But, while reviewing LoyaltyLobby today, I noticed he reported on a customized page SPG programmed that allows each member to see interesting facts about their own experiences with SPG.
So, I decided to take a tour through my personal stats. First, let me say that I think this was a fun exercise SPG undertook and I don’t mean to sound overly critical. Based on a quick glance, I’m assuming they ran these numbers earlier in the year or they’re working off a stale copy of their database. Here goes:
Interesting that the average Plat member only earns 62K. Sounds like more of them need a Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Card. Anyway, I actually earned more points than this.
Well, at least they got the number of nights I stayed correctly. Oh, wait. I actually had 102, of which 98 have already posted. And, most of my stays were earlier in the year, so while the number might not be accurate if they pulled a copy of the database in the last couple weeks, this data looks a few months old. See screen shot from my account a few days ago.
This number’s a bit high, but not too far off. I was closer to half a million in redemptions, artificially inflated by the Andre Agassi US Open Auction I won. Again, the average Plat member’s redemption number seems paltry. Need more credit card spend. 
This one was at least pretty close. We traveled to 5 countries this year where I had an SPG stay.
Anyway, despite the inaccuracy, a fun exercise. The average numbers were interesting to see as compared to other Platinum members.
How did you fare compared to the “Average Platinum Member”?
Way to go, I love spg!
By: Ketan S on January 2, 2013
at 9:25 am
spg all the way!
By: steve on January 2, 2013
at 5:11 pm
Makes me want to go back now and read what they sent me! I hope to make Plat this year- would have last year if I had been smarter….did not start staying with them until June.
By: kodoma on January 2, 2013
at 5:39 pm
kodoma, I know, right? It was kind of funny going through the numbers.
By: pizzainmotion on January 2, 2013
at 5:42 pm
Bizarre that they got the number of countries wrong… maybe they think one of their domestic hotels is in another country?
By: Eric on January 2, 2013
at 5:44 pm
Eric, I thought that was odd, too. Of course, I did stay in Miami once….
By: pizzainmotion on January 2, 2013
at 5:52 pm
never really stay at SPG so I fared poorly
By: Jason on January 2, 2013
at 6:01 pm
I think I pulled the plat stay average down since I only squeaked in with 27 stays. Hyatt Diamond Status is too distracting…
By: Keri on January 2, 2013
at 6:16 pm
Keri, well worth maintaining status with both, IMO. I do feel like I’m cheating on Hyatt when I stay at a Four Points, though.
By: pizzainmotion on January 2, 2013
at 6:22 pm
Just starting out in the miles game, but planning to use the average plat stats as a nice little SPG goal.
By: road2elysium on January 2, 2013
at 6:20 pm
road2elysium, that’s definitely a good goal to start with!
By: pizzainmotion on January 2, 2013
at 6:21 pm
I do love SPG properties!
By: Xavier on January 2, 2013
at 6:39 pm
Xavier, there are a big number of SPG properties I like. But, they do have a bottom rung.
By: pizzainmotion on January 2, 2013
at 6:40 pm
I noticed the inaccuracies also. I love SPG, but wish they had better coverage (France, Italy etc…)
By: Phillip on January 2, 2013
at 6:49 pm
I think they have reasonable coverage in Italy, and they have some pretty awesome properties there as well. St. Regis Rome and Hotel Danieli in Venice are two of my favorites. Westin in Florence is another solid property as well.
By: pizzainmotion on January 2, 2013
at 6:57 pm
I want to do this exercise too to see how I compare… But it seems like most Platinums must now get the 10 suite certificates and probably almost half or one-third get the 75 nights level.
By: Bradley on January 2, 2013
at 8:01 pm
Brad, I would be surprised if half the plats get 75 nights or more. That’s a whole lot of nights.
By: pizzainmotion on January 2, 2013
at 8:06 pm
SPG is definitly the best reward points program. The only downer is they do not haved a shopping portal!
By: Dave on January 2, 2013
at 9:37 pm
Dave, I like the SPG currency, but I prefer Hyatt hotels just a bit more. And, I like Ultimate Rewards points as a great compliment to SPG.
By: pizzainmotion on January 2, 2013
at 9:39 pm
You bid on an auction?
By: ben r on January 2, 2013
at 10:00 pm
ben r, yes I did. Bid on and won a tennis lesson with Andre Agassi at the US Open for my wife.
http://pizzainmotion.com/2012/09/10/an-spg-moment-mens-semifinal-tennis-at-the-us-open/
By: pizzainmotion on January 2, 2013
at 10:02 pm
Well, I just signed up for the SPG AmEx card (using your link!) and look forward so some nice hotel stays. The only negative so far: no hotels close to Sea-Tac Airport. What is up with that?
By: Charlie on January 2, 2013
at 10:01 pm
Charlie,
Congrats and thanks for following along! The knock on SPG (and Hyatt) is that they’re significantly smaller than Marriott, Hilton and Priority Club. You’ll find low-end properties for chains like this in fringe markets (Sea-Tac fits that bill to some degree). SPG and Hyatt both have a really good presence downtown Seattle. Are you connecting overseas at SEA?
