Changes to Marriott Rewards - bye bye AA - Why?

FLgrr · Apr 30, 10, 9:35 am

I am hoping the Marriott Concierge can explain the detail behind why this happened.

We want to inform you of an important change to the Marriott Rewards® program. Effective July 1, 2010, the option to earn American Airlines AAdvantage® miles for stays with Marriott Rewards will no longer be available. The last day to earn AAdvantage miles on a qualified stay is June 30, 2010.

We apologize for the inconvenience and ask you visit your account profile, where you can opt to earn miles with any of our existing 30 airline program partners, or convert your earning preference to Marriott Rewards points. As a points earner, you'll have access to our current bonus promotion, offering up to 2 free nights plus up to $50 off a Hertz® car rental! Visit MarriottRewardsBonus.com to learn more and register today.

For complete program details, visit MarriottRewards.com, call 801-468-4000, or contact your local Guest Services office. We appreciate your loyalty to Marriott® and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you,
The Marriott Rewards Team

dayone · Apr 30, 10, 10:01 am

Until we get the official answer, my guess is that AA raised the price of miles and Marriott opted out.

KtownTraveler · Apr 30, 10, 10:08 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by dayone

Until we get the official answer, my guess is that AA raised the price of miles and Marriott opted out.

Agreed, based in part on sketchy information I was able to obtain by calling Marriott Rewards. I hope they reverse course, but unless/until they do I'm regrettably opting out of Marriott.

holtju2 · Apr 30, 10, 10:24 am

I have already dropped the Marriott but was going to redeem my last travel package and dump the miles to AA. Need to do this before end of June.

maizenblue07 · Apr 30, 10, 10:49 am

It looks like this impacts only EARNING AA miles for your stays, not redeeming for them. Is that correct?

horseguy · Apr 30, 10, 10:57 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by maizenblue07

It looks like this impacts only EARNING AA miles for your stays, not redeeming for them. Is that correct?

If you look at the other thread, it appears that even redeeming them is gone. I just converted all my points into AA miles. It looks like I'm done with Marriott.

Major G · Apr 30, 10, 11:22 am

I blame "Up in the Air'. Everyone thinks you should fly American and stay at Hilton to meet beautiful women and get 10 million miles.

tedward · Apr 30, 10, 11:22 am

I posted this to the AA thread, and I'll post it here, too...ways to contact AA and Marriott. Please tell them how you feel about this:

http://www.aa.com/contactAA/viewAadv...eFormAccess.do
https://www.marriott.com/rewards/customer-support.mi

FLgrr · Apr 30, 10, 11:34 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by horseguy

If you look at the other thread, it appears that even redeeming them is gone. I just converted all my points into AA miles. It looks like I'm done with Marriott.

I confirmed with Marriott Rewards. No redemption in anyway after this time. The AA email I received was specific in that.

Maybe just time to accumulate points until they return and get a HUGE transfer in as a welcome back (though I am sure they will figure out a way to stop that).

judolphin · Apr 30, 10, 12:16 pm

Marriott: Please bring AA back as a partner. You only give up one stupid mile per dollar spent anyhow (2 for FS).

frisbeeace · Apr 30, 10, 12:17 pm

This is the end of the road for me and Marriott. After the big devaluation (still cinically called enhancements by Marriott reps) I was already wondering what to do with my MVCI properties. Now the trade-for-points option is definitely dead for me and with such a wide offer of amazing hotels at low rates there is no reason to stay loyal to Marriott.

ohmark · Apr 30, 10, 12:44 pm

I know it's not the same thing, but you can still accumulate British Air miles to use on American flights. (Of course that doesn't help you reach lifetime AA status.)

GetawaysRus · Apr 30, 10, 1:13 pm

BIG SURPRISE - I called Marriott Rewards customer service as well to verify.

The CSR told me that it is AA that is pulling out of the relationship.

This means no more travel packages with AA. I think that is a big loss. I'll have to scramble and possibly change the airline that I use.

The list of the 7 night travel packages and the airlines that you can use for conversion Marriott points to frequent flyer miles is found here. Soon, AA will drop off this list:

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morepack.mi

Marriott Concierge · Apr 30, 10, 2:00 pm

Hello all,

We've had a long and successful relationship with American Advantage, but unfortunately could not agree on terms to continue the relationship. As stated in the letters received, June 30th is the last date to earn advantage miles for stays with Marriott Rewards and the last day to convert points to miles.

Members may elect to earn with any of our 30 other airline partner programs or earn points.

Please remember the Delta 60K Promotion and the Summer Promotion which are two great opportunities to earn more miles or points.

Kind regards,

Marie

judolphin · Apr 30, 10, 2:31 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marriott Concierge

Hello all,

We've had a long and successful relationship with American Advantage, but unfortunately could not agree on terms to continue the relationship. As stated in the letters received, June 30th is the last date to earn advantage miles for stays with Marriott Rewards and the last day to convert points to miles.

Members may elect to earn with any of our 30 other airline partner programs or earn points.

Please remember the Delta 60K Promotion and the Summer Promotion which are two great opportunities to earn more miles or points.

Kind regards,

Marie

AA miles are MUCH more valuable than DL or anyone else's as:

1. They are relatively much easier to redeem
2. They count towards lifetime status.

Marie, I know you are just a messenger, but there is NO way to spin this positively.

The loss of AA travel packages just made MR much less valuable.