puntamita

JRothenb- Thanks for your hard work!!!!!! I hope they abide by what you were told.

dsquared37

If moving points into an account counts as lifetime activity then where is this fraud you claim? Please don't insert sinister intent where there is none.

CPRich

The goal posts/terms did not change at all. You earn MR LT PLT this year just like you always have. 750 nights and 2M points. (Actually, not "always" - they've been moved closer/made easier over the years. I needed 1,000.)

If you made the unfortunate choice to stop earning toward MR LT status as defined, why do you believe it's MR's fault that you didn't reach MR LT status?

There's the old saying about what happens when you assume. I know this was asked several times on these boards and my answer, and I think most others, was to stick to your program/plan until details came out, or be prepared for possible disappointment.

I assume you means "have the opportunity to earn", not just "get" status. You will. The new program LT thresholds combine both programs. 600/10 in both programs combined gets you to LT PLT.

Unfair? How, and by whom? Who was given different opportunities, different rules, etc., not available to you?

RogerD408

Channeling points through someone else's SPG account to their MR account and then to your MR account to get credit that otherwise would not have been due could be considered questionable. Mixed currencies give many opportunities to get creative. But it's kinda like booking rooms for other people under your account (some think just paying for a room is enough to get credit). If it don't get caught then it's good to go.

dsquared37

I have no intent to funnel points out of and back into my MR account, I barely have any at the moment from usage anyway, part of which was moving into SPG so I wondered if my current lifetime totals had diminished from doing so.

As I've said, nothing sinister nor fraudulent in attempt.

sdsearch

Huh? Citi Thank You points don't transfer to any hotel programs. They used to transfer only to Hilton Honors. but that ended late last year.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi...-partners.html

sdsearch

Nobody knows for sure! Agents are not a reliable source of information on this. That's why we keeping seeing conflicting information about things like this that have not been officially spelled out clearly.

CPRich

As I responded when this was posted over at SPG, this is a bunch of gobbledygook. Read it. It says if you're a member of both programs, then you'll be given Lifetime Platinum Premier.

(I also pity the English teacher that would try to address it)

You can certainly take Yes for an answer from a semi-literate email from a random, low level CS clerk, rather than the executive who oversees the program, but I suggest you don't take too many actions on the assumption before it's actually written somewhere official.

jrothenb

Not so sure. I replied to the original email I received from Marriott to clarify. My note was...

"XXXXXXX, thank you for clarifying. So could you please confirm, even though I earned Lifetime Platinum status under the SPG program, because I have linked my accounts, I will be grandfathered as a Lifetime Platinum Premier in the new program, not just Lifetime Platinum. It would be helpful if the Marriott members info web page were updated to reflect this, as it is not currently clear that SPG Lifetime Platinum are included in the Lifetime Platinum Premier grandfathering. Rather, it only lists Marriott Rewards and Ritz Carlton lifetime platinum members as receiving the status. All best, XXXXXXX"

And the response I received a couple of hours ago was...

"Mr. XXXXXXX,

I am sorry I omitted this.

As of now, because you the SPG member has linked your accounts, you are now a Marriott Reward member.

In August your status will also be grandfathered in at Platinum Lifetime Premier.

I hope all this is a clearer picture for you.

Have a great evening.

XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX
XXXXX Platinum Desk
XXXXX###
[email protected]"

awu25

Nope. When they made the announcement, I decided to only hit 50 nights a year with SPG and then max out all I can with Marriott rollover nights to make lifetime status as quickly as possible

jeanie

At this point, Marriott seems to be saying lots of different things to a lot of different people. I called and spoke to an agent this morning, and he said a lot of things that I know to be wrong. For example, he said all points are lifetime points. So he told me that if I transferred SPG points into my MR account right now, they would count towards lifetime status.

My advice is to get it in writing when possible. I'm not even going to try to call them now. I have a feeling that there will be a lot of promises broken because of the mis-information given by agents.

CJKatl

Actually the FAQs that were on the website since the start of the merger process made it very clear that the programs would accrue separately until the combined program was rolled out. Marriott did not represent the two totals would be combined, they, in fact, stated the opposite. You made an assumption in anticipation on your own, not prodded by anything Marriott said. While you might be upset you made an incorrect assumption, that's on you, not Marriott.

fayraree

I was in the same boat, OP, but while I made MR PLT every year for the past 7 years and SPG PLT for the past 5 (I always prioritized MR before SPG), I never made MR PP. I, like you, thought perhaps they'll be a bit more generous and allow the combination of nights from both programs to add up to achieve whatever the highest tier would be. However, that was a big "hope" so I continued to pile on the MR nights...my current reservations should allow me to hit the mark by late July.

mikeef

Thank you for the bit about the brass ring. I never knew the origin of the phrase.

Your latter point is the most interesting one. I've always wondered why companies put a top on potential earnings with the loyalty program. What they really need is a new benefit every 10/15/25/choose your number nights. 110 gets you waived resort fees. 120 gets you free drinks. 130 gets you 5,000 bonus points. Etc. Make it infinite. If you want to get really crafty, make the "good" benefits only every other level, i.e., 110 gets you something really good, 120 is token, 130 is really good, 140 a token, etc. You'll have to do twice the work to get to the next good benefit.

Okay, I have some predictions for the near future. Between now and August 31 (or December 31, if you like. The dates are incidental.):

1. At least a dozen FTers will end up with moderator "time outs" arguing over minutiae that is absolutely irrelevant.
2. Around July 15 (or December 15), we will start getting threads popping up entitled "Help me get 476 nights and 1.52 million Marriott points between now and August/December 31!" For those who are interested, I have about 250 lifetime nights and 700,000 lifetime points, so I need to manufacture about 1.5 million in spend. I guess that I could do meetings, but I still need the points. And those are only Marriott nights! If they decide to add in SPG before issuing grandfathers, I'll be much closer.
3. At least two hundred FTers will get something in writing from a Marriott/SPG representative that turns out to be entirely wrong, causing uncountable headaches as Marriott has to go back and explain to these folks why they are not going to grant the person LTPP, even though a representative promised the customer that they would.
4. One of those customers in Prediction #3 will post on FT and ask for the best way to get their situation resolved, after which, he/she will be bombarded with responses blaming him/her for believing anything that Marriott/SPG told him/her. After witnessing the beating that the OP will take, no one will ever post about misinformation from Marriott again. Or at least not for another 24 hours.
5. Marriott representatives will break out in a virtual fist fight on FT, a la the red zone/white zone debate.
6. Something basic that everyone thought was true will turn out to be false. The explanation will end with, "...but it won't happen because the bus driver's name was Johnny."
7. In the end, it will all work out fine.

Mike

Slatco

With the new combined program - any word on the Marriott Elite Benefits Guarantee program continuing - or applying to SPG properties?

Marriott RewardsŪ Elite Benefits Guarantee