By: pizzainmotion on January 2, 2013
at 10:05 pm
No connections. My family lives near Seattle and when returning to Atlanta we usually take the first flight of the day at 6:30 AM or so. Staying in a hotel close to the Airport makes things easier.
By: Charlie on January 3, 2013
at 11:51 am
Agree, especially since SEA-TAC is close to pretty much nothing.
By: pizzainmotion on January 3, 2013
at 1:16 pm
I have to say I like the SPG program. They have excellent coverage in Asia whereas the Hyatt is lacking in that region unless you are in China.
By: Vicky on January 3, 2013
at 1:11 am
Vicky,
Hyatt has almost 200 properties in the Asia pipeline. While a bunch are in China I think you’ll see some gaps filled in over the next few years.
By: pizzainmotion on January 3, 2013
at 7:33 am
I love SPG. Can’t beat having cash and points and award stays count towards elite status. Then if you have the personal and business spg cards it makes it that much easier to requalify every year.
By: Perry Platypus on January 3, 2013
at 9:02 am
Perry Platypus, doubling up on the SPG cards is a great way to get a head-start on status each year. And, cash & points has always been one of my favorite redemptions.
Regards, Edward Pizzarello
By: pizzainmotion on January 4, 2013
at 10:19 pm
2 quick question. I know nearly everyone values Starpoints the most amongst points/miles currencies; I was curious as to why you thought Starwood went the direction they did (with all the partners and 25% bonus on 20k increments) and why other chains don’t follow suit? I would love to see Hyatt do something similar and can imagine people switching as a result
By: Vik on January 3, 2013
at 4:00 pm
Vik,
Starwood set out to change the way hotel loyalty programs worked by creating ultra-rich rewards. They did this not only with the value of their currency in transfer but also in the establishment of awards with no capacity controls. It cost them a pretty penny when they did it, but they managed to scoop up lots of share that allowed them to increase the size of the program. I think they had the benefit of seeing what all the other programs had done, and being new-ish to the game made it easier for them not to print currency (points) like crazy. By keeping the number of points earned fairly low (you won’t find a shopping mall nor 10 points/dollar earning specials), they’re able to offer outsize value for transfers.
That being said, I think Hyatt has caught up with them (and passed them) in some regards. Hyatt mimics them on no capacity controls, takes awesome care of their elites and even provides guaranteed upgrades for Diamonds, albeit only on paid reservations. Where Hyatt doesn’t have strength is in airline partnerships. To some degree, this is by design. The VP of Hyatt Gold Passport, Jeff Zidell, has said on many occasions that they see the loyalty program not as a revenue center but as a way to engender actual loyalty to the brand. In that regard, with aspirational properties and excellent treatment of elites, they’ve done so.
To me, the reason the other chains fall off as much as they do is because they a) are trying to be all things to all people, constantly feeling like they need to “me too” whatever another program does and b)are probably trying to weigh costs on their loyalty programs. It’s obviously easier for a smaller competitor like Hyatt (or SPG to a lesser degree) to try harder at upping their game since they have less properties/decision makers under the tent. I also think the Hiltons and Marriotts of the world believe they are somewhat ubiquitous because of their size and don’t necessarily need to try harder to earn customers. The growth in the economy over the past year probably only supports that assertion further for them.
By: pizzainmotion on January 3, 2013
at 5:18 pm
This is part of the reason why I decided to dump Hilton. Every time I tried to book a rewards stay it was going to cost 30,000 points per night, even at their lowest tier properties like Hampton Inns. Even with how easy it is to earn points, they are still nearly worthless.
By: charlie on January 3, 2013
at 6:46 pm
Charlie, it’s pretty much the same thing as the Fed printing cash. So many Hilton points swimming out there you can’t buy squat with them.
By: pizzainmotion on January 3, 2013
at 8:10 pm
That sounds awesome, I’ll have to try it! I don’t stay at spg very much but wish I did, they have good properties
By: Elena G on January 3, 2013
at 10:44 pm
New Year’s resolution: more SPG points through my Amex card in ’13.
By: Patrick Kavanagh on January 4, 2013
at 12:33 am
I still lack platinum status and vow to earn more SPG points through my Amex card in ’13.
By: Patrick Kavanagh on January 4, 2013
at 12:35 am
Wow. That is a lot SPG activity!
By: Dan on January 5, 2013
at 8:40 am
Love me some SPG…and free giveaways
By: agentmanoo7 on January 5, 2013
at 9:21 pm
There’s a lot of hype about Big Data, but boy, companies sure set the bar low when it comes to demonstrating their ability to mine data for insight….
By: PH on January 6, 2013
at 2:17 pm
Interesting…have you kept track or read the terms to see how long before posting? Many places (not just hotels) have a period of time pass before they award points so you have a lot of pending points but but can’t use them until the allotted time
By: Jacob on January 11, 2013
at 6:52 am
This is something Hyatt is best at, IMO. Last year when they had promos where you earned a certain number of points after staying X nights I was reliably seeing those points post a few days after I reached each threshold.
Regards, Edward Pizzarello
Sent from my iPhone
By: pizzainmotion on January 11, 2013
at 7:33 am
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at 8:52 am