An interesting article about how valuable the SPG program is to Marriott:
http://qz.com/645364/your-starwood-p...ey-are-to-you/
Interesting quote from Marriott CEO Sorenson:
"Sorenson has said repeatedly that SPG is a main reason why Marriott is pursuing Starwood. Marriott’s own rewards program is much bigger than Starwood’s, with 55 million members to SPG’s 23 million, and often ranked higher in third-party analyses. But Starwood’s SPG members
skew younger and high-end. “SPG is a powerful program, there’s no doubt about it,” Sorenson told investors on Monday. “It’s got a
strong group of elite loyalists.”