Originally Posted by
tfred
for some people the marriott changes are better. for golds, they just dont accumulate enough miles (and they know it, or should) to spend a week in Paris in their lifetime. they probably spend the points on weekends, short trips etc - all domestic. rewards that maximize short stays are probably better for them.
i have a tendency to believe the numbers that marriott gave since i tend to go on shorter trips - 5 nights - obviously just me. It is evident that the new marriott will make you pay for the privilidge of staying in london, paris or rome since everyone wants to go their for free. nothing wrong with that IMHO.
Funny you should mention this example. I'm a gold and have only been one for about a year. I was silver for several years prior and actually
DO have enough points under the old system to redeem for a week in Paris. And amusingly enough (or coincidentally enough) Paris was on my radar as a potential 7 night destination due to some work related prospects.
With the new schedule I definitely can't afford a week in Paris. I also know that I won't be able to book it before the points shift. I'm now planning on doing some 5 night stays in lesser properties somewhere closer to home (its not worth it to go to the EU for just 5 nights IMHO) so MR has changed my plans significantly.
Along with changing my plans they've changed my outlook on my future prospects with MR. As I mentioned in earlier posts, the value proposition of MR is substantially reduced now compared to HH. I've been on the fence about keeping HH Diamond vs. keeping MR Gold (I can't do both) but this change has made my decision easy. My future spend will go to HH. Sorry MR, you were fun while it lasted but I'm off to greener pastures.