Hilton vs. Marriott for Golds

Old Nov 13, 2017, 4:55 pm
  #46  
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Given the SPG merger, are the sentiments here still the same when it compares to Hilton Honors?
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Old Nov 13, 2017, 5:01 pm
  #47  
 
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It's currently easier to get Marriott Platinum or Gold given the SPG Reciprocity. What the combined program will look like is anyone's guess, though... but it looks like things are staying split through 2018, so there's still some value to be extracted via the reciprocity. I'm currently able to maintain Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, and Marriott Platinum (through SPG reciprocity) all with ~70 nights this year (and some strategic mattress hopping)... that wouldn't even make Marriott Platinum in that program alone.

For someone looking to maximize mid-tier status with minimal stays/nights, holding the Surpass/Ascend/Business card and getting SPG Gold on 10x 1-night stays would give you HHonors Gold, SPG Gold, and Marriott Gold all for $95 and 10 nights. This would be a great starting point for anyone just starting to travel for business late in the year, for example, especially if they had the SPG AMEX as well.
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Old Nov 14, 2017, 9:00 am
  #48  
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What credit card gives gold status with Marriott? I have top tier with both Hilton and Hyatt currently and it would be nice to have gold status with Marriott with the merger, especially with the Delta crossover benefits but I don't stay enough and I thought you only received silver with a Marriott credit card.

I'm hoping with the new hilton credit card giving out Diamond status with no required spend at all Marriott/SPG will follow and at least have a credit card that will give out platinum with $40K spend.
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Old Nov 14, 2017, 9:27 am
  #49  
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Originally Posted by jamesteroh
What credit card gives gold status with Marriott?
The only card I can think of that gives Marriott Gold right out of the box is the RC credit card, but it comes with a hefty $395/yr annual fee. If you can charge $75K in a year, you can even get RC Plat status (which is the same as Marriott Plat).

On the SPG side, you can get Gold (and then if your accounts are linked you will have Marriott Gold) if you spend $30K in a calendar year plus you get some extra night/stay bonuses for having the SPG CCs. In fact, having both a personal and business SPG CC gets you double the initial night/stay credit from the cards. ^ I also think you can get SPG Gold with the Amex Plat CC which comes with a nice $450/yr annual fee.

None of the Marriott branded cards come with instant Gold status, but you do get 15 nights credit plus you can get another night for every $3K spent on the cards. And I think these cards come with the first year free.
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Old Nov 14, 2017, 10:45 am
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SPG Gold is definitely currently the easiest path to Marriott Gold.
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Old Nov 14, 2017, 11:01 am
  #51  
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Originally Posted by hhoope01
The only card I can think of that gives Marriott Gold right out of the box is the RC credit card, but it comes with a hefty $395/yr annual fee. If you can charge $75K in a year, you can even get RC Plat status (which is the same as Marriott Plat).

On the SPG side, you can get Gold (and then if your accounts are linked you will have Marriott Gold) if you spend $30K in a calendar year plus you get some extra night/stay bonuses for having the SPG CCs. In fact, having both a personal and business SPG CC gets you double the initial night/stay credit from the cards. ^ I also think you can get SPG Gold with the Amex Plat CC which comes with a nice $450/yr annual fee.

None of the Marriott branded cards come with instant Gold status, but you do get 15 nights credit plus you can get another night for every $3K spent on the cards. And I think these cards come with the first year free.
That is a hefty fee and spend. The Am Ex plat comes with a lot of other benefits though and I'm actually considering that card since it has skyclub access and that benefit is going bye bye for Delta diamonds next year.

I'm hoping now that Hilton is giving out diamond so freely with credit cards SPG/Marriott will come out with a similar credit card. I have no issues paying $450 a year for a credit card if it gives Platinum status with marriott, especially seeing it gives United Gold as a benefit.
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Old Nov 14, 2017, 12:54 pm
  #52  
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Originally Posted by jamesteroh
That is a hefty fee and spend. The Am Ex plat comes with a lot of other benefits though...
The RC CC also has a number of other benefits (with one of those being some type of airport lounge access.) Here is a link to a "review" of the card: Ritz Carlton Rewards Credit Card: Is it worth the $395/yr fee

Note I don't have it and probably never will as $395+ is a bit too rich a CC for me.
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Old Nov 14, 2017, 1:11 pm
  #53  
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Originally Posted by hhoope01
The RC CC also has a number of other benefits (with one of those being some type of airport lounge access.) Here is a link to a "review" of the card: Ritz Carlton Rewards Credit Card: Is it worth the $395/yr fee

Note I don't have it and probably never will as $395+ is a bit too rich a CC for me.
It's priority pass which I already have with my Chase Sapphire anyway and it will be a feature with the two new higher end Hilton Am Ex cards next year as well.

