Starwood SPG teams up with Uber for points on chauffeur rides
By Chris C., February 25 2015
Members of Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) can now collect Starpoints when riding around town with Uber, thanks to a new partnership between the hotel loyalty scheme and the Google-backed technology giant.
After spending just one night in a Starwood hotel each year – including brands such as Sheraton, W, Le Meridien and St. Regis – travellers will earn one Starpoint per US dollar, or the equivalent in other currencies spent with Uber.
Base-level Preferred members also pick up double points on Uber rides when staying in-house with Starwood, Gold and Platinum members earn triple points with Uber and 75-night Platinum guests net an impressive quadruple points on Uber spend: that’s four Starpoints per US dollar.
But until you’ve completed that obligatory first hotel night each year and that stay has appeared in your SPG account history, you won’t earn any Starpoints with Uber.
You’re also capped at earning Starpoints on up to US$10,000 worth of Uber rides every calendar year.
Linking your SPG and Uber accounts
To get started, head to spg.com/uber, sign-in with your Starwood Preferred Guest details and click ‘link accounts’.
For everything to go smoothly, you’ll need to use the same email address on your SPG and Uber accounts, so if they don’t match, update one to match the other.
It’s then as simple as approving the terms and conditions, after which you’ll see this screen:
After that first hotel stay, a $65 trip from Sydney’s domestic airport to the CBD earns roughly 51 Starpoints for all travellers, or up to 204 Starpoints for a 75-night Platinum member heading to a Sydney Starwood hotel on check-in day.
Get a discount on your first Uber ride
New Uber users can sign up for the service at uber.com and enter the special Australian Business Traveller promotion code of uberAusBT to add $10 free Uber credit to their account, which will count against your first paid ride in an Uber car.
(Disclaimer: we'll also pick up $10 of Uber credit when you take that ride, so it's a win-win.)
Read: Get $10 discount with our Uber promo code
Uber doesn't actually employ the drivers or own the cars, but rather provides a go-between to link drivers who have some downtime between booked jobs with people seeking a quality ride that's a cut above a taxi.
Uber counts many business travellers among its customers, especially for these runs to and from the airport.
Read: Our review of Uber in Sydney
For the latest information for business travellers and frequent flyers, follow @AusBT on Twitter.
Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jul 2011
Total posts 1374
All linked.
The T&C on the "bonus" points is a bit mean. All appears to relate to your actual check-in time, and actual check-out time.
eg.
if you take uber from Sydney Airport, stay two nights at the Sheraton, inlcuding one short uber ride to a restaurant, then uber back to airport, and uber again going back home -- you would only earn the bonus on the 'one' fare that is actually during the stay
Albeit not sure how they calculate the check-out time -- maybe a good reason to use Express checkout - probably finish the uber ride before the checkout is processed.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2431
That doesn't appear to be correct. From the T&Cs:
---
“Stay Eligibility Period” means any time between the date ... that the Participant checks in for a Stay and the date ... that the Participant checks out from such Stay;
...
Then for earning the bonus points:
"... one bonus Starpoint for every one U.S. dollar or its foreign equivalent denomination spent on fares for any Uber Usage where the pick-up for such Uber Usage occurs during the Stay Eligibility Period, if such Participant is not a Gold Preferred Guest or a Platinum Preferred Guest as of the date that the Starpoints are posted to the Participant’s SPG Member account"
(Repeat with the higher points level for each of the higher tiers.)
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jul 2011
Total posts 1374
OK. On re-reading the FAQ does appear you are correct - you would earn on all four rides in my example
"In addition to any such Starpoints you may earn for all Uber rides, you will also earn bonus Starpoints for fares for all Uber rides taken during a Stay at an SPG Participating Hotel, where the Uber ride pick-up time occurs at any time between the dateyou check-in for such Stay (any time between 12AM through 11:59PM local time on such date) through the date you check-out from such Stay (12:00AM through 11:59PM local time on such date). The amount of bonus Starpoints you will earn will depend on your SPG membership status level at the time the Starpoints are posted to your SPG Member account'
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