Originally Posted by
Okijames
So I'm a little late to the game on this info... Did not realize this distinction between SPG and MR LTP transferring inequitably into the new combined program. I assumed LTP = LPT, which was bad enough, but now realizing MR LTP = LTPP while ANY SPG LTP = LTP I have to say it is difficult to stay calm. As an SPG LTP with 836 nights and 12yrs Plat, and wanting to give Marriott the benefit of doubt, I can only hope this inequity is simply a GIANT FREAKIN OVERSIGHT.
Note that during the same 12yr period I maintained Hyatt Diamond status in addition to SPG Plat, yet had only 2 Marriott stays, i.e. I have a great deal of control over hotel choices even on biz travel. With LTP-Minus (I agree with MSPeconomist) under the new program locked in, and no apparent path to LTPP, I can shutdown Marriott stays as I have in the past with no impact on LPT-Minus status. I am free to focus my stays elsewhere with no downside related to the new Marriott program.
Agree completely and this mimics my circumstances very closely, although I have a few more nights and years. I also kept Hyatt Diamond for 12 or 15 years and could still go back to it to finish off lifetime status there ( but the main problem there is footprint).
I thought Marriott would suit my travel patterns and that going forward I would stay maybe 70/30 SPG/MAR. But I have the option to stick with Plat-Lite ( as MPS-ECONOMIST calls it) , forgo the SNAs and higher earning and do those stays elsewhere, HH, IHG, even some Radissons and independent hotels. We are not locked-in here.
The big revelation for me in this discussion has been the extent to which many of the total night count is not real. For anyone in Australia, most of Asia, much of Europe, we don't have these CCs, MAR or SPG, and have paid scant attention in the past. My ( close to 1000) nights are REAL, just as my extreme irritation over the second class status is REAL. It defies belief that so-called experts could design and implement a system with this fundamental built-in bias ( however trivial the earning differential...it's beside the point).