Originally Posted by
nexusCFX
You mean the SPG days where there was always low/high season pricing, and the high end was 35K SPG which after the MR conversion is 105k Marriott/Bonvoy, just above Marriott's current highest rate. Not to mention SPG earned way fewer points per dollar.
Marriott's high end properties which previously topped out at 45K Marriott a night (or 70K for RC) are by far the majority of the ones that spiked in price post-merger, not SPG.
Maybe if by SPG days, you mean the days of transferring points from the SPG AMEX at 3:1 to redeem at pre-merger Marriott Cat9, then yeah, it's a lot worse than the "SPG days"
. I definitely do miss paying 15K SPG a night at the Marriott Park Lane.
I think the Marriott program was destined for realignment even if the SPG merger didn’t happen. 45k for top properties was often a steal - I did a travel package at one (by converting SPG at 1:3) and the deal was incredible, which is why Marriott devalued the travel packages post merger.
However, the “SPG days” before the addition of higher categories often had some really sweet spots. For example, I stayed at the Westin Europa Regina in Venice for 10k SPG when it was 500 Euros per night. It went up a couple categories pre-merger and now is cat 8 as it was re-branded at St Regis.
Marriott earned more points than SPG per $ as base points for non-elite, but if you were SPG platinum 75, used the SPG Amex, and took advantage of green choice and promotions, you could come out in comparable position, not to mention the upgrades and benefits were more generous.