Starwood Preferred Guest launches SPG Flights

Starwood Hotels & Resorts and its hotel loyalty program Starwood Preferred Guest, are taking their No Blackouts policy to new heights with the introduction of SPG Flights.

SPG Flights lets members book flights on hundreds of domestic and international airlines with No Blackout dates. Members can simply search for and select their preferred flight and class of service, and redeem their Starpoints for the entire cost of the flight. Members may even earn airline miles when booking airfare through SPG Flights.

While airline redemption programs impose numerous fees on airline mile redemption flights, SPG Flights redemption includes taxes and booking fees in the price of the flight. The timing of SPG Flights launch is significant as this new member benefit reaches beyond the hotel stay and alleviates frustrations, heightened by today’s economy, associated with air travel.

“Starwood Preferred Guest broke through the competitive landscape nine years ago with the launch of No Blackouts, which allowed our valued members to redeem their points for a standard room whenever Starwood had one available, with no blackouts or limits on the number of standard rooms set aside for redemption. SPG was the first program to deliver this benefit to members,” said Mark Vondrasek, senior vice president of Distribution and Loyalty Marketing for Starwood. “We’ve now created SPG Flights as a natural extension of SPG’s No Blackouts leadership. With the addition of SPG Flights, our members will now have the same access to air travel they have come to know in the hotel industry through SPG – if there is an available seat, it’s yours.”

Starwood Preferred Guest members can earn two Starpoints for every eligible U.S. dollar spent at over 890 participating Starwood hotels and resorts worldwide. In addition, everyone can earn Starpoints by using the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card by American Express which gives new members 10,000 Starpoints with the first purchase and has no annual fee for the first year. Also, up to 20,000 Starpoints per calendar year can be purchased on the SPG website and there is no Starpoints expiration date for active members.

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