Originally Posted by
Ord Liza
We don't know for sure; the Marriott agents have not been consistent as to whether or not all past years of status will count, regardless of the means of achieving status. Personally, I have had only one Marriott agent say that not all would count, while 2 agents told me they would all count. The Lurker has confirmed that years of status achieved using in part credit card nights will count, but we still do not have a direct answer as to years achieved through challenges, complimentary granting when close, "achievers", soft landings, etc.
Since years of status didnt affect Marriott lifetime status, being granted an extension of status was effectively the same as achieving it. Switching to a program where points don’t count anymore but status years do is bound to create confusion. With a slight shift in behavior, I might have achieved 10 years of Gold and/or Platinum status. Under the current program, if someone spent enough to earn 2MM points, it didn’t matter if the required 750 nights for LTP were earned in 3 years or 30. If I didn’t already have LTG under the current program, depending on how status is calculated, I might be several years away or just close to qualifying for LTP under the replacement system.
If Marriott had kept the points requirement and ignored years of status, I would expect confusion and concern about current and future lifetime status among SPG members. Earning large numbers of points would be a bigger issue for those who didn’t have access to Starwood credit cards which currently earn 3 times as much as Marriott cards but don’t earn elite nights.