I’ve written in the past about SPG Moments, whereby Starwood Preferred Guest members can redeem Starpoints for tickets at sold out events including concerts, sporting events, cultural activities, etc. As a general rule of thumb the best use of airline miles is for flights and the best use of hotel points is for hotel stays.…
Continue reading: Review: SPG Suite At The O2 Arena For A One Direction Concert
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
"They were so enthusiastic, and genuinely thanked everyone for coming no fewer than a handful of times, explaining that they couldn’t do this without the support of their fans." You really belive that? 🙂
@Thomas - is it not quite possible that some people love performing on stage in front of a group of people? I mean, it's hardly the same to them to sit in front of the TV or in a studio singing along. I mean, I'm not that type of person, but I totally get how people would get a kick out of so many people appreciating what they do and bothering to come along and listen to them. Anyway, some artists treat their fans like s**t on the stage (turning up late, not performing for long, etc) so it's actually a reasonable part of a review of a live music performance to tell people something about how they interact with their audience - after all, that's a big part of the concert-going experience.
pretty sure n*sync is still theoretically "just taking a break". a year and a half or less from now, Harry Styles is going to come out with a solo album and the next we hear from the rest of them is when they reunite for two weeks' work for a 20 second bit at the VMAs or Super Bowl.
Great report Lucky -- you really can get some supersized value from SPG moments, although it seems like people are starting to catch on more with respect to some of the auctions.
Seeing a concert from a suite can be kind of weird. If you're there just for the experience and it's not a band you are into, it can be a fun, social kind of experience. But if it's a band that I really care about, I find a suite really kind of takes away from the experience. One of the best parts of being at a concert is being in the crowd and experiencing it from that perspective.
It's great to see that they've been successful in turning the Millennium Dome, thought to be a white elephant, into a viable entertainment venue.
Please, please, please can somebody list the top 3-5 LifeMile redemptions? I understand ANA/Asiana to Asia in F - what else? It would go a long way towards helping me decide if I am going to buy these!
Thanks!
Well damn, I might have entered the contest had I known Augustana was opening... 🙂
Looks like a great time. I had never spent much time looking into SPG Moments opportunities, but I'll be keeping an eye on the site after reading the posts on the US Open a few weeks back.
@Larry I have to agree that if you actually want to see the act perform this is a pretty damn poor experience. You would need binoculars to see the performers from the location of this suite. If they had a camera team beaming footage onto TVs in the suite it might make up for it a little bit but at this location what's the point of even going? Ben said you can't even hear the music most of the time because of the screams of the fans.
I've seen Taylor Swift at the O2 Arena pop up occasionally as a SPG Moments offer and have thought about picking one up and surprising my girlfriend with a trip to London to see her but after seeing this review its not worth it. The suite itself it awesome but the location flat out sucks. I'd be better off converting the Starpoints to miles and taking her to a surprise destination she's never been before.
I was one of the lucky winners, and attended this concert with my 14yr old daughter who is a big OneD fan. All I can say is it was extremely generous of Ben to offer this out as a competition. He could easily have decided to take all his friends. But, he did a *good* thing and I think I am not alone is saying everyone who attended had a fantastic time.
I found it easy to hear the music, regardless of the screaming (in fact, the screaming seemed less ear splitting as we were slightly protected in teh box) and the screens projecting the images of the singers made it easy to see them perform.
Kudos to Ben and Tiffany for making it an experience to remember. My daughter had the time of her life, and she will always have those memories.