SPG Moments Can Give You Much More Value Than The Titles Suggests

SPG Moments is a nice way by SPG to get us to spend our Starpoints – but that is certainly not all bad! There have been a lot of great packages over the years, including some that were not available through any other avenue for purchase.

But, many times, people may just look at the type of event and the location and skip it if it is not something that they have any interest in. However, it can pay off big sometimes to look a little bit closer to see what the package is actually giving you.

SPG Moments Can Give You Much More Value Than The Titles Suggest

This has happened many times before and this current auction is a good example. It does not end for another 3 days so I am sure the price will go up quite a bit, but it could give you an opportunity to get a suite at a Luxury Collection Hotel within the SPG portfolio. Here is the deal.

Case Example

– SPG Moments Auction Link

The auction is for a musical performance in Athens – in less than 2 weeks! The bidding ends a mere 8 days before the packaged event takes place so the chances are good that not that many people are in a position to take advantage of it.

Now, I am not a fan of musicals – just not my kind of thing. But, I looked closer at this when I saw what it included:

• Two (2) VIP tickets to “Mamma Mia!” at the Badminton Theater in Athens, Greece, on Saturday 14 November 2015
• Access for two (2) to a private cocktail reception with the show’s seven (7) lead actors in the Penthouse Suite of King George, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens; actors include Sara Poyzer, Richard Standing, Shobna Gulati, Anna Stolli and Niamh Perry, Michael Beckley and Mark Jardine
• Cocktails and gourmet appetizers for two (2) curated by theExecutive Chef, Mr. Sotiris Evangelou, and the hotel’s head bartender
• Two-night (2-night) stay for two (2) in a Suite at King George, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens checking in on Friday 13 November, checking out Sunday 15 November
• Daily breakfast for two (2) at Tudor Hall Restaurant
• Transportation for two (2) to and from the airport, hotel and theater

The parts that jumped out at me were the last 3 item – 2 nights in a suite at the King George hotel in Athens as well as daily breakfast for two and transportation to/from the airport. The entry level suite at this hotel is pricing out on other weekends for €320 per night. If you wanted to redeem points for a weekend stay in a basic room (non-suite), it would take 12,000 points per night – so this package should be worth at least 24,000 points, but you get a suite with the package!

But, the bidding has been only 11,000 points (it started at 10,000 points) and it ends 3 days from now. It will go up but how high? Will it go over the 24,000 points that this hotel charges for two nights in a non-suite room? If not, this is a great way to get some nice accommodations and some extras for less than the cost of the room – and that is if you do not even want to go to the musical! If you want to go, of course you are getting even more value out of it.

Tips For Great Deals

I have seen this happen before where such packages went for less than the rooms themselves cost and here are some things that may help to spot such things.

• Foreign cities – a lot of packages in foreign cities have the bidding close less than 2 weeks out from the event and not everyone is willing to move quickly like that.
• Read the details – the event itself is what SPG is putting out there but some of them will include the accommodations and that can be valuable and obtained cheaper than the actual rooms sometimes.
• Auction – of course, it has to be an auction since the other items are simple redemptions that are price controlled by SPG

That’s it! If you look past the title, you could be in a position to secure some nice accommodations at a much cheaper redemption than the normal cost is.