FlyerTalk Forums

FlyerTalk Forums (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/index.php)
-   Marriott | Marriott Bonvoy (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-marriott-bonvoy-766/)
-   -   Marriott Bonvoy ‘Ambassador Elite’ Level : experiences (2020 and earlier) (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-marriott-bonvoy/1906860-marriott-bonvoy-ambassador-elite-level-experiences-2020-earlier.html)

Wickersley May 15, 2018 8:32 pm


Originally Posted by Hipplewm (Post 29757477)
That would suck HORRIBLY for those of us who spend 200 nights a year at RI (5pts per dollar)

I agree with you, however I suspect that will be the case.

Hipplewm May 15, 2018 9:37 pm


Originally Posted by Wickersley (Post 29758629)


I agree with you, however I suspect that will be the case.


Nah, they already said in August when the swap happens there will be a $$ number on your account page on the Marriott.com website. You can call now and ask what your YTD spend is, mine is extremely accurate - even with 85 days in a RI so far, I will be on track to hit 20K I think.

lexdevil May 15, 2018 9:52 pm


Originally Posted by Hipplewm (Post 29758777)
Nah, they already said in August when the swap happens there will be a $$ number on your account page on the Marriott.com website. You can call now and ask what your YTD spend is, mine is extremely accurate - even with 85 days in a RI so far, I will be on track to hit 20K I think.

Yes, I have no doubt that they are clever enough to calculate $ from base points on 3 rooms, even with some properties earning at different rates.

This does not, however, mean that they are always accurate. Because they appear to be tracking spend via base points, the number they gave me was off by around $15K.

Hipplewm May 16, 2018 8:21 am


Originally Posted by lexdevil (Post 29758814)
Yes, I have no doubt that they are clever enough to calculate $ from base points on 3 rooms, even with some properties earning at different rates.

This does not, however, mean that they are always accurate. Because they appear to be tracking spend via base points, the number they gave me was off by around $15K.

I wouldn't be surprised if the 3 rooms thing went away and dollars were calculated based on the room that the member is in only. That way they can still award bonus point for meetings, extra rooms etc, but spend will be what the member spends.

Airlines do this now, if i spend $5000 on 2 tickets - one for me and one for my wife, I only get PQD's for my ticket and she gets PQD for her ticket - if she doesn't have a FF account, they go into the ether, no one gets the benefits of spending the money on her ticket.

MSPeconomist May 16, 2018 9:05 am


Originally Posted by Hipplewm (Post 29758777)
Nah, they already said in August when the swap happens there will be a $$ number on your account page on the Marriott.com website. You can call now and ask what your YTD spend is, mine is extremely accurate - even with 85 days in a RI so far, I will be on track to hit 20K I think.

So did they give you half credit or full credit for your spend during those 85 RI nights?

Hipplewm May 16, 2018 9:33 am


Originally Posted by MSPeconomist (Post 29760470)
So did they give you half credit or full credit for your spend during those 85 RI nights?


Full credit for "Room Rate" all the taxes, occupancy tax, local room fee and all the other local type taxes were not counted. Luckily when i do my expenses i have to break that out, so I already had a good handle on that number.

lexdevil May 16, 2018 12:21 pm


Originally Posted by Hipplewm (Post 29760307)
I wouldn't be surprised if the 3 rooms thing went away and dollars were calculated based on the room that the member is in only. That way they can still award bonus point for meetings, extra rooms etc, but spend will be what the member spends.

Airlines do this now, if i spend $5000 on 2 tickets - one for me and one for my wife, I only get PQD's for my ticket and she gets PQD for her ticket - if she doesn't have a FF account, they go into the ether, no one gets the benefits of spending the money on her ticket.

It's certainly their choice to make, but if they choose to do that they will lose a substantial chunk of business from me. I'll be free to look elsewhere for anything that takes me past PLAT 75.

Hipplewm May 16, 2018 3:12 pm


Originally Posted by lexdevil (Post 29761229)
It's certainly their choice to make, but if they choose to do that they will lose a substantial chunk of business from me. I'll be free to look elsewhere for anything that takes me past PLAT 75.


