn a reasonable number of Starpoints with my stays, coupled with promotions. However, SPG not offering complimentary breakfast and internet for Gold status (available only for Platinum) is a big negative in my book, which is why I tend to rate HHonors Gold over SPG, at Gold status (mid-tier elite). SPG Gold has given me room upgrades, often to what they call an Executive Club room, whose description can be quite variable, and can occasionally include breakfast and lounge access too! However, I'm not a big fan of Club ITC, and so I do not post my stays with them, preferring SPG instead.


Other related posts in this series


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