FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Those of you with large SPG points balances

May 2, 2018, 2:14 am

#33

EuropeanPete

Join Date: Feb 2008

Location: In the air

Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite

Posts: 8,717

Quote:

Originally Posted by aero0729

Converting to Marriott Reward points are actually a great deal! Nothing to lose. There are almost no situations imagineable in which 1 starpoint is worth more than 3 Marriott rewards points.

A whole level of luxury hotels that Marriott doesn't have immediately comes to mind. I would agree, however, that historically Marriott has offered the better free nights per $ spent in commodity business hotels. That's been the central difference between the two programmes: Marriott focused on offering what was effectively a higher rebate rate (but lower than hotels.com), with SPG instead focusing on unique experiences and recognition. This is also the root of many of the disagreements we've been seeing between members of the two legacy programmes. It looks like Marriott might have decided that the Starwood model delivers better economics - potentially better loyalty at a lower cost. Let's see how it's implemented though.