Maybe they're trying to thin out the ranks of their elites.

US Air walked that road last fall, thinking that they would lose some but not many, but that turned out worse than they expected. By the time they recognized it and reversed course, they had already lost a LOT of elites, me included.

Marriott certainly took our emotions into account when they made their big devaluation move, but all that will really change their minds is how many of their 2008 elites are showing significantly reduced activity in 2009.

One thing is for sure... Marriott isn't stealing away any NEW elites from HH, SPG, et all. No one in their right mind would switch to Marriott this year.