i'm not your bud, so stop with the passive aggressive crap, Sally.

as to your assault on my simple math: percentages are a funny thing- they depend on your perspective. i live in the real world where i am comparing real numbers/points/money. since you're so far removed from reality that you think putting 7 figures @ the previous 3x was stupid, i guess i'll have to walk you thru it:

$10,000 spent now is 20,000 MR points
$10,000 spent before was 30,000 MR points.
to 'earn' 30,000 MR points NOW, one must spend $15,000........ which is 50% MORE spend

$10,000 spent on a 2% cash back card 'earns' $200
$15,000 spent on a 2% cash back card 'earns' $300 --- well, look at that... FIFTY PERCENT MORE $

the opportunity cost of using the AWFUL, MASSIVELY devalued SPG card is 50%. the spend itself has a quantifiable cost. that cost is now 50% higher than it was on July 31st. (period)

this stands alone. now, factor in the substantial devaluation that has/is taking place, and it's well beyond 50%. top marriott (non-RC) were 45,000, now they can be as high as 110,000 points (ignore this 4 month period of 'deals' on high end properties, it's a carrot with the stick in force thereafter). Cat 2 goes up TWENTY FIVE % from 10,000 to 12,500, and 50% (15,000 points) when subjectively called 'peak' starting in 4 months. WOW... brutal. imo, factoring everything in, the return on my spend on the card has been devalued by at least 60%.

marriott did their yearly carnage to their award chart 3/7/18, further massively devalued it 8/18/18, further massively devalues it 1/1/19 and will, no doubt, further massively devalue it 3/19.

in the decade or so i've had my SPG card, i've received outsized value for every day spend. that proposition ended in 4/18 when marriott announced the new award chart and 50% devaluation of my spend on the card. it now makes zero sense to put additional spend on the card. i'll likely keep it for the free night and put a $1 purchase on it every 6 months to keep it active. but even that isn't for sure, as the free night isn't that great on the new chart, and i am lifetime plat premier, so i don't need the 15 nights (the most compelling feature for many).

it's a sad day when the ihg card, with that terrible 'reward' program, is a superior card to the spg card. with it's 4th night free on award bookings feature, it's clearly a better card. #ripspg