Other Hotel Programs - Ritz Carlton Program?

I have a bunch of stays planned at Ritz Carlton hotels in the upcoming months and can't seem to find anything about their Loyalty program. I know years ago they were "sort of" in Marriott's program where some properties participated and others didn't.

However I can't seem to find out if they have a loyalty program, perhaps I'm not searching correctly.

Anybody able to help?

You are correct in that for a while Marriott did allow points earnings at RCs. Unfortunately, that didn't last long. RC is still technically a Marriott brand, but it is marketed pretty much separately. It is possible to use Marriott points for a RC award, but you can't earn points. (BTW, using Marriott points for an RC can actually be a very good use of Marriott points given that Marriott recently increased the point costs for most hotel awards except for the RC brand.)

Basically, the closest to a loyalty program RC has is that each hotel does track who stays at their properties. If someone becomes a regular at a hotel, that person may get some nice upgrades and other benefits from that particular RC, but that is about as close to a "loyalty" program as they have now.

As for searching, there are a few threads in the Marriott forum lamenting this very fact:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-rewards/905123-points-ritz-carlton-stays.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-rewards/775473-any-benefits-ritz-carlton.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-rewards/767534-points-nights-ritz.html

There is also a thread or two in the Luxury Hotels forum on this as well:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels/849153-does-ritz-carlton-have-award-program.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels/416693-does-marriott-status-mean-anything-ritz-carlton.html

Thanks for the info, I was afraid that is what I would find out. I was just hoping that maybe Marriott had finally incorporated them into their program, or they had started their own program.