Surprised that no one on FT has figured on the details of the new program yet (come on people!), I tried to do my part and did a quick search of recently filed/issued trademarks to try and at least figure out the new program name (if there is a new name). Two interesting recent Marriott Intl. trademarks caught my eye:

1. "Club Marriott" this trademark was filed in April of 2017 but just got formally issued on April 10th 2018. The description says it is for use in "Administration of a customer loyalty program which provides special guest services, amenities and awards for members; customer loyalty services and customer club services, for commercial, promotional and/or advertising purposes; promoting hotel and restaurant services for others by administering an incentive award program." Sounds very promising at first blush, but the site actually exists www.myclubmarriott.com and it appears to be an APAC specific loyalty program that does not require property stays. From their description "As a Club Marriott member, you will have the world at your fingertips, with special offers, select access to leisure facilities and exclusive privileges at over 250 participating hotels and resorts across Asia Pacific." Anyway, doesn't seem like the new program name and I personally would be surprised if the new program had "Marriott" in the title given that they are combining 3 programs. Link to Club Marriott trademark application.

2. "Traveler" this trademark was just filed on April 9th. It is associated with a traveler.marriott.com, a Marriott produced travel magazine that I have never heard of (although they seem to have several of these now probably as part of some SEO strategy). Sounds generic enough not offend anyone from the different programs, but the description in the filing says it is for "providing an online non-downloadable general feature magazine; providing online digital publications in the nature of a magazine, featuring information about food and beverages, health and fitness, culture, style, family, vacations, and travel." Given this description is consistent with the site, and that fact that Traveler is almost a parody of Globalist, I am thinking this is not the name either. Link To Traveler trademark application.

My grand and bold conclusion from this search is that if they are changing the name of the program, they are doing a good job hiding it.

FWIW, I also tried to do a search of recently filed domain names, but that data costs money and my interest in stirring idle speculation stops when it requires me to actually spend money. Anyway, don't let it be said I didn't do my part feeding a frenzy of pointless speculation ahead of Monday's announcement