You certainly do, there is no denying that.

Then again, with industry consolodation, you have Starriott, Hyatt and Hilton at the top of the heap - plus many fabulous independent properties.

Hilton, nor Hyatt have the coverage Starriott does and they are probably banking on that to some degree as they know they have a somewhat captive audience. Plus the groups that use Marriott in the past now have access to the SPG brands and vice versa. Some may stay, some may go, some may expand etc.

Based on their current releases and conversion, I think the vast vast majority are happy so far, we will see if devaluations come after they realize this was too generous or not.

All that said, I have no clue, nor do I have any inside data to indicate they are removing the 3 room limit, other than I was asking/speculating if what they quoted you for spend lined up with what you would have if you only counted one room per night......

lexdevil May 16, 2018 4:01 pm


Originally Posted by Hipplewm (Post 29761953)
All that said, I have no clue, nor do I have any inside data to indicate they are removing the 3 room limit, other than I was asking/speculating if what they quoted you for spend lined up with what you would have if you only counted one room per night......

It lined up with three rooms spend. The issue is that, in most cases, I book and pay for 4-9 rooms. That's a whole lot of revenue I bring to Marriott for which I'm not getting credit (unless they figure out how to credit more than three rooms).

Two to three times a year I book group contracts as well. I think it would be in Marriott's best interests to give some credit for group spend. If they fail to do this, they may fail to offer the highest level status to many of their most lucrative customers.

bhrubin May 16, 2018 4:39 pm


Originally Posted by lexdevil (Post 29762124)
It lined up with three rooms spend. The issue is that, in most cases, I book and pay for 4-9 rooms. That's a whole lot of revenue I bring to Marriott for which I'm not getting credit (unless they figure out how to credit more than three rooms).

Two to three times a year I book group contracts as well. I think it would be in Marriott's best interests to give some credit for group spend. If they fail to do this, they may fail to offer the highest level status to many of their most lucrative customers.

According to Marriott Insider and Starwood Lurker, Marriott will continue to award 10 elite nights for group contracts and bookings of 10+ rooms. So those continue to be available.

Also according to Marriott Insider and Starwood Lurker, Marriott will not continue the SPG policy of awarding up to 3 elite nights for up to 3 paid rooms where a member stays in one of them. However, points will be awarded for up to 3 paid rooms, so members still get credit for those additional rooms—just not towards elite status.

Marriott has decided what is in its best interests insofar as awarding elite status, probably based on innumerable calculations of how many elites would have attained various levels of status in previous years among both Marriott and SPG members.

Few benefitted more than me with the SPG policy of gaining up to 3 elite night credits—which is how I now have 119 nights for the year already! Of course, losing the 3 elite night credits policy and gaining the 10 elite night credits policy means I do even better—and it rewards me even more for putting my larger groups at Marriott hotels, even more than the SPG policy did.

So your assessment that the new policy somehow hurts Marriott might be true for YOU in your personal circumstance—but is quite doubtful for the bigger picture that actually concerns Marriott. People who book large groups of 10+ rooms do better with Marriott’s policy than they did with SPG’s policy...and those larger bookings account for vastly more business than the 2 extra rooms individuals may book.

Sorry.

bhrubin May 16, 2018 4:46 pm


Originally Posted by lexdevil (Post 29761229)
It's certainly their choice to make, but if they choose to do that they will lose a substantial chunk of business from me. I'll be free to look elsewhere for anything that takes me past PLAT 75.

Absolutely. Which is how Marriott thins the herd of Ambassador level elites, along with the obvious approach to include the $20K minimum spend.

When you look elsewhere beyond Plat75, of course, you also do give up the Plat75 ability to get a select suite or at least a very upgraded room category, lounge access, free breakfast, more points, and better treatment overall at the Marriott properties. I think you’ll find you give up more than you gain, but that does depend on where else you choose to stay.

lexdevil May 16, 2018 7:11 pm


Originally Posted by bhrubin (Post 29762223)

So your assessment that the new policy somehow hurts Marriott might be true for YOU in your personal circumstance—but is quite doubtful for the bigger picture that actually concerns Marriott. People who book large groups of 10+ rooms do better with Marriott’s policy than they did with SPG’s policy...and those larger bookings account for vastly more business than the 2 extra rooms individuals may book.

