Triangle Trip

Marriott has been offering a promotion (click here for the link to Marriott’s Triple Summer Miles promotion) where you could earn triple miles on Delta or Northwest from June 1, 2009 to August 31, 2009. For those unfamiliar with the standard Marriott reward offering, you can choose to earn either 10 Marriott points or 2 Delta miles for each US dollar spent at a Marriott. If you sign up for this particular deal, you would earn 3x the standard Delta SkyMiles – 6 miles for every dollar spent.

My initial reaction was that this promotion is a no brainer, but, of course, the tradeoff between hotel points and airline miles can be considered more of an art than a science. For instance, a person that uses Marriott points for stays at Marriott hotels would view the trade off differently than a person who is accrues Delta SkyMiles for free flights. I personally avoid Marriott hotels unless there’s truly nothing better in the area where I’m vacationing; I will save the Marriott bashing for a separate post. Nevertheless, in an attempt to determine whether Marriott Points or Delta SkyMiles are more valuable, let’s set aside personal preferences.

To make this decision more of a science, let’s take a common item that can be purchased with points or miles – say an iPod Touch (16GB). Based on a calculated spending level (how much actual cash you need to spend at the Marriott to get the iPod) and an assumed price of the product, a cash back equivalent (CBE) can be determined. The reward offering that results in the highest CBE is the better deal. As you can see from the table below, this methodology suggest that the 3x Delta miles promotion offers the highest CBE at 3.01%. The results also show that without the 3x promotion, the Marriott points are more valuable at a 2.62% vs 1.00% CBE.

When no promotions are involved, you may want to check out Captain G’s perspective on airline miles vs hotel points.

Following up on previous post regarding how to check status, SPG has responded with email notifications.

Previously, the only way to find out the number of free weekends awarded was to call SPG’s award winning customer service.  The e-mail I finally received was a pleasant surprise.  Another reason to bank at Starwood (more reasons why hotel points are more valuable than airline miles), they respond to demand and answer!

Westin is offering 500 SPG points in exchange for you to make your own bed (or reuse your towels).  Another way to phrase it is:  “500 SPG points in exchange for saving them costs in labor and laundry.”  A third way to put it (as Starwood Corp. would like to tell its customers):  “Help the earth and enjoy a gift from us!”

Instead of the 500 SPG points, you can choose to get a $5 gift card to be used at the Westin restaurant, lounge or gift shop.  I was recently at a Westin in Pasadena, CA and the Westin in San Francisco, and saw the card with the following message upon arrival:

You tidy, we treat

You may choose to decline housekeeping service for the following day by hanging this card on your door before 2am. In return for going green, we will deliver a $5 gift card that you may use towards any Restaurant, Lounge, or Room Service purchase within the hotel. If you prefer, you may exchange unused gift card at the front desk for 500 SPG points.

The catch here is you will need to put the tag out by the door before 2AM.  I guess the Westin staff need to determine which room will not be serviced the following day and issue your card on time.  You will not qualify for this offer if you are only staying for one night.