Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) – the best hotel loyalty program for Dubai?

Starwood Preferred Guest SPG – the best hotel loyalty program for Dubai?

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) has many benefits for Dubai-based travellers, because :

1. The abundance of Starwood hotels, bars and restaurants in Dubai,  so there are more opportunities to earn (and redeem) StarPoints.
2. Partnerships with Dubai-based services such as Emirates, Careem and Uber increase opportunities to earn Starpoints.
3. There are several specific travel hacks (more on in these in subsequent posts) for SPG properties in Dubai such as Toro Toro, Four Points by Sheraton etc. For instance, did you know you can ‘triple dip’ at Toro Toro, so you get a discount on your meal, SPG StarPoints and also a NIGHT CREDIT towards Gold or Platinum status?
4. The superb Emirates NBD SPG World MasterCard gives excellent benefits for SPG members, including the opportunity to increase your earnings and rewards.
5. Some SPG hotels in Dubai and Abu Dhabi can be used in conjunction with Entertainer Travel for free nights and/or 20% discount.
6. SPG offers an excellent Best Price Guarantee, whereby you can ‘price match’ prices found on sites such as Expedia or booking.com AND keep the benefits of the hotel loyalty program (points/miles/status etc.)
7. SPG Starpoints are the most valuable ‘currency’ in any hotel or airline loyalty program, as they are easily convertible – often with bonus miles credits – to most major airlines. I flew First Class on Qatar last July using StarPoints I had earned through stays and spending in SPG venues.

For example, here are some photos of a Qatar Airways First Class flight from London to Doha I flew on last year for free, using StarPoints I had converted from Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG).

How many Starwood Preferred Guest hotels are there in Dubai?

Dubai has perhaps the most Starwood hotels than any other city in the world (22):-

1. Four Points by Sheraton Downtown Dubai
2. Sheraton Grand Dubai
3. Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai
4. Four Points by Sheraton Sheikh Zayed Road Dubai
5. Sheraton Dubai Creek and Towers
6. Sheraton Deira  {Ed: left SPG program as 31 Mar 16}
7. Le Meridien Fairway
8. The St Regis Dubai (newly opened)
9. Le Meridien Dubai Hotel and Conference Centre
10. Sheraton Mall of the Emirates
11. The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Resort and Marina
12. Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina
13. Grosvenor House, a Luxury Collection Hotel
14. Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort and Spa
15. Sheraton Sharjah Beach Resort and Spa (newly opened)
16. Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort
17. Ajman Saray, a Luxury Collection Resort, Ajman*
18. The Westin Dubai Al Habtoor City (opening soon)
19. W Dubai Al Habtoor City (opening soon)
20. Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort and Spa
21. Aloft Sharjah (opening soon)
22. Four Points by Sheraton Sharjah (opening soon)

So, as of 01 Feb 16, there 18 currently open Starwood hotels in Dubai.

There are also 7 Starwood properties in Abu Dhabi:-

1. Aloft Abu Dhabi
2. The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort and Spa*
3. The St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
4. The St Regis Abu Dhabi
5. Le Meridien Abu Dhabi
6. Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel and Resort
7. Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi

• Both The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort and Spa, and Ajman Saray can be used with the Entertainer Travel  vouchers for either 20% off or free night (Buy One Get One Free) IN ADDITION to earning SPG StarPoints.

Here is the list of current Starwood hotels in the Middle East

So as you can see, there are plenty of earning and redemption opportunities for Starwood Preferred Guest SPG in Dubai and Middle East.

How many Starwood Preferred Guest restaurants and bars are there in Dubai?

Too many to list here, so take a look at the official SPG Middle East restaurants site.

n.b. ALWAYS check with the venue BEFORE that you will earn SPG points, and what promos are currently running.

There is a phrase in the travel hacking game, and it is ‘Your Miles May Vary’ (YMMV) and it’s particularly relevant in Dubai. Sometimes offers change, or staff are not aware of them, or the websites are not updated – and sometimes it is just down to chance sadly. However, this works both ways – for instance, I’m not sure why but the Toro Toro travel hack (an article on this will be coming soon) seems to be a genuine glitch in the system that works probably because nobody has bothered to check what the error is, and that’s to our benefit 🙂

We all love brunches in Dubai, so here is the list of SPG hotel brunches

Where can I find Starwood Preferred Guest offers in Dubai?

Bookmark this page, as it is the official SPG promotions page.

Bear in mind that the page is often a little clunky, and often takes a few back and forths through the links to get to hotels, deals or otherwise. Be patient, try selecting the older/cheaper hotels (i.e. the Deira or Sheikh Zayed Road or older JBR hotels like Sheraton) as these are more likely to offer promotions than the top-end new hotels like St Regis Dubai.

Of course, the best way to keep up to date of SPG offers is to keep reading this site 🙂

Subscribe to the RSS feed or keep checking back, as we aim to keep updated on the best SPG offers in Dubai and beyond.

So I have joined SPG as you suggest, how do I make the most of my membership?

Congratulations, and thank you for reading, listening and taking action.

Follow our School of SPG series of articles starting here to learn more about the Starwood Preferred Guest program, including :-

• Guides to making the most of your membership
• Details on the SPG hotels and restaurants in Dubai – including reviews, promos and travel hacks
• Earning and redeeming SPG Starpoints

So to keep updated on the best SPG offers in Dubai and beyond, subscribe to the RSS feed or keep checking back here – thanks !

Are you a Starwood Preferred Guest member? What do you like about the program?Please let us know via the comments below