# 5* urgency



## pointsjunkie (Mar 26, 2007)

just spoke to elite services about the urgency to get to 5* elite to get the plat. for life benefit.at this time there are only 600 5*elite members. at this time there is a cap of 2000 who will receive the benefit BUT as sales continue and the opening of new resorts they will reevalue the cap and change it. so the sales people are using this as a sales ploy . they will not be at 2000 by the end of the year or by next year, so all of you out there take your time,:whoopie:  buy where you want and if need be wait for the new resorts to open.


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## KOR5Star (Mar 26, 2007)

600?  I'd be surprised if there are even that many.  I was recently told (three weeks ago) by someone on the SVN Elite line there were "very few" 5 Stars.  I guess it depends on someone's idea of what "very few" means.


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## Transit (Mar 26, 2007)

I find it hard to beleive that Starwood would cap this or end it when 5*'s are spending hundreds of thousands dollars to become a 5* and thousands on maintanence fees.


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## duke (Mar 26, 2007)

KOR5Star said:


> 600?  I'd be surprised if there are even that many.  I was recently told (three weeks ago) by someone on the SVN Elite line there were "very few" 5 Stars.  I guess it depends on someone's idea of what "very few" means.



All I can say is that when they see I am a 5* they do anything I ask.


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## sharktzu (Mar 26, 2007)

> All I can say is that when they see I am a 5* they do anything I ask.



Anything? Really?....

I knew there was a reason I wanted to be 5*. I used to dream of getting there someday, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able put up the kind of money you need to get to 5*.


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## KOR5Star (Mar 26, 2007)

duke said:


> All I can say is that when they see I am a 5* they do anything I ask.


And that's because there are so few of us. :whoopie: 

It may be a different story if they ever have thousands of us.


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## oneohana (Mar 26, 2007)

Transit said:


> I find it hard to beleive that Starwood would cap this or end it when 5*'s are spending hundreds of thousands dollars to become a 5* and thousands on maintanence fees.



Correct me if I'm wrong, but the 2000 limit is for the SPG Platinum American express card. Not the 5* elite status.


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## myip (Mar 26, 2007)

*Confused 5 * elite plat for life benefit*

I am getting confused as what is  5* elite to get the plat. for life benefit.  What does it mean life benefit?  Isn't 5 * elite get a platinum spg membership?  Don't you have to maintain the 5 * elite to continue to have platinum spg membership?  What does it mean life benefit? Is this mean if I sold 1 timeshare , I become 4*elite, I am still a platinum spg.


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## Transit (Mar 26, 2007)

Oneohana,you have it reversed,almost anyone can get the Plat AMX card. Getiing 5* elite is rumored to be capped at 2000.

Myip ,SPG PLAT only for the life that your 5* elite and SPG Gold is for the life you own you Starwood Timeshare.


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## Ken555 (Mar 27, 2007)

pointsjunkie said:


> jso the sales people are using this as a sales ploy



bingo!

I also tend to doubt they will ever end this, regardless of what they say, as long as the total 5* membership is relatively low. This is a great pie-in-the-sky sales tactic to get people to 'buy just one more timeshare' each time you visit. 

And yeah, I can see the benefit for 5*, but not for 3* and possibly not for 4*. But I don't see myself beneifiting by $100k worth or so.. at least, not right now! If I was buying more timeshares anyway, then this might sway me to buy SVN rather than another brand, and that's what they're trying to do with this program. 

But I really doubt they'll end it anytime soon. And if they did? They'd start some other program with other amazing benefits...


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## arlene22 (Mar 27, 2007)

The cap is not on the number of 5* elites, rather the cap refers to the number of SPG platinum memberships they will award to those who become 5* elite. SPG platinum is very hard to achieve and has some pretty serious perks for a frequent hotel traveler. The frequent travelers over at flyertalk salivate over it, but if you don't spend a lot of time in hotels, it probably won't float your boat.


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## arlene22 (Mar 27, 2007)

Ken555 said:


> bingo!
> 
> And yeah, I can see the benefit for 5*, but not for 3* and possibly not for 4*. But I don't see myself beneifiting by $100k worth or so.. at least, not right now! If I was buying more timeshares anyway, then this might sway me to buy SVN rather than another brand, and that's what they're trying to do with this program.



To me, 4* is the level with the most value, because it allows you to keep your reservation while you are on a waiting list. To someone like me who tries to reserve a very popular week each year, that would be huge.


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## Ken555 (Mar 27, 2007)

arlene22 said:


> The cap is not on the number of 5* elites, rather the cap refers to the number of SPG platinum memberships they will award to those who become 5* elite.



Ah, right. Yes, that's what I meant. Read my above post with "SPG Platinum" in mind. I still seriously doubt they will really cap it at 2000.


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## Ken555 (Mar 27, 2007)

arlene22 said:


> To me, 4* is the level with the most value, because it allows you to keep your reservation while you are on a waiting list. To someone like me who tries to reserve a very popular week each year, that would be huge.



I see your point. That could be very valuable for those who need to travel during school holidays or other popular weeks. Makes sense.


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## KOR5Star (Mar 27, 2007)

arlene22 said:


> The cap is not on the number of 5* elites, rather the cap refers to the number of SPG platinum memberships they will award to those who become 5* elite. SPG platinum is very hard to achieve and has some pretty serious perks for a frequent hotel traveler. The frequent travelers over at flyertalk salivate over it, but if you don't spend a lot of time in hotels, it probably won't float your boat.


Actually, SPG Platinum is one of the easiest to achieve.  It's only 25 individual stays (could be a single night) or 50 nights.  This is a cake walk to get for your average business traveler.

I'm platinum for biz travel and my wife gets the platinum for our 5* ownership.  It's not an exclusive club at all, although the benefits are very nice.

Before buying WKORV in early 2004, I was Marriott Platinum.  Now there's a difficult mark to make... 75 stays.  I was usually one of only a few Platinums in the hotel and Marriott really bent over backward for Platinums.  I'd arrive close to midnight and I'd still get an upgrade.  They'd even warm up and send finger food to my room with compliments.  When I stay at a Starwood property, it seems like EVERYBODY is platinum.  Unless you make a habit of checking in early, you could easily miss an upgrade.

I don't mean to bash it.  It's good.  It's just not all that exclusive, so the value you imply is a bit off track.


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## tomandrobin (Mar 27, 2007)

KOR5Star said:


> Actually, SPG Platinum is one of the easiest to achieve.  It's only 25 individual stays (could be a single night) or 50 nights.  This is a cake walk to get for your average business traveler.
> 
> I'm platinum for biz travel and my wife gets the platinum for our 5* ownership.  It's not an exclusive club at all, although the benefits are very nice.
> 
> ...



Interesting perspective, comparing the platnium status of Marriott vs Starwood!


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