Starwood News: Emirates Partnership, Keyless Room Entry and Mercedes F1 Experiences

a plane with a picture of a gazebo and a pool

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Starwood/Emirates Partnership

Back in March Starwood began a new partnership with Delta that they branded ‘Crrossover Rewards‘. The partnership was put into place to encourage elite members of both companies’ rewards programs to give the other a try – As well as some reciprocal elite benefits, Starwood’s Gold and Platinum members now earn 1 Starpoint per dollar spent on most Delta Airlines tickets and Delta’s elite members earn miles as well as Starpoints on their Starwood hotel stays.

Now it would appear that Starwood has begun a similar partnership with Emirates and this time they’ve called the program “Your World Rewards”.

The Your World Rewards program matches the idea of reciprocal points/miles earning that was brought in by the Crossover program but doesn’t go as far as offering all of the same elite benefits as it’s sister program.

In summary:

  • SPG Gold and Platinum members earn 1 Starpoint per US dollar spent on all eligible Emirates flights (on top of Skywards Miles).
  • SPG Platinum members enjoy elite in-airport benefits, including priority check-in, priority boarding and complimentary e-gate access.
  • Emirates Skywards Silver, Gold and Platinum members earn 1 Mile per US dollar (on top of Starpoints) for all eligible stays at Starwood hotels and resorts worldwide.
  • Emirates Skywards Gold and Platinum members enjoy additional benefits at Starwood hotels and resorts, including 4pm late checkout, access to the SPG elite check-in line and complimentary in-room Internet access.

Registration for this program will open on 19 November and and the advertized benefits should be available straight away.


Keyless Entry Is Here

One of the things that caught our eye during Apple’s September presentation was the SPG App developed for Apple Watch and the iPhone. The app promised users the ability to unlock their room door without the need for a key – and the technology is now live.

The app notifies customers when their rooms are ready and provides them with a key code. After that it’s a simple matter of walking to the room, opening the app and using bluetooth to let yourself in.

As of 5 November, ten hotels from Starwood’s Aloft, Element and W brands rolled out the technology to their guests with a further 150 hotels expected to participate in early 2015.  For now the technology is limited to Starwood Preferred Guests (Starwood’s loyalty program members) who book their rooms through the mobile app so, if you’re used to booking through sites like Orbitz or Expedia, you’re out of luck.

List of currently participating hotels:

Aloft Beijing
Aloft Cancun
Aloft Cupertino
Aloft Harlem
W Doha
W Hollywood
W Hong Kong
W New York-Downtown
W Singapore
Element Times Square


Starwood Extends Partnership With The Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team

According to an announcement we read on Twst.com, Starwood has announced a two-year extension of its partnership with the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team (to be honest we ween’t aware of this partnership at all!).

Apparently, SPG officially launched the new global partnership at the start of Formula One’s 2012 European season and after three successful years together the two partners have now announced that their relationship will continue.

The announcement says:

Through this partnership with MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, SPG has been able to offer its members unique access to experience exclusive Grand Prix events and in incredible destinations too, such as Spain, Monaco, Singapore, Brazil, Abu Dhabi and more.

From one-of-a kind views of the pit lane to meeting the drivers in incredible destinations, the unique and exclusive experiences we have offered as a result of this partnership have helped drive SPG Members’ excitement for this popular sport,” said Mark Vondrasek, Senior Vice President, Distribution, Loyalty and Partnership Marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “Our extended collaboration with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team enables us to continue creating memorable moments for our SPG guests, feeding their passion for this world-class sport.

Members of the SPG program, which is free to join, can now continue to register for their chance to redeem over 120 Access Like No Other experiences, offering unparalleled access to the team. To date, these experiences have included exclusive meet-and-greets with the drivers and incredible one-of-a-kind views of the pit lane from the team’s VIP hospitality suites at major Grand Prix events worldwide. SPG members will continue to have access to off-track experiences including the racing simulator and being part of the team’s Race Support whereby they can watch races at the factory with the engineering team, taking them closer to the center of the action – all by using their Starpoints

So, if Motorsport is your thing and if you have a large balance of Starpoints burring a hole in your pocket, this may be of interest to you.