CJKatl

Did not realize... that doesn't seem fair. You are just as loyal.

MSPeconomist

Someone who stays