When you use 60,000 or 70,000 Starwood points with Starwood’s Nights & Flights program, you can get 5 hotel nights at or near Disney World AND 50,000 airline miles. That’s enough for 2 round-trip domestic award tickets!
I’ll show you how to quickly earn 70,000 Starwood points. And how you’ll save up to 10,000 Starwood points on a 5-night Disney World hotel stay.
Stay 5 Nights at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel With Flights for 2 Included for Just 70,000 Starwood Points!
Let’s take a fresh look at what’s new in 2016 when booking Starwood Nights & Flights awards for your trip to Disney!
Get a Trip to Disney With 2 AMEX Starwood Cards!
Link: American Express Starwood Preferred Guest 35,000 Point Offer (Personal)
Link: American Express Starwood Preferred Guest 35,000 Point Offer (Small Business)
Link: Starwood Nights & Flights
Link: My Review of the Starwood Nights & Flights Program
With Starwood Nights & Flights you get a discount on 5-night award stays at Category 3 and Category 4 Starwood hotels.
You get 5 free hotel nights AND 50,000 airline miles when you use:
- 60,000 Starwood points at Category 3 hotels
- 70,000 Starwood points at Category 4 hotels
Redeem 60,000 Starwood Points and Get 50,000 Airline Miles and 5 Nights at the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort in Orlando
How to Quickly Earn 70,000 Starwood Points
When you apply by March 30, 2016, you’ll earn 35,000 Starwood points when you meet the minimum spending requirements on the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest personal or small business cards.
So 2 cards get you 70,000 Starwood points – enough for 5 nights at Category 4 Starwood hotels like the Walt Disney World Dolphin. And you’ll get 50,000 airline miles.
This method of earning 70,000 Starwood points didn’t exist prior to 2016. Because this is the highest offer ever for these cards!
Also New in 2016: The Walt Disney World Swan is no longer a Category 4 hotel. So the only on-site Starwood hotel at Disney World is the Walt Disney World Dolphin.
That said, there are several other Starwood Category 3 and Category 4 hotels in Orlando, some very close to Disney parks!
The Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas Lake Buena Vista Is Just ~5 Miles From Disney Parks Like Magic Kingdom and Epcot
Another option is if you and a partner each sign-up for 1 American Express Starwood Preferred Guest card. If you live at the same address, you can transfer Starwood points to each other for free.
How to Book a Nights & Flights Award
Nights & Flights awards can NOT be booked online. You have to call Starwood at 888-625-4988.
Call Starwood to Book Your Nights & Flights Award – They Can’t Be Booked Online
You have to book 14 days in advance for US travel and 30 days in advance for international trips. And if you cancel your plans, your airline miles are NOT refunded!
And you can only get miles from Starwood’s airline partners that have a 1:1 transfer ratio. So this deal won’t work if you want to fly United Airlines, for example.
Starwood will reserve the room at the hotel you select when you call to book. But it’s up to you when and how you redeem your 50,000 miles for flights.
A low-level round-trip domestic award ticket costs 25,000 airline miles. But it can be tricky finding award flights to Orlando during peak travel periods.
I use Expert Flyer to help find available award seats. Or consider using an award booking service.
Flights
You can transfer Starwood points to airline partners like Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta for domestic award flights. These airlines charge 25,000 miles for a low-level, round-trip domestic award ticket.
So with Nights & Flights, you’ll get enough airline miles for 2 round-trip tickets!
For example, 2 round-trip coach tickets in October 2016 between Seattle and Orlando cost ~$914.
Save ~$916 on 2 Round-Trip Coach Award Tickets to Orlando From Seattle
If you’re a short flight from Orlando, a better deal is to choose British Airways as your Nights & Flights airline transfer.
That’s because you can book flights under 1,150 miles on partners Alaska Airlines and American Airlines for just 7,500 British Airways Avios points each way (15,000 British Airways Avios points round-trip).
So 50,000 British Airways Avios points is worth 3 short round-trip domestic coach tickets (15,000 British Airways Avios points X 3 tickets = 45,000 British Airways Avios points). You’d have points left over!
Hotels
1. Stay at Disney World – Walt Disney World Dolphin
The Walt Disney World Dolphin is the only Category 4 Starwood hotel inside Walt Disney World! This is a terrific option if you want more time to enjoy amusement rides instead of riding in your rental car to the park.
Plus you get these additional perks:
- Advance tee times on championship Disney golf courses
- Character dining
- Extra Magic Hours benefit (visit the parks after normal hours)
- Free delivery of purchases made in Disney
- Free parking at Disney
- On-Site Disney ticket desks
- Transportation in Disney (shuttle bus or take the boat from the hotel to the resort)
Walt Disney World Dolphin Guests Get Easy Access to Parks and Special Perks!
A 5-night stay here in October 2016 costs ~$1,620.
You’d Spend Over $1,600 for 5 Nights at the Walt Disney World Dolphin in October 2016
Adding our previous example, you’d spend a total of ~$2,536 ($916 for airline tickets and ~$1,620 for your hotel) for this trip to Disney.
But with Nights & Flights you’d pay 70,000 Starwood points.
Note: If you booked 5 nights (with no airfare) at this hotel, you’d pay 40,000 Starwood points total (10,000 Starwood points per night X 4 nights with the 5th night free). So that’s still a good deal if you plan on driving to Orlando instead!
Keep in mind, this hotel adds a $25 per day resort fee to award stays. And self-parking is $18 per day with no in-and-out privileges.
Note: Park tickets are NOT included!
2. Stay Near Disney World
You might prefer other Starwood Category 3 and Category 4 hotels in Orlando because you want to visit different local attractions, like Universal Studios or SeaWorld.
You’ve got lots of options, including:
- Aloft Orlando Downtown (Category 4)
- Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort (Category 3)
- Sheraton Orlando North (Category 3)
- Sheraton Suites Orlando Airport (Category 3)
- Sheraton Vistana Villages Resort Villas I-Drive / Orlando (Category 4)
- Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas, Lake Buena Vista / Orlando (Category 4)
- The Westin Lake Mary, Orlando North (Category 3)
Stay in a 1-Bedroom Villa at the Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas Lake Buena Vista / Orlando
Some of these hotels include free parking. And a few offer larger suites or villas with kitchens, living rooms, and more space.
That’s a good deal for families or if you want to save money by cooking your own meals.
That said, you’ll have to rent a car and pay for parking at Disney parks and other attractions. And the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort adds a resort fee of $21 per night.
Note: You may be pressured to attend a time-share presentation in exchange for promotional gifts, money, or Starwood points at the Sheraton Vistana resorts (and you have to pay for housekeeping service). Most folks don’t recommend it.
Remember, there are lots of other ways to save on your Disney vacation. Nights & Flights is just 1 of many options!
Bottom Line
If you’re planning a trip to Disney World, consider booking a Starwood Nights & Flights package.
With 60,000 or 70,000 Starwood points you can get 5 nights at the Walt Disney World Dolphin or nearby Starwood Category 3 and Category 4 hotels. And you’ll get enough airline miles for 2 round-trip domestic airline tickets.
You can earn the required points from the increased 35,000 point sign-up bonuses when you meet the minimum spending on the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest personal or small business cards. But this is a limited-time offer ending on March 30, 2016.
Or you and a partner could sign-up for 1 card each. You can transfer Starwood hotel points for free to anyone who shares your address.
Let me know if you have a favorite Starwood hotel in Orlando!
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Comments
- Looked at TripAdivisor rating for Dolphin hotel – pretty bad ... by Alex
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