CLEguy

Take this hypothetical MR member. Now change all those MR nights and years to be at SPG properties. Same stay pattern. Same number of nights. But now 15 years of SPG Platinum and 750 nights. Why does this person "deserve" it any more? Why is that more "fair"? You're getting caught up on metal labels when it's been clear that the program is "re-metaling"

CLEguy

I can't help but conclude you're willfully misrepresenting what's been plainly said. So I'm done engaging on this topic.

UA-NYC

Because Platinum is Platinum, and it is recognizing those from each program who made the top level of status for ten different years.

The program is "re-metaling" going forward, that is not in doubt - but again, the answer to B10 references the "new program" (and there is no LTPP in the new program).

If I am mis-representing it, so are a whole lot of other people who see it the same way.

Happily.

yvr76

I'm hitting 50 nights with SPG in early July for my 9th year, and will likely go out of my way to get 50 nights with Marriott by late July for my 10th. So I'll report back if I get grandfathered or not when programs merge. If I don't, then that means you'll need 75 nights.

CJKatl

The two programs did not have plats with the same requirements. MR Gold was similar to SPG Plat in terms or eligibility requirements. Marriott has consistently passed along that message. Plat is not Plat; SPG Plat is Marriott Gold. You night not like that but it's the consistent message being given from the company.

RichMSN

Except when counting up years for LT status. Then Plat is Plat.

CJKatl

Not according to the Lurker's vetted and approved answer in the Wiki. MR Gold counts as a year towards what is needed for LTPP.

And please do not trot out that the old rules state... Under the old rules there was no counting years from the two programs, so qualifying under a combo of the two programs is all new rules anyway. The Lurker has made it clear in that count MR Gold years will be included just like the SPG 50 night level will be included.

UA-NYC

I must be confused then, as Marriott matched my SPG Plat status to Marriott Plat (not Gold) when I linked my accounts...

yyznomad

So how about this one...

My girlfriend's dogwalker's hairdresser's masseuse's carpenter's boss is SPGLTGold with 751 total SPG nights. He wants to know if he will be grandfathered into LTPP as well?

tods27

In the dashboard, when you click on the "Lifetime" button, it tells you the "years elite". For me, it shows "Years Elite", but I am LTG, so the graphic below shows my progress towards LTP, thus the years I have that are Plat years (for me, it's 5 years elite, 3 of which were Plat). I'm guessing that if you are not LTG, it will just show years of either gold or plat (i.e. progress towards LTG) and thus your problem. Of course, you can probably just call SPG and ask them, given that they track this information

As a side note to the whole "Will MR Gold count as Plat for earning LTPP" discussion, I may have missed it, but has their been any guidance on whether they will consider a MR Gold year granted by being UA Gold (through the RewardsPlus program) a qualifying year as MR Gold (or Plat in the case of LTPP).

yvr76

delete

CJKatl

That was only for linking until the program details were announced. It has been very clear since the April announcement and been made clearer since then that SPG Plat is equal to Marriott Gold. You know that. Since the new program announcement, Marriott has been very clear about that. Fifty night qualification levels are equal, as fairness and parity would require. The new announcement is in line with that.

yeunganson

Fairness is also different from everyone. Mariott has 3 times the footprint, thus easier to stay in one compared to Starwoods. Besides there are cultural differences between members of Marriott Rewards and SPG members so these back and forth is showing the fault lines of this SPG-Marriott marriage.

I am always in a position that nights earned by credit cards are different than night earned by sleeping in a bed and that too is different from nights earned by hosting events.

I gave some thought why this new program requires 100-night stayers to spend $20,000 to get the ambassador and the Your24. It didn't make sense on the my SPG member perspective because if 100 nights were butt-in-bed nights, these members really deserve the perks. After reading some threads of the Marriott forum (A place I rarely visit until this month after new program annoucement).... I understand what we're dealing with because the sheer game and tricks going on. A thread on mad dash to 2million points. A thread on using meetings for nights in ways not in the spirit of the establish program.

In SPG culture, we don't have these games and even those "game-like" proposiitons of "count 3 rooms" are pretty expensive to do a matress run due to the high protions of our hotels in higher end properties. Our program are really designed to reward frequent staying guests. Among my years earning the honest way to lifetime status, I never quesiton if someone is Plat 75 or Plat 100 if they somehow trick their way in by doing something less honorable. Maybe they had a few nights with multiple rooms and paid 3 times the amount but general consenus is Plat 50/75/100 don't do matress runs to up to the next higher Plat level. There maybe some cases of matress run to go from Gold to Plat or Plat-lite (ie less than 50 nights) to the Plat 50.

As I join this new merged family, I find myself having these never before questions. You're the new Plat Premier? Did you really stay 75 nights or you got some bonus nights by credit cards? Or meetings? Or Roll-over nights?

So when nights are not just coming from sleeping in hotels, they needed something that can filter those really frequent stayers of hotels. Because the Mariott's program with so much game/tricks, management just decided to use the bluntest tool - cold hard cash of $20,000 spending in Mariott hotels. For SPG members who earn by sleeping in beds, I think we can welcome similar abeit lower spending threashold requriement for the new non-lifetime Platinum Premier level (75 nights level) and Platinum level (50 nights level). That's the one of the blunt ways of really increasing our experience in upgrade and such in the new merged program.

yyznomad

@yeunganson

Interesting analysis.

Admittedly I don't know much about the Marriott side, but I am definitely one of those 100% BIB SPG members.

PrivatePilot

I have 9 years Platinum on SPG through last year. Just to confirm: I have until Dec 31 to stay 25 nights in SPG properties and I should be ok, correct? (i.e. I can still qualify with stays until Dec 31).