CJKatl

You do realize the T&Cs state:
So what would be your defense if tomorrow Marriott said it changed the rules and will not honor any buyback offers? That they changed the program rules on a program in which they could change the rules at any time even without notice? You're out of gas before you even start.

Please, Marriott has lied to us before and they will do so again, unless BOGO for the weekends has come back like was previously promised. Not allowing buyback would be one of those things that 0.00000001% of members might care about. Clarifying a change or making another change won't have any real impact on the vast, vast majority of MR members.

NikoLGA

Changing the rules is not the same as mis-communicating information, Marriott is now saying on record that they mis-communicated the information the last two days, and apologize for the mistake. That means that they did not change their mind, they screwed up on the PR.

I’ll take it to the media if I have to, but I have an extremely strong case.

yurtripper

You posted MR tweets 3 times on the TPG page. 2 of them (which were identical) specifically said that Buy Back will NOT return:
"2017 is also the last year the status Buy Back promotion will be offered. Members will not have the option to buy back their previously held Elite status using points in 2018."

NikoLGA

Read further down:



As you can see even then Marriott told me I’d be able to buy back thru 2018.

CJKatl

You have no case. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. We all belong to MR at the whim of Marriott. Marriott is free to interpret the rules, change the rules or screw up the PR as they see fit. No amount of foot stomping, cage rattling or huffing and puffing will change that. All they have to do is say that as of tomorrow there is no buyback and you can't do anything about the rule change. While I appreciate your frustration in Marriott's lack of clarity, that doesn't give you rights that are contrary to what's in the T&Cs, nor does it create a winnable court case.

NikoLGA

It gets weirder and weirder.

After reading the Insiders Post (with skepticism) I called the desk and spoke to the “Senior Specialist” at Marriott Rewards, Eric. I told him I’m taping because I needed confirmation, which he was happy to give:



I now have tapes of audio, and black and white writing from them.

username

I am lifetime Plat with Marriott. My experience with them has been "if the numbers support what they want to do, who cares what the customers think/want/feel". I am glad people are bringing up the BOGO and the FT representative thing. It tells you how the company works.

I am all for "no buyback" but I can see the problem is them announcing it in late November for people who were counting on doing it. To me, the better way to set the statuses is really take the combined night / stay count at the end of the year and apply it based on each program's rules.

Yet, they have this totally uneven match that is not fair to Marriott members and is causing over-crowding at some lounges. Why aren't they fixing that? Maybe the numbers tell them to not fix it and MR customers are going nowhere?

So, all of this is scary to those of us who have lots of points between the 2 programs. Who knows what customer-unfriendly move they will make when they merge the programs.

Horace

SPG and Rewards are still separate programs and will remain separate in 2018. We now have the benefit of elite tier linkage and being able to move points between SPG and Rewards, but otherwise they remain separate. Qualification requirements have not changed.

So far, Marriott has not announced the details of the future combined program. All we can do so far is to make educated guesses. For example, I would guess that the combined program in 2019 will have Gold and Platinum as two of its elite tiers, and that Gold and Platinum earned in 2018 in either SPG or Rewards will provide these levels in the combined program in 2019.

SPG Platinum status is "earned after completing 25 eligible stays or 50 eligible nights in a calendar year. Eligible paid stays and nights, as well as Award redemption stays and nights, count toward elite status." So there's no need to stay 75 nights to earn Platinum in SPG.

It's possible that the combined program will provide a third way to achieve status, based on the total of points earned across SPG and Rewards in 2018. But, with nothing along those lines announced, I wouldn't count on it yet.

CCIE_Flyer

Brings to mind an interesting question, though...

Would it really be fair to award 2019 Combined Plat to an SPG loyalist with 50 2018 nights, and Combined Gold to an MR member with 74 2018 nights?

Marriott15

That is my issue though people are going into 2018 basically blind. If I stay 50 nights at Starwood that gives me Platinum but if I stay 60 nights at Marriott that just gives me gold. Come 2019 do they combine both of my accounts and say you stayed a total of 110 nights and you get the highest level possible. The only reason I would hop from Starwood to Marriott is depending upon what promotion each program offers.

Also will Marriott still offer the Platinum challenge after 50 stays in 2018. Will that count toward 2019? If so then my issue doesn't matter!

Marriott15

I hope by July August they make some announcement so it gives people that chance to reach what ever level they can for 2019. But I wouldn't expect anything until 4th quarter.

bennos

I've seen it at the SF Marquis and SFO FS.

Many times I'd actually prefer a smaller car (looking at you, tiny LA parking spaces) but with Hertz (and to some degree the US car market) smaller car generally mean fewer capabilities.

I think this is still a hotel by hotel thing. The SF MQ M Club has excellent dessert offerings, rivaling some international properties. The SFO FS has glass bottles that you can fill and take to your room. Housekeeping then clears them the next day. Sure you can't grab 6 to take with you to your meetings during the day...

Closer to being on topic, I suspect ending rollover and buyback is more about program unification/simplification than dramatically reducing the number of elites. Sure, some won't requalify, but those on the fringe will book a mattress run or shift some spending around. Real adjustment, if needed, can come as part of the merged program. Or by dropping crossover elite status with United :P

Chewie

As Niko is single handedly going to take down Marriott and the more I read this thread, I am beginning to think that I am one of the rare oddities.

Am I the only one that stays at Marriott (and have done so for almost 20 years) because I actually like the brand?

i see a lot of folks wanting to bail out at > 75 nights. A lot of folks leaving to other brands, etc.

I appreciate the loyalty program and points (I’ve used over 4 million miles and have been all over the world with my family as a result) and I’ve had some amazing rooms in my career. But, above all else, I really just like Marriott. It might be because it’s really all I’ve known, however, I like knowing what to expect anywhere I stay.

jacca83

Do rollover nights get added to your lifetime nights?

CJKatl

Yes