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If you wanted to say more than thank you to a Starwood employee, the way to do it was always handing out certificates sent to elites by Starwood Preferred Guest.
Starwood used to send these paper coupons to Platinum members:
There were similar certificates handed out to Gold members.
These certificates have been reported to be worth 500 Starpoints each to an employee who receives them.
While Starwood no longer mails them out, you can now print them online. I don’t recall Starwood announcing this to members, I’d be most do not know they even still exist.
Logging in I see (8) certificates expiring at the end of the calendar year.
Here’s what each one looks like:
Each certificate has a number, which you can give to an agent who helps you over the phone or print out the certificate and hand it to an employee in person.
Terms and conditions:
Certificates are nontransferable to other members. Distribution of the certificates to associates is at the discretion of the member holding the certificates; however, the certificates cannot be used as a form of bribery or fraud, nor may the certificates be sold in any manner.The member is not under any obligation to use the certificates. The certificates have no cash value if unused after the expiration date printed on the back of the certificate. No copies or substitutions of the certificates will be accepted.
Each certificate includes a unique code that can only be used (and registered) once. Please use by the expiration date on the back of the certificate.
The Starwood Preferred Guest® program reserves the right to modify or cancel this recognition promotion at any time. Not responsible for omissions or typographical errors. Void where prohibited by law.
(Emphasis mine.)
(HT: sunseeker)
Interesting. My account shows the ones that expired at the end of 2016, but nothing for 2017. Any suggestions?
“Cannot be used as a form of bribery”. I wonder if Delta uses this terminology since a certain deltaPoints blogger loves to flaunt how he uses these to bribe pursers to upgrade him to J on DL after boarding.
Christian – go to http://spg.com/elitethankyou
If you receive your gold status with AMEX platinum, you are not eligible for these certificates.
Is a bartender at a Westin a SPG employee?
Unless the restaurant is managed by an outside company, or the hotel is a franchise one (autograph collection, I’m looking at you), the bartender should be a Starwood employee.
@Gavin – No love. I’m just seeing the same thing.
the above link worked for me. was able to print the 4 certificates. am Gold level with SPG due to Amex platinum card, but status matched to Marriott Gold level, so perhaps that move made it more “genuine”.
I had several of these available but never did I get anything from SPG about them. Thanks for the heads up!
My account still doesn’t show any 2017 certificates, so I called up the Platinum number. The pleasant representative said that this had been discontinued, so I’m not sure what to make of this.
AFAIK these are NOT in your account but you have to go to the special link (or get there via search), then log in again – and there are 8 certs – once you print one it changes to “do you want to see the cert AGAIN”
I don’t know why spg makes it so difficult to reward their best staff!