Is Starwood elite status “worth it” for families?

A few days ago, I wrote about why I loved having a Hyatt Diamond member in my family (my husband Josh). Some people got all huffy about the exact dollar amount that Hyatt Diamond status was worth, some people questioned my math skills, and some people actually got the point I was making, which is that Hyatt Diamond Status can be very valuable to families. 

It’s certainly valuable to me.

That being said, I don’t have high-level status with any other major hotel chain. So far, it’s been a Hyatt love-fest over here at my house. However, since I enjoy figuring out how to get maximum benefits for minimum cash, I decided to take a closer look at a few other hotel loyalty programs. Starwood was first on my list.

Here’s the deal with Starwood: their brand includes many different hotels all over the world. If you want to stay at a Starwood property, you’ve got your pick from Westin, Sheraton, Element, Aloft, Le Meridien, The Luxury Collection, Four Points, St. Regis, and W Hotels.  In other words, they’ve got a great selection and offer many different price points.

The Starwood loyalty program features three elite levels: Preferred, Gold, and Platinum.

Preferred

This is the basic entry-level status, with no stay requirement. Once you join the program, you are automatically a Preferred member. As a thank-you for being a member, you get 2 Starwood points for every $1 you spend at Starwood hotels.

Gold

There are several ways to earn Gold status:

1. You’re Golden after 10 stays or 25 nights at Starwood hotels and resorts. (Remember that you get credit for 5 nights and 2 stays if you have the personal or business Starwood card).
2. You also get immediate Gold status if you have an American Express Platinum card (just call the number on the back of your card and they’ll take care of it for you).
   
3. Another way to earn Gold status is to buy it – spend $30,000 in a calendar year on the American Express Starwood card (personal or business).

As a Gold member, you get:

• 3 Starpoints points per $1 spent at Starwood hotels and resorts
• Enhanced room at check-in
• Welcome gift (choice of free internet, 250 bonus Starpoints or 125 points at Aloft, Four Point, or Element hotels, or a free beverage up to $15)
• 4:00 pm late checkout

Platinum

You earn Platinum status after 25 stays or 50 nights. It’s worth noting that this is the same number of stays/nights that will earn you Diamond status with Hyatt. When you earn Platinum status, you get these benefits:

• 3 Starpoints points per $1 spent at Starwood hotels and resorts
• Upgrades to the best available room including Standard Suites
• Free Internet
• Club and Executive level privileges (lounge access)
• 4:00 pm late checkout
• Welcome gift: free continental breakfast for member +1 guest, bonus Starpoints, or local amenity.

Once you hit 50 nights, you also get 10 Suite Night awards, which you can use to reserve select suites starting from 5 nights before arrival.

At 75 nights, you also get 4 Starpoints points per $1 spent at Starwood hotels and resorts, plus something called “Your24,” which lets you check-in at any time and then check-out 24 hours later.

At 100 nights, Starwood also assigns an SPG Ambassador to you, who is “a single point of contact who can help make everything fall into place when you travel. They handle everything from room preferences to restaurant reservations to special occasions.”

So, is Starwood status worth it?

Well, if you already stay at a lot of Starwood properties for work travel, or because you love them, then of course racking up nights/stays towards status makes sense. However, I definitely would not go out of my way to earn status with Starwood.

It’s not worth it to me.

For one thing, the benefits that I value so highly with Hyatt do not exist at the same level at Starwood. As a Diamond member with Hyatt, Josh earns 4 guaranteed suite upgrades each year. We can apply these upgrades at the time of booking, which makes a gigantic difference when we are traveling as a family. If the extra space provided by a suite is important to you (or can make or break your stay), you kind of need to know whether or not you’ll have it for sure, or if you need to spend the extra money to get it. With Starwood, you don’t know one way or the other until 5 days before your trip. That defeats the purpose for us.

Another big difference is the breakfast amenity. Every family is different, but for us, getting our act together to get out of the house/hotel in the morning is a multi-part drama. It takes forever. Having the option to enjoy breakfast for the four of us, delivered from room service (for free!) or being able to just walk down the hall to salvation in the form of a buffet or on-property restaurant is a big deal, and it’s worth a lot. To us. Maybe it wouldn’t be worth a whit to you, and that’s fine. To each her own. 😉

However…

I want to mention that all elite levels of the Starwood program have equal access to great values, both in Starwood’s award chart and in their Cash+Points program.

For example, a room at the Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort (walking distance from Disneyland!) goes for 7,000 Starpoints per night.

Also, the Starwood program features a perk where you get a 5th night free when you book 4 award nights. This can be a great savings for a family vacation!

With Cash+Points, you can purchase an award night for half the amount of points, plus a cash charge. Typically, the amount you pay in cash tends to be much less than the dollar value of the points you are saving.

To conclude, my opinion is that while I highly value Starpoints and think that you can snap up some great values  as a member of their loyalty program, if you’re traveling as a family, having Starwood elite status does not add much extra value to the equation.

What do you think about earning Starwood status? About earning status in general? Has it been valuable for you, or do you not even use the benefits?

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.