This stinks! What I dislike most is the ridiculous claim by Marriott that 'nothing changed'. Most other chains are trying to enhance the Elite experience and Marriott continues to go the other way. So far I have 15 mights with Hilton this year (compared to only 10 for all of 2011) and 10 with Marriott ... with a lot more travel in the 2nd half of the year I can see myself to rebook some 20-30 nights from Marriott to Hilton.
I'll see if my upgrades change over the coming months; if that is the case I'll move my business away from Marriott. The combination of no more EEOs and this downgrade makes Marriott very unattractive.