I was concerned that Marriott was going to flush the rewards/loyalty program down the toilet once they completed the merger with SPG but they haven’t exactly done that to my surprise. Starting in August, the single loyalty program (still unnamed) will be mostly the same however there are some enhancements that mainly the platinum members will feel. Overall all the changes appear fair and reasonable.
Summary:
- You will have a single account across SPG, Marriott and Ritz-Carlton
- SPG points will be converted 1:3 and you will earn points in this new single account
- There are 8 category reward levels each with low-season, standard and high-season offerings
- Hotel rewards appear to require less points then SPG rewards today
- Benefits remain similar (see below) however the Platinum Premier Elite requires a $20K spend
- Hotel category assignment is unknown at this point in time
Elite Status Comparison:
So how does your current status at Marriott or SPG compare to the new program? There will be five tiers, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Platinum Premier and Platinum Premier Elite with Ambassador. As mentioned previously, the Platinum Premier Elite w/ Ambassador requires a $20,000 spend which averages around $200 a night. For some this is not a problem, for others this may be challenging. If you are coming from SPG, you will also notice that you will earn more points per dollar in the new program at all levels, while Marriott members will earn more across all levels except Silver.
How to Qualify and What Are My Benefits?
Qualifying is purely on a nights total. The program has removed the ability to qualify based on stays. This seems to be a relatively fair change and for the true traveller, they will have access to more properties then ever before with the merger of the program under a single umbrella.
Benefits mostly remain the same however there area few additional noteworthy perks for Platinum members. The best-available room upgrade now include suites which is a huge bonus. Some hotels were stingy about upgrading members to their suites and others did it all the time. Now this is an option period. Suite Night rewards will still be available however you will only earn 5 after Platinum (50 nights) but you can earn an additional 5 after reaching Platinum Premier Elite (75 nights). The Your24 option however is a perk that is solely for the Platinum Premier Elite with Ambassador (100 nights). I’ve had hit or miss with this perk so I am not too worried about it if I do not quality for 100 nights again. Finally, to achieve top tier, you need to spend $20,000 which works out to be $200/night.
| Qualification | Silver Elite | Gold Elite | Platinum Elite | Platinum Premier Elite | Platinum Premier Elite w/ Ambassador |
| Nights | 10 | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 |
| Spend | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | $20,000 |
Free Night Awards:
Free night awards will have three categories, Standard, Off-Peak and Peak. The “Standard” rate will be effective August 2018 for Category 1-7 hotels. The Off-Peak and Peak rates will not come into effect until 2019. This could be good/bad depending on what you plan on booking. If you plan on booking somewhere during a traditional peak season, then book now!
Overall the changes are in our favour. For example, Category 7 Hotel may save you up to 45,000 Marriott Points/15,000 SPG points. There is a savings for every category with the exception of Category 2 (but not by much).
There is one large unknown. We do not currently know what hotels will be assigned to which category. Until this comes out it will be hard to say if your traditional Category 7 hotel with SPG was “upgraded” to Category 8 thus costing you more at the Standard rate or not. We will just have to wait an see.
| Category | SPG | Marriott | Point Savings (Marriott) | Point Savings (SPG) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low End | High End | Standard | |||
| 7 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 60,000 | 30,000-45,000 | 10,000-15,000 |
| 6 | 20,000 | 25,000 | 50,000 | 10,000-25,000 | 3,333-8,333 |
| 5 | 12,000 | 16,000 | 35,000 | 1,000-13,000 | 333-4,333 |
| 4 | N/A | 10,000 | 25,000 | 5,000 | 1,666 |
| 3 | N/A | 7,000 | 17,500 | 3,500 | 1,166 |
| 2 | N/A | 4,000 | 12,500 | -500 | -166 |
| 1 | N/A | 3,000 | 7,500 | 1,500 | 500 |
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