“E ffective today, January 5th, we have increased the BRG reward percentage to 20”, posted FlyerTalk member Starwood Lurker — who is also known as William Sanders, social media specialist and one of the official company representatives of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide on FlyerTalk. “This is another way we’re making Starwood channels the best place to book your stay for the most attractive rates and rewards like free wifi, which we announced last month. All claim processing will be business as usual in accordance with the new terms and conditions.”
According to the terms and conditions of the Starwood Best Rate Guarantee:
In the unlikely event that a lower rate at a Starwood Hotel is made available on a non-Starwood website or non-Starwood mobile application (the “Competing Rate”), upon its receipt of a claim that satisfies these Best Rate Guarantee terms and conditions (the “BRG Terms”), Starwood will honor that Competing Rate and provide the individual that submitted the valid claim one of the following rewards: (1) an additional 20% discount off the Competing Rate per room per night; or (2) 2,000 Starwood Preferred Guest® Starpoints® per room per stay.
That is an increase from the former reward percentage of ten percent, which is great news — but whether or not securing a best rate guarantee will become increasingly difficult is yet to be known. On the other hand, the amount of Starpoints you can receive instead of the discount remains at 2,000.
The general rule of thumb is to accept the 2,000 Starpoints as the better value — unless the 20 percent discount is greater than $50.00. I might lower that dollar amount somewhat — if only to save money to be able to use the cash I save at any time anywhere rather than receive points that are limited to the terms and conditions of the Starwood Preferred Guest frequent guest loyalty program. How much lower the dollar amount should be depends on which Starwood hotel or resort property at which you will definitely be staying in the future; as well as by how much you value cash versus Starpoints.
Good luck to you in invoking the best rate guarantee on your future reservations at Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide properties in the future…
