The written materials always stated SPG Gold would be Gold in the new program, a few execs gave wrong information in the press and Marriott corrected that after taking time to see if they needed to follow what the incorrect execs said. The point is the company has been very careful since then about what information is released.

As for the poster asking if there is any advantage to hitting 75 nights by Aug, NO. Even if you put aside the nonsense about nights after Aug not counting as legacy nights as has been explicitly stated repeatedly, hitting fifty nights gets you a year counting towards LT status in the new program so there is no need to get to 75. None. This has been stated repeatedly and is in the written materials. You will get no additional year if you hit 75 nights that you do not already have at 50. Unless you refuse to believe Marriott and you are looking for potential problems that do not exist, you are set and get your year towards LTP or LTPP at the fifty night mark.