Hilton vs. Marriott for Golds
#46
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NC
Programs: AAConciergeKey/1MM, DL DM/2 MM, UA Gold,Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 11,921
Given the SPG merger, are the sentiments here still the same when it compares to Hilton Honors?
#47
Join Date: Sep 2007
Programs: DL Silver, AS MVP, UA Silver, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Plat, SPG Plat, National Exec Elite
Posts: 3,883
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.
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.
#48
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Toledo, OH
Programs: Delta DM & MM, Hilton DM, Marriott gold, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska 75K, Wyndham Diamond,
Posts: 15,391
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.
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.
#49
Moderator, Marriott Bonvoy & FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: McKinney, TX, USA
Programs: United Silver; AA Plat/2MM; Marriott LT Titanium; IHG Plat; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 11,721
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.
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.
#51
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Toledo, OH
Programs: Delta DM & MM, Hilton DM, Marriott gold, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska 75K, Wyndham Diamond,
Posts: 15,391
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.
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.
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.
#52
Moderator, Marriott Bonvoy & FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: McKinney, TX, USA
Programs: United Silver; AA Plat/2MM; Marriott LT Titanium; IHG Plat; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 11,721
Note I don't have it and probably never will as $395+ is a bit too rich a CC for me.
#53
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Toledo, OH
Programs: Delta DM & MM, Hilton DM, Marriott gold, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska 75K, Wyndham Diamond,
Posts: 15,391
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.
Note I don't have it and probably never will as $395+ is a bit too rich a CC for me.
I might be willing to pay $395 for the card if it included Platinum status with Marriott but too expensive for gold.
#54
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 85
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.
#55
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,501
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.
#56
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 85
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.
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.
#57
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,501
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.
#58
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 85
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.
#59
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,341
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.
#60
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,501
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.
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.