Triangle Trip

The Triangle Trip Team would like to congratulate The Coach for making SPG Lifetime Platinum, and Terminal D and Captain G for making SPG Lifetime Gold.

Here’s a link for more more information about SPG Lifetime Gold and Platinum statuses.

Starwood (SPG) just announced new benefits including SPG Lifetime Platinum and Gold members. If you have 500 eligible nights within the past 10 years, you will be made Platinum for life. With 250 eligible nights within the past five years, you will be made Gold for life. Lifetime Membership begins March 1, 2012.

In addition, SPG Platinum Members who reach 75 Eligible Nights during a calendar year will qualify for the Your24 benefit through the following subsequent calendar year. With Your24, you can check-in as early as 9AM as long as you give the hotel a 48 hour advanced notice. SPG 75 Platinum members will also receive 4 points for every $1 spent at a SPG hotel.

SPG Gold Members with 50 Eligible nights during a calendar year will get 10 Suite Night Awards which is used for upgrades.

SPG Platinum members are given continental breakfast as a complimentary gift. That’s in addition to the free WiFi platinum members get today. SPG continues to wow us with great perks which makes them a the best loyalty program on earth.

For more details, click on this link to the SPG Lifetime Benefits site.

For the record, I have 284 stays and 805 nights since 2000 😉

If you are stranded at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for more than a couple of hours or have a long layover with a craving for In-N-Out Burger, here’s how you can get your hands on an “animal style” Double-Double!

Unfortunately LAX does not have an In-N-Out Burger at any of its terminals. To satisfy your craving for that Double-Double, you will need to exit the LAX terminals and head to the nearest In-N-Out Burger in Westchester, which is Northeast of LAX (see map below).

You can spend $7 or so by hopping in a cab that will take you there. However, you may have trouble finding a cab to take you back to LAX. So I am going to recommend the following free approach:

As you can see from the map, there is a parking structure right next to the In-N-Out Burger. The parking structure is a long term parking lot operated by The Parking Spot. The Parking Spot has shuttles that circles LAX terminals. You can catch the Parking Spot Shuttle on the middle island of the arrivals area.

Hop on one of the free Parking Spot Sepulveda shuttles that will take you to the long term parking structure which is next to the In-N-Out Burger. Note that I have highlighted “Sepulveda” as the Parking Spot has another shuttle that goes to their “Century Boulevard” location. Make sure you get on the shuttle that has “Sepulveda” or an “S” at the end of the shuttle (see picture below).

Even thought the In-N-Out Burger is less than a mile from LAX, make sure you give yourself enough time to get back to the terminals and pass through security so you don’t miss your flight!