Club lounge access is a SPG Biz cardholder benefit when staying at Sheratons, but booking requirements apply. You’re supposed to book directly through SPG channels, so booking with UR points through Chase (Expedia) wouldn’t qualify, but the hotel may or may not honor this benefit if you ask and show them your SPG Biz. I’ve read that your account should be noted with this benefit (likely because you provided your SPG account number to Amex when applying for the SPG Biz, and approval for the card and it’s associated benefits is communicated to SPG), but in practice I’ve been told that they can’t see information that I’m a cardholder in my account.
We checked into the Sheraton Park Anaheim yesterday, and while they have me down as SPG Gold and read off the perks I’m getting with that status, they didn’t mention access to the Club Lounge as a SPG Biz cardholder. When I inquired, they asked if I was a SPG Biz cardholder because they only saw that we were paying with an Amex SPG card (DW’s new SPG Biz to work towards MSR at 2x Starpoints/$1!),* not whether it was business or personal. I answered yes, showed my card, and they apologized and recoded our keycards to grant club lounge access.
Sheraton club lounges vary. At the Sheraton Park in Anaheim, it comes with access to the club lounge where you can get some work done and a bite to eat. Your choice of a continental breakfast is served in the mornings in the lounge, or a hot breakfast buffet downstairs in the restaurant from 6:00-10:30 am; warm hor d’oeuvres, cheese and crackers, bottled water, soft drinks, coffee, tea, beer and wine, etc. are available during happy hour from 5-7 p.m.
*We ended up booking the Sheraton directly through SPG. I figured this was the best way for us to hit several targets that using points through Chase UR wouldn’t have let us do. We paid the 15% off prepaid rate of $123 for a standard room. As SPG Gold through Amex Platinum, we were upgraded from a standard room to a higher floor, partial theme park view room that would’ve cost at least $90/night more if I had booked that instead, and we get late 4:00 pm checkout since we have an evening return flight. This also lets us put a few hundred dollars towards my wife’s new SPG Biz MSR at 2x Starpoints/$1; and as SPG Gold, I got a small welcome gift of points and earn 3x Starpoints for the stay. We also made good use of the club lounge benefit this morning and evening. Breakfast included bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, country potatoes, pancakes, cereal, pastries and muffins, fruits, an omelette station, apple and orange juice, milk, and coffee. Hor d’oeuvres were cheese quesadilla and taquitos, tortilla chips, a cheese platter and crackers, and veggie dippers. I’m cashing out UR points to pay for this stay. It pains me a little to cash out points at 1 ccp, but it makes the stay “free.” I had been stalking the UR portal for weeks, and the cheapest rooms at the hotels we frequent were higher priced rooms I would have never booked if I were paying cash, so I wasn’t about to book them just because I was paying with points. This being spring break, a lot of options were getting booked up and prices were trending up. When I priced out the cheapest options on Chase UR in points vs. cashing those points out to pay for the Sheraton in cash, it was basically 1 ccp, but making a direct cash booking ensured I’d get to use my SPG Gold and Biz benefits, should earn us ~3k Starpoints for the stay, and put my wife a few hundred closer to MSR on her new SPG Biz.
What an awesome bonus! I'm guessing this won't even be taxed as a bonus but sounds like more of a 'gift'...? Either way, nice deal!
HAHA!
