Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) has been running a promotion for a while now, where SPG members can earn gold status by completing just one paid stay in any Starwood hotel/resorts within the Asia Pacific region. This promotion went live in 2013, was extended to 2014, then 2015, and then 2016. Then Starwood & Marriott merged, and this promotion now gets you both SPG and Marriott Gold status!
Coming to the present, this offer is allows for World and World Elite Mastercard holders to book and pay one stay at a Starwood hotel with your World MasterCard, and gives a year of SPG Gold status.
The promotion has been extended through July 14, 2017 .This offer is only eligible for World and World Elite Mastercards issued in Asia -Pacific and you will need to pay for your stay and all services during the stay with your World Mastercard.
To take the benefit of this one-time upgrade offer you will need to register here. After which you will be required to do a test transaction of MYR 1 to authenticate your Mastercard.
SPG Gold Benefits
SPG has three tiers in its loyalty program:
- Preferred Guest
- Gold Preferred Guest
- Platinum Preferred Guest
Apart from all the benefits of SPG Preferred membership, Gold members additionally enjoy three Starpoints on every eligible US dollar spent, 4pm late check out, a welcome gift (free internet, water or bonus Starpoints) and room upgrades to enhanced rooms.
The upgrade to Gold Tier Membership will take up to 4 weeks once the qualifying stay is posted to your SPG account and the upgrade is valid for up to one year. You need to complete your stay by July 14, 2017.
World MasterCard cardholders who are residents of Japan are not eligible for this promotion.
Get Marriott Gold as well
Once you have Starwood Gold status, you can then match it with your Marriott Rewards Account to get Marriott Gold status as well. Here are the key benefits:
- 25% bonus points
- Guaranteed Late Checkout
- Room Upgrades
- Lounge Access/Free Breakfast
Bottomline:
With complimentary lounge access/free breakfast, Marriott Rewards Gold members receive better benefits than an SPG members. However, if you have a World Elite Mastercard and do not have an SPG status then it’s a good opportunity to complete a stay and upgrade the status. You can always status match you SPG Gold to a Marriott Rewards Gold membership.
This is a sweet opportunity to get status on Starwood & Marriott programs while they are still independent. Would you be matching up?
Has anyone really obtained a status match to Marriott Gold with this? Somewhere inside the FAQ of status match it said something like temporary/promotional statuses with either won’t be matched. And, I am assuming this is a one-year temporary SPG Gold status being offered.
Is it necessary to book the room through the company’s website or app or will booking a room through an aggregator like MMT/Trivago/Expedia also do.
Which banks in India give World and World Elite MC?
forgot to add that I am seeing a pending on my IHG so I should be good even though I said it is a USA card. Right?
Just follow your link an input my credit card info. Then it took me back to ” I registered already” Do I need to use the same credit card to pay (IHG) or can I used another world master card?
Also, if i book a non refundable stay with SPG, will i have SPG gold status within 6 weeks or is it after I stay?
@Jan the status will be after your stay.
Hi Ajay, I have a mastercard world debit card…. can I use it card for this promotion or do is it only for the credit cards?
I registered with HDFC JetAirways World Debit Card and it did register me.. So seems a good to go…
Thanks for the informative article!!
I have an upcoming stay which I booked using my Citi Prestige (to get fourth night free). But considering that stay is already paid for, is there a way to use this and still get the 4th night free benefit? Also, can I get my SPG number added to the stay now when I check in?
@Mayur it’s only valid for stays paid using World Mastercard
Completed my stay recently, and SPG status upgrade to Gold was done within a week. 🙂
Can this be reapplied? I used this promo earlier to get spg gold till Feb 2018, can I apply again?
Till Feb 2017 I meant.
@Pranay no you would only be able to take this offer 1 time
Oh ok. Thanks. But this offer is surely not to be missed