How to use your Starwood status to get perks on Virgin Atlantic and Delta

With Delta Air Lines now owning 49% of Virgin Atlantic, and offering the ability to earn miles and status by crediting Virgin flights to their SkyMiles programme, I thought it was worth reminding you about the often-ignored ‘Crossover Rewards’ programme.

This effectively gives elite members of Starwood Preferred Guest and Delta SkyMiles status benefits with each other.

Starwood has a website outlining the benefits which you can find here.

How does it work?

Put simply ….

If you have Starwood SPG Gold or Platinum status:

You will earn 1 SPG point for every US$1 you spend on flights with Delta.

To qualify, flights must have been booked directly with Delta or via a normal travel agency – online travel agents are excluded. Your ticket must contain ONLY Delta operated and Delta coded flights – having a Delta flight plus a non-Delta flight on the same ticket means you earn nothing.

If you book Virgin Atlantic flights under the Delta codeshare flight numbers, these would count for Crossover Rewards.

To earn the points, you will need to link your SPG account with your Delta account.

For SPG Platinum members only, you will get special benefits when flying with Delta – 1 free checked bag (for you and 3 companions), Zone 1 Priority Boarding (for you and 8 companions), priority check-in, ‘day of departure’ upgrades.

Note that you will rank behind Delta status members and Delta credit card holders in the upgrade queue, so you shouldn’t put much faith in that clearing.

There are no special benefits for flying with Virgin Atlantic, although I imagine that might change in the future.

If you have Delta SkyMiles Diamond, Platinum, Gold or Silver status:

You will earn 1 Delta SkyMile for every $1 spent at Starwood hotels. This is on top of your usual Starwood points.

You will receive 4pm check-out, free internet, priority check-in and an upgrade to an ‘enhanced’ room. These are fundamentally the same as SPG Gold benefits.

So, is this a good deal?

I am assuming that more Head for Points readers are likely to have Starwood than Delta status, so I have approached it from that angle.

For a UK resident, this appears to be very attractive.

First, Starwood Gold status is free if you get an American Express Platinum card, or become a high spender on the Starwood Amex.  Many Head for Points readers will therefore already have this status.

Secondly, it is more likely that a UK resident who ends up taking the odd US flight with Delta (or a Virgin flight booked as a Delta codeshare) will not have status with them, as they won’t be flying them enough. The Delta benefits are therefore something you would not otherwise have.

Thirdly, the 1 Starwood point per US$1 spent on Delta coded tickets means (assuming you convert the points to airline miles) 1 mile in any SPG partner airline for every 68p you spend. How ironic is it that you could spend £2,000 on a Delta ticket and earn almost 3,000 Avios via SPG?!

You can link your Starwood and Delta accounts via the Starwood website above.

Note that you will NOT be able to take part if your Starwood account is set up for ‘Airline Direct Deposit’ ie you earn a flat 500 airline miles per stay rather than earning SPG points.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)