Oh, this is not the post I thought I would be writing! I really was hoping that it would say – “How I Got Tremendous Value From SPG Starpoints.” 🙂 Well, someone got some tremendous value for them and it is still worth taking a look at to see yet another way that SPG Starpoints are incredibly valuable. I missed out this time but hope to win something similar next time!
A Great Way To Get Tremendous Value From SPG Starpoints
A package that offered tremendous value for your SPG Starpoints
Last year, I wrote a post to show how checking out the SPG Moments packages more closely can show you that there is tremendous value in them – even if you have no interest in the headline item (show, activity, etc.). A couple of weeks ago, this digging into an auction got me very excited and highly interested in what promised to be a great package.
The SPG Moments Package
The auction was titled “Private portrait session with illustrator Maya Beus at the Bentley Suite in St. Regis Istanbul.” With all due respect to Maya Beus, the portrait session really didn’t interest me. But, the details and descriptions of this package, which started at 15,000 Starpoints, did interest me.
Here are the details of what would come with this auction item:
- Portrait session for two (2) with celebrity illustrator Maya Beus at The St. Regis Istanbul on 3 March 2016
- Two-night (2-night) stay for two (2) in a Bentley Suite at The St. Regis Istanbul, checking in on 3 March and checking out 5 March 2016
- VIP access for two (2) to the Butler Stories event and The St. Regis Istanbul’s one-year anniversary celebration
- Daily breakfast for two (2) and one (1) dinner for two (2) at Spago by Wolfgang Puck
The Value Of The Package
Currently, the St. Regis Istanbul is a Category 7 property so it requires 30,000 Starpoints per night. So, at the very minimum, a package with a two-night stat at this property would be worth 60,000 Starpoints. After the SPG change next week, it will go down to a Category 6 which will put it at 20,000 – 25,000 Starpoints.
The rest of the items on the list are pretty nice as well – daily breakfast and even a dinner at the new Spago restaurant by Wolfgang Puck. Those meals would certainly not have been cheap so would increase the overall value of the package.
Oh, The Suite!
But, here was the real winner. Instead of just getting a basic room, or even a basic suite, at the St. Regis, you would have had 2 nights in the Bentley Suite. This Suite goes for a staggering $5,250 per night! That is an incredible amount but it is what the Bentley Suite goes for. Incidentally, the St. Regis Istanbul is one of only two hotels in the world with a Bentley Suite (the other is the St. Regis NY).
The beautiful Bentley Suite | From St. Regis website
The bathroom of the Bentley Suite | Photo from St. Regis website
That means, instead of only getting two nights in the same room that the 60,000 Starpoints would have given you, you would have had 2 nights in a suite that would have cost a total of $10,500 for the 2 night stay. Talk about a steal!
The cost per night for the Bentley Suite at the St. Regis Istanbul
So, what would you have valued this entire package at in terms of retail price? I would guess that it would be a minimum of $11,500 (without knowing what a celebrity illustrator would charge for a portrait). How many Starpoints would you have used for this?
Not A Winner This Time!
Still a great value – but wasn’t the winner this time!
I had a number in mind that I was going to go up to and woke up with surprise this morning that it had gone from 23,500 points to a new amount of 70,500 points. That was quite a bit over my limit (since I have some other uses for some of my Starpoints this year) but still, an absolutely incredible deal. That is only 10,500 Starpoints more than a simple 2 night away stay would have cost for a base room at this property. In terms of retail price, the winner received a value of at least 16 cents per point for his/her Starpoints. Very impressive!
Summary
If one of you won this auction, you have to send over some photos of your stay! I would love to see what I missed out on. 🙂 As you can see, you can receive some tremendous value from SPG Starpoints with more than just hotel stays. Using your Starpoints for Moments auctions like this can really increase the value and allow you to stay in an impressive suite instead of the room that you might normally get with an award redemption.
Remember, SPG Starpoints are not just for hotel reservations! There is a lot you can do with them!
How high would you have gone for such a package?
