Welcome to the Starwood Preferred Rate® Program. You are no longer a Preferred Guest. Forget about the 25 or 50 or 75 stays you had on normal rates, that earned you Platinum. Walk in the door on Jan 1, 2004 on an occasional Priceline or other third party booking…and magically and mystically you've somehow become a Non-Preferred Guest ! And now that that fundamental change in the program has kicked-off and that wall has been shattered to pieces, where will it end? Only property elite benefits when staying on Rack Rates? That also would certainly improve elite benefits too… on only those times that you were staying on Rack Rates! Slippery slope, my friend. I don't know about you, but I prefer to be a Preferred Guest. As long as I'm at a Starwood property, I prefer and expect to get the recognition I earned. And I earned that status all on qualifying rates. Because I'm a Platinum Preferred Guest. I am not my rate.