blackhat_3_6

My wife's SPG account was created last year and then linked to her Marriott account thus making her platinum with both programs. She is again plat this year. I checked her standing with the above link and it shows she has a lifetime night count of 1 which is correct. It also shows she has 1 elite year so it would seem that the number includes linked-from-Marriott years.

Jared Ito

Ord Liza

I've now gotten 4 different answers from them as to my years. Also, I was also just told by a Marriott rep that prior gold Marriott years do not count toward lifetime platinum in the new program and that only years as legacy lifetime platinum count when determining ten years of platinum status for achieving lifetime platinum under the new program. I am NOT trying to start a rumor with this information! My point is just that it is risky to rely on what they are telling you. Clearly there is not enough information and training being given to the reps.

I asked the Starwood Lurker to confirm which years count.

funkbandit

Here's a quote from the website's FAQ section:

How are years at tenure calculated for Legacy MR and RCR members?

dsquared37

However that conveniently leaves out how the status was earned; just that the 50 night level equates to the new Plat status. While it's entirely possible the way in which status was bestowed is entirely irrelevant, the lack of any qualifying information leaves me less than secure in my position.

IOW, what is meant by 'earned'?

buffalo77777

I have been the platinum member of Marriott Rewards from Nov 2011 to 2018, and also been the platinum member of SPG in 2011 and 2012.
Total Rewards and SPG qualified nights are over 1000++ nights.
Am I qualified to be the new lifetime platinum premier member?
Thank you very much.

Ord Liza

It is possible that the quoted language was meant to address only the 25 night vs 50 night vs 75 night gold/platinum issue that arises when combining the two programs, and not the question of how status was achieved. That being said, personally, I find it stunning to think that Marriott would be foolish enough to tell people in August that the status they thought they had (and in fact were treated for all purposes as having had) will not be treated as such. Foolish both because it would generate a lot of negative feelings and because, if this is an issue, they should have addressed it when they addressed the issue of matched status years not counting (or of credit card years counting).

The only reason I raise this is because the Marriott reps (who have said they've received information on this and who have had me hold while they double-check with a higher power) are not all counting years of status the same way. Probably just a lack of sufficient training/understanding, but it doesn't hurt to get the most official answer we can (the Starwood Lurker).

RogerD408

You may be shy a year or two of Plat status. Did you make MR Plat in 2018. And was 2018's SPG Plat due to making plat in 2011? There is a dispute going how each of the programs count nights and MR does not show you what they have yet (you have to wait until the new site is released in Aug or give them a call. Going consensus is MR counts the year you actually qualified where SPG goes by the full year you had status. Remember matched years will not count.

buffalo77777

Very appreciate for your reply. If I complete 25 stays or 50 nights in SPG before the end of 2018, will it count to be one year Plat status? Thx.

CJKatl

[QUOTE=dsquared37;29866308IOW, what is meant by 'earned'?[/QUOTE]

It seems pretty clear that earned or achieved means you reach criteria wherein Marriott grants status, be it reaching the number of required nights, fulfilling q status match offer, getting a certain credit card or doing something that makes Marriott decide you should be gifted the status. The one differential Marriott seems to have put out there is status because of a link from SPG. The UA thing is similar in that the status was not earned, it was given because another company's status was earned, so clarification is needed. While it makes sense wanting an official answer, as another poster just mentioned it seems very unlikely that Marriott would have granted status in the past but would now recount what qualifies and take away the attained or granted status, especially without any mention or notice this close to the new program being implemented. .It seems more looking for a problem than finding one.

CJKatl

The opposite. If you qualified for MR Plat in 2014 you were Plat for 2015 and were given the rest of 2014 on top of that. The SPG people seem to be posting that if you qualified for SPG in 2014 you were considered a 2014 Plat which gave you status thru the next year. In MR you always qualified for the next year.

CPRich

Yes, it will add 1 to your number of years earning SPG PLT status.

dsquared37

There are contradictions in your post: If Marriott had gifted status then by definition it wasn't earned; a status match is not at all dissimilar to that being granted through UA or SPG, though you seem to claim it's different. Yes, the SPG match was announced as being outside of the yearly status counting structure and that's good clarification (not that it has any impact upon me personally). I'd like to believe that silence in other respects will result in inclusion to the count but there is no way to know until it's too late to effectuate other avenues.

Sigh.

And I fully disagree on the 'looking for a problem' angle. Perhaps there aren't many in my shoes but the difference on each side of UA Rewards Plus counting or not is being LTP on Jan 1 or putting in 4 more years of Plat to reach that threshold; so this isn't a trifling situation.

CJKatl

Very different. In one situation Marriott says if you do this (get to the minimum night requirement, meet a challenge, come close enough to be gifted, etc.) you will earn status. Marriott has awarded status based on their rules and a member's performance. In the other, you earn status in a program like SPG or UA and Marriott will extend you benefits based on your qualification in the other program. The other company makes a status decision and based on that status Marriott extends benefits, but it has nothing to do with any business done with Marriott. The status is based on attaining something through performance with another company. Very different. Marriott extended benefit but the member of the other program did not do anything within Marriott to attain the status, like meet the night requirement, meet a challenge, have other positive factors that made Marriott decide to gift status, etc.

I agree Marriott should be more clear on the UA status match, but if you really think Marriott is about to, without notice, secretly retroactively ungrant status where Marriott previously made the decision to grant status based on someone doing business with Marriott you really shouldn't do business with Marriott. If you think the company could be deceitful enough to go back on decisions the company made - there were not status matches where someone qualified with another company these were people who Marriott decided qualified - then you should run from Marriott.

BTW, the RewardsPlus program rules do not state a UA member is MR Gold, rather it states things like Gold status through the RewardsPlus program allows a member to receive Gold Benefits, which would indicate that is different than just an MR Gold, it's an MR Gold through RP. Example:

buffalo77777