I do book a few large groups of 10+ rooms each year. I could book more. I sometimes book 10-15 rooms without a group contract because I like the flexibility and don't want to be stuck paying for attrition.

The question remains whether those who book and pay for 4-9 rooms will receive credit for this spend, and whether those who book large groups will receive any credit for that spend. If we don't, Marriott is making it harder for some of its most lucrative customers to achieve its highest level of status. Their choice, but it seems like a mistake to me.

lexdevil May 16, 2018 7:28 pm


Originally Posted by bhrubin (Post 29762251)

When you look elsewhere beyond Plat75, of course, you also do give up the Plat75 ability to get a select suite or at least a very upgraded room category, lounge access, free breakfast, more points, and better treatment overall at the Marriott properties. I think you’ll find you give up more than you gain, but that does depend on where else you choose to stay.

I'm not entirely stupid. If I have 25+ nights beyond PLAT 75 to spend elsewhere, I'm not going to make those the nights I'm on vacation in London, or nights when there is a good full service property with a nice lounge that works for me.

What it means is that 25+ of the nights I currently spend in Courtyards/Fairfields/SpringHills/TownePlaces may be moved to Hyatt Places/Hilton Garden Inns/Hamptons/Homewood Suites/Home 2s/Holiday Inn Expresses/Staybridge Suites/Candlewood Suites if those hotels are more convenient and/or a better value. These are not locations where I see much benefit from status, so if choosing something else on occasion has no impact on my status with Marriott (because I may not reach $20K in spend if they only count 25-35% of my spend), there is no real reason to stick with Marriott for these nights. I'll still do my 75 nights, but why do more?

For Marriott it is worth noting that the 25+ nights they may lose from me represent a lot more than 25 room nights. Sure, it will be at cheaper properties, but I will generally be booking 6-9 rooms for each of these nights (sometimes more). Even at the low end we're talking about a potential loss of 150+ room nights.

HHonors OUTSIDER May 16, 2018 8:15 pm


Originally Posted by lexdevil (Post 29762651)
I'm not entirely stupid. If I have 25+ nights beyond PLAT 75 to spend elsewhere, I'm not going to make those the nights I'm on vacation in London, or nights when there is a good full service property with a nice lounge that works for me.

What it means is that 25+ of the nights I currently spend in Courtyards/Fairfields/SpringHills/TownePlaces may be moved to Hyatt Places/Hilton Garden Inns/Hamptons/Homewood Suites/Home 2s/Holiday Inn Expresses/Staybridge Suites/Candlewood Suites if those hotels are more convenient and/or a better value. These are not locations where I see much benefit from status, so if choosing something else on occasion has no impact on my status with Marriott (because I may not reach $20K in spend if they only count 25-35% of my spend), there is no real reason to stick with Marriott for these nights. I'll still do my 75 nights, but why do more?

For Marriott it is worth noting that the 25+ nights they may lose from me represent a lot more than 25 room nights. Sure, it will be at cheaper properties, but I will generally be booking 6-9 rooms for each of these nights (sometimes more). Even at the low end we're talking about a potential loss of 150+ room nights.

I am wondering why they don't give 100% tier bonus for PP Ambassador Status? SPG gives it to Platinum 75. Hilton gives 100% to Diamonds and IHG Club gives 100% bonus to Spire. That should give more of an incentive to hit 100 nights in the new MR?

EuropeanPete May 17, 2018 2:14 am


Originally Posted by lexdevil (Post 29762651)
For Marriott it is worth noting that the 25+ nights they may lose from me represent a lot more than 25 room nights. Sure, it will be at cheaper properties, but I will generally be booking 6-9 rooms for each of these nights (sometimes more). Even at the low end we're talking about a potential loss of 150+ room nights.

I just don't think a significant number of people work that way. It's only on Flyertalk where people routinely declare "I'm now top tier with a programme which means I get treated better than anyone else. What possible incentive could I have to ever stay at their properties?".


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 9:11 pm.


This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.