I managed to escape the plebeian accommodations of the Bounty Hotel and check into the Sheraton Kuta.
I booked the hotel completely on points and in nerdy points fashion calculated that receiving a standard room would provide a value of over 3 cents for SPG point- a great deal indeed. Last year I managed with my SPG Amex personal and business along with stays all over the world to hit Platinum status. SPG Gold awards you with 4PM checkout, a god send for an aggressive traveler such as myself. Platinum ups the ante by providing a suite upgrade, when available.
In my experiences at the W Doha, St. Regis Mauritius, suites were available and they were amazing. So, upon checking into the Sheraton Kuta I was pleased to hear the sweet suite words, “You’ve been upgraded.” Avid readers may recall my experience at the W Scottsdale where, much to my chagrin, I was given a standard room with a view of nothing.
The room rate for a suite at this hotel goes for $400 a night, destroying the 2-3 cent precedent for SPG redemptions. Beyond being able to boast to my points colleagues about this stay, I have also garnered more evidence for my theorem that status not spending power is more is important.
Through many of experiences with SPG, Hilton, and Hyatt, I have been upgraded to rooms that I would never pay for and would venture to guess that most money savvy travelers also would not splurge for. In Mauritius, my one bedroom suite was $1000 a night of which I stayed on points while status-less honeymooners were confined to the standard room overlooking the pool while shelling out $500 a night.
It is easy to sit back and criticize points travelers for reveling in their room upgrades, business class suites, and lounge access but who really is the smart one; the fool who travels for free in style or the fool who looks down his nose while spending half a year’s saving for half the privilege?
