In London? Win 15,000 Starwood points (worth £225 or 15,000 Avios) and a free Uber ride

Yesterday I outlined the new partnership between Starwood Preferred Guest and Uber.   You can now earn 1 SPG point for every $1 or equivalent you spend with Uber anywhere in the world – as long as you have had a paid Starwood stay so far this year.

To kick off this deal, Starwood and Uber are running a very generous competition on Saturday.  If you will be in London, it could be your lucky day.

Between 2pm and 7pm on Saturday (not today!) Uber will be offering an additional car option alongside the usual Uber X, Uber Exec and Uber Lux, called SPG.  If you request the SPG car and are successful in getting one to pick you up, three things will happen:

Your ride will be free

You will be given 15,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points

You will receive ‘unique features’ during your ride.  These sound a bit scary, to be honest, but for 15,000 points I would go for it:

• Westin Hotels – an invitation to indulge in its signature well-being amenities, including a 10-minute Headspace meditation session, a Westin Heavenly Robe, and a Westin White Tea Travel Set.
• W Hotels – a blend of iconic design and contemporary luxury will immerse riders in an extraordinary experience featuring LED mood lighting, music inspired by W, and a Bliss Spa travel pack.
• St. Regis – a luxurious ride combining classic sophistication with modern sensibility where riders will enjoy fresh flowers; jazz music; Beyond, The St. Regis Magazine; and the St Regis Bloody Mary book.
• Aloft – a modern, fresh and fun experience including a mini-refuel kit and free wifi for the tech savvy traveler.

I value SPG points at 1.5p each if used for Westin, Sheraton, Le Meridien, St Regis etc hotel stays.  This values the prize at £225.  Alternatively, you can convert them at 1:1 to 29 airline schemes including Avios.  If you can get your total up to 20,000 SPG points via an Amex transfer or hotel stays, you will receive a bonus 5,000 miles when you transfer to an airline.

You MUST have already linked your Uber account to your Starwood Preferred Guest account to take part.  If I understand the small print correctly, normal members of the public will NOT be given the chance to select an SPG vehicle.  Only Uber accounts linked to SPG will have this option.

There is no mention of having to have completed an SPG stay this year in order to win the prize, even though this does stop you earning points with Uber.

Your odds of winning should be decent – few people in the UK outside of the HfP readership will have registered so far.  If you are happy to plug away requesting a car continually between 2pm and 7pm, you will probably get lucky in the end.  There will be 460 winners across 5 cities so roughly 90-100 in London I assume.

Full details can be found on this page of the Uber blog here.  Good luck – if you win, please let me know how your in-car ‘experience’ went!

PS.  Starwood has confirmed that rewards stays DO count as stays for the purposes of activating your Uber earning.  If you have had a reward night since 1st January you will start earning points via Uber immediately.

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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.)