canuck_in_pa

I just made +2 but looks like benefits have changed.

Good: AA status match

Bad: No more Ritz-Carlton

You can also now get an Admirals Club membership for 35,000 points.

+3 was gutted looks like (unless you fly BA J or expensive AA) so I'm transfering all my spend to Amex SPG until Jan 1.

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I was wrong about Ritz. See below.

PROBBE

What r you talking about? Total Merril is cashback, no??
Benefits still posted on ML site.

The Ritz-Carlton®
Benefits:
MERRILL+ 2 cardholders

A complimentary Ritz-Carlton one-night stay certificate.

MERRILL+ 3 cardholders

Three complimentary Ritz-Carlton one-night stay certificates.
Terms:

Certificates expiration dates vary depending on when +Levels are earned.
MERRILL+2 cardholders are eligible to receive one certificate for a one-night stay for the calendar year in which they achieve +2 status. Cardholder's +2 status will last throughout that year and the following calendar year, but the cardholder will not receive another one- night stay certificate until they re-qualify in the following calendar year, or thereafter.
MERRILL+ cardholders are eligible to receive three one-night stay certificates for the year in which they achieve +3 status. Cardholder's +3 status will last throughout that year and the following calendar year but the cardholder will not receive another three-night stay certificate until they re-qualify in the following calendar year, or thereafter.
Upon achieving +2 and +3 status cardholders will be sent a new Benefits Guide with instructions on how to obtain their one-night (s) stay at The Ritz-Carlton.
Cardholders must have certificates to make reservations and present certificate at the time of stay. Reservation code and instructions appear on the certificate.
Not all room types are eligible. Eligible room rate and type for certificate use may vary by property and season. Some resorts are subject to more limited availability.
Based on availability at the time of reservation.
Cannot be combined with any other offers.
One-night stay certificates can be used together.
One-night stay certificates are not transferable and are subject to availability.
Available at all participating Ritz-Carlton Hotels worldwide,with the exception of The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago, IL.
Participating hotels are subject to change without notice.
The Ritz-Carlton offers and rules are subject to change.

canuck_in_pa

Oops (I). I meant Merrill+

Here's the link to the benefits summary, where Ritz is not mentioned anymore:

https://www.card.ml.com/MLRewardsCen...RRILL-Plus.htm

Oops (II). The Ritz is still showing under full benefits:

https://www.card.ml.com/MLRewardsCen...ils.htm#R_Ritz

So benefits actually improved with the AA/BA stuff... Mea Culpa

dgreen12

I needed to book a flight for someone to come out to GEG from CLE. No award availability on NW or UA, except at prohibitive redemption levels.

Was able to use ML+ points to get the ticket at 30,000 points (an extra 5,000 was needed over normal levels because of a no-Saturday-night-stay and not within a 21 day booking window).

Under the new Amex guidelines, I would have had to burn in excess of 43,000 Amex points to get the same ticket (they use a $.01 value per point when used towards travel on any airline via their captive travel agency).

Just hit +3 status. Looking forward to the three extra Ritz nights.

^

wanaflyforless

The biggest benefit change I noticed is the ability to transfer ponts 1:1 to BA fee free. That plus the Ritz nights is good.

gleff

Wow -- $50k in spend yields 50k BA miles and 4 Ritz nights. I had previously valued the Merrill points at next to zero, but this change is huge IMHO.

I need to think through this one but I may want to replace my Diners Club with this one as #2 in my wallet.

Assume the Ritz nights get booked in the lowest category of room?

gleff

(And is spend calculated on a calendar year basis or from the date the card is obtained?)

sbc94523

Based on calendar.

Force

And it is `rumored' that the Ritz program will go away and maybe replaced by another hotel chain ...

adamak

The RC free nite certs.... Any expiration? Must it be used within the same calendar year it was earned? (I hope not).

dgreen12

The first Ritz I got back in April expires 12/31/05 and can't be extended.

The three I qualified for in August will have a 6/30/06 expiration on them.

canuck_in_pa

Same here. I just ordered it and the rep said 6/30/6. He also said that they're still undecided about the hotel certs next year. They're mad at Ritz for promising great availability, which isn't the case in some hotels.

I just got my AA Plat card today: it shows expiry of 02/2007. A good thing for me since I haven't requalified for CO Gold yet (odds are I will though). I don't get to fly AA much... It will be interesting to find out the differences from CO.

mplsll52

I just called and pitched a fit about availability. I tried to book ritz south beach 3 or 4 nights early dec. They show all room types available on the ritz site but no certificate avail. What a crock. These certs are basically worthless. It is not like I tried to book during peak season or when the hotel was near full. I'll stick with my centurian and go to a different visa or MC.

Erling

Just got the +2 package in the mail and called to book my Ritz-Carlton certificate. The rep said that the cert was valid for a year but that I would have to book a reservation before Dec 31st because they are cancelling the Ritz-Carlton partnership next year! So use em or lose em before Dec 31!

FlyingToFly

The Ritz program will be discontinued, and is being replaced by a partnership with LHW. It's a major step down, IMO, and only offers a 12% discount. Tier 3 members get LHW membership.