The problem is merging 2 currencies
If MR had given SPG a 2:1 valuation, then it would have caused howls of protest from the hotel owners and from Marriott shareholders
The main issue was the #:1 disparity on earning which lasted a sweet year but is gone now.
MR did give enough chances for arbitrage on points transfers (RIP)
Originally Posted by
uncommonsensical
if you put 7 figures on the card per annum (what i meant by 'failure of imagination'), this is a crushing and massive devaluation.
ironically, it produced the same result for both groups: a sock drawer'd card and some splainin for amex to do on their quarterly conference call when their spg #'s take a tumble. meanwhile, Chase, whose previous card only had value up to a finite point for people manufacturing status, will see an uptick because their card is worth 100% more now than it was yesterday.
the big takeaway... if you have a big negotiation coming up, hire the chase negotiating team. the amex team should be drawn and quartered... by amex even more than us.