I might be willing to pay $395 for the card if it included Platinum status with Marriott but too expensive for gold.
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Old Nov 15, 2017, 7:58 am
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We are Gold with Hilton, Marriott, and Starwood. We find that overall we are treated much better at Marriott, where as Hilton (especially internationally) isnt as welcoming, and you have to sometimes lobby for your benefits. We dont understand why how you book, or how much you pay should make a difference in how you are treated. FYI our Hilton status is earned from actually paying for hotel rooms, not as a perk.
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Old Nov 15, 2017, 8:05 am
  #55  
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Originally Posted by don731
We dont understand why how you book, or how much you pay should make a difference in how you are treated.
Hotels want you to book directly with them, not through other sites. That's why some programs require a direct booking to get elite benefits.

Some implement it a little differently. The language may read "book only through our site/app", but in my experience when I've booked through another *major* travel agent (Amex Travel using my corporate code, for example), I've still gotten benefits. I'm never quite clear which 3rd-party-booked sites don't count and which do, other than I assume opaque sites with super-deep-discounts (Priceline) don't. And even then I'm occasionally surprised that I still get *some* benefits.

tl;dr version: want all your bennies and points, book through the hotel's app or website.
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Old Nov 15, 2017, 10:03 am
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Originally Posted by pinniped
Hotels want you to book directly with them, not through other sites. That's why some programs require a direct booking to get elite benefits.

Some implement it a little differently. The language may read "book only through our site/app", but in my experience when I've booked through another *major* travel agent (Amex Travel using my corporate code, for example), I've still gotten benefits. I'm never quite clear which 3rd-party-booked sites don't count and which do, other than I assume opaque sites with super-deep-discounts (Priceline) don't. And even then I'm occasionally surprised that I still get *some* benefits.

tl;dr version: want all your bennies and points, book through the hotel's app or website.
We book mostly through the JPM Ultimate Rewards site these days. As a result of her 40 years as a global traveler in her profession, my spouse is a gold/plat/lifetime member of many travel entities.
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Old Nov 15, 2017, 10:06 am
  #57  
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Originally Posted by don731
We book mostly through the JPM Ultimate Rewards site these days. As a result of her 40 years as a global traveler in her profession, my spouse is a gold/plat/lifetime member of many travel entities.
Then, from reading these different threads, Marriott might be a better option. It sounds like they are more generous with third-party bookings than some others.
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Old Nov 15, 2017, 10:53 am
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Originally Posted by pinniped
Then, from reading these different threads, Marriott might be a better option. It sounds like they are more generous with third-party bookings than some others.
We don't mind abiding by reasonable rules, but rules that call for a loyal guest to be treated differently because of how they came to walk through your lobby door seem to be poorly thought through.
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Old Nov 15, 2017, 3:06 pm
  #59  
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Originally Posted by don731
We don't mind abiding by reasonable rules, but rules that call for a loyal guest to be treated differently because of how they came to walk through your lobby door seem to be poorly thought through.
If the only time I saw you as a customer was when I was selling impaired inventory, at a price where I wasn't actually making much or any money, and it was very obvious that you were primarily motivated by price and not by brand, I might not particularly care about your loyalty, on the grounds that if I have to sell a $50 hotel room to someone who requires me to provide $20 of additional elite benefits because they are "loyal", but won't stay if that price goes to $55 because they'll walk down the street to someone else selling at $50, I'd actually rather sell that hotel room for $50 to someone who doesn't require the $20 of elite benefits. I might even discourage unprofitable behavior by my elites (like using third party booking sites).

That's the logic that hotel chains use these days with the advent of Internet booking engines and opaque inventory sites that take significant slices off the top of their return. That and occupancy rates are at near record highs. I understand it's different from the past. My advice would be stick with Marriott if you like using Chase, and if you can't, book with the understanding that you should primarily be loyal to your wallet, just like chains are.
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Old Nov 15, 2017, 3:58 pm
  #60  
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I honestly think the concept of "loyalty" is mostly dead with these mass-market hotel programs. They're transactional: spend X get a rebate of Y. Real on-property elite recognition is fading or completely gone. We even have brands (like Courtyard) and other subsets of properties (Marriott's resorts) where they actively discourage elites from staying there because it's more profitable for the hotel to get non-elites into the rooms.

The hotel rooms themselves are commodities so long as the hotel is managed well, which is driven much more by local ownership than by the rewards program.

If real loyalty - an emotional connection between the brand and the guest - still exists, it's in the boutique brands. In the bigger programs, perhaps the higher-end of the Hyatt and Starwood portfolio...although SPG/Hyatt members haven't exactly been thrilled in 2017.
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