Originally Posted by
Kacee
The benefit accruing status was "attained" through an exceptionally generous status match. It was not earned based on stays. Anyone who "earned" Marriott Gold on stays will be converted to Plat in the new program and continue to receive consistent benefits. I just don't see any injustice here.
I am talking about SPG Gold being downgraded to the new Starriott Gold Elite from August 2018 losing some of the SPG Gold benefits. I am not talking about those who will lose the MR Elite Gold benefits because they obtained that status through a "generous" match of their SPG Gold status. The benefit year generally goes from January to the end of February of the following year.
Effectively, Marriott is saying, yes, back in 2017, we told you if you stayed 25 nights at Starwood properties, we would give you SPG Gold in 2018 and here were the benefits. You would enjoy this benefits until the end of February 2019. Fast forward May 2018, sorry, we have changed our mind. We are cutting your benefits.
As for those who obtained MR Gold Elite through a status match on the strength of their SPG Gold, yes, the deal was generous. If Marriott decided that it has made a mistake and wanted to reverse course, I have nothing to add. They probably should have matched the SPG Gold to Silver Elite but status definitely influenced one's booking decision. Then the change in August 2018 will be an "enhancement"!