S tarwood Preferred Guest had a promotion called Double Take through which you could earn double bonus Starpoints on your first three eligible stays of at least one night at participating hotel or resort properties almost anywhere in the world between Monday, January 16, 2017 and Saturday, April 15, 2017, as I reported in this article back on Thursday, December 21, 2016 — and in addition, each participating member also received an extra customized bonus targeted specifically for that person to earn even more Starpoints.
Reader Question: Anyone Else Report Problems With the SPG Double Take Promotion Spring 2017?
Jack — who is a reader of The Gate — claims to have stayed 22 paid nights during the promotion period; plus additional nights for which he redeemed Starpoints. The bonus 10,000 Starpoints he was supposed to have earned were not credited to his membership account. He wonders if any other readers have had problems or issues with receiving proper credit from that promotion.
“I have called them at least 4 times — everyone I have spoken to said I qualified — then they told me I needed to wait 8 weeks”, he wrote in an e-mail message to me. After the eight weeks had elapsed and two additional telephone calls, “I am finally getting my first reply / acknowledgment from them and they are telling me I only had 18 nights (with no itemization or anything — just denied due to not enough nights) — this is the most terrible service and promo management I have seen.”
Response
After having submitted a detailed listing of every stay — including the dates and what he considers his 22 nights — the response Jack received from an agent of Starwood Preferred Guest is as follows:
Dear Mr. Xxxxxx,
I hope this email finds you well.
Mr. Xxxxxx, per our conversation on June 29, 2017 in regards to missing Bonus Starpoints on your account for Promotion DT8.
Thank you for your patience in this matter, I was able to narrow it down to only 18 eligible paid nights are showing from the Promotion period Jan 16, 2017 -April 15, 2017. The reservation on Feb 23-25, 2017 is not eligible since you used Starpoints.
Mr. Xxxxxx, below are the final findings as to why your Bonus 10,000 Starpoints did not post, T&C’s of promotion DT8:
1. Registered members will earn double Starpoints at participating hotels and resorts on eligible stays of one or more nights for their first three stays within the earning period. Members who earn double Starpoints will earn an additional two (2) Starpoints per eligible US$1 spent (for a total of four [4] Starpoints per dollar). Elite-level extra Starpoints earnings and other bonuses will not be doubled. Only the base two-Starpoints-per-dollar earnings are doubled.
2. After the third stay, registered members may be eligible to earn ten thousand (10,000) bonus Starpoints after twenty (20) nights, plus an additional five hundred (500) bonus Starpoints per additional night up to five thousand (5,000) Starpoints for a total of fifteen thousand (15,000) bonus Starpoints or thirty (30) nights.
Should you have any additional questions and or concerns please reach out to us or click here to have us call you.
After reviewing your account, it has become clear to me you have taken strides over the past years to stay with us, and your passion for the program is impressive. We look forward to having you stay at one of our hotels soon.
Best Regards,
XxxXxxxx X.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, LLC
Summary
“I am very frustrated with their entire handling of this whole situation and was curious if any others have reported similar challenges and frustrations with SPG”, wrote Jack, who says he will see where this goes.
Jack seems to have already escalated the issue, as the response he received was after he says the last supervisor with whom he spoke was to have it taken care of this issue “and call me yesterday (which did not happen)”.
I did not participate in this particular promotion nor do I have access to Jack’s Starwood Preferred Guest statement; so I do not have a definitive answer — nor have I heard of any issues from readers of The Gate — and this is where you come in: have you experienced a similar issue as a result from participating in this promotion? What do you think Jack should do next?
If you have a question, please contact Brian Cohen at thegatewithbriancohen@gmail.com and either he will attempt to answer it; or he will post the question in an article for readers of The Gate to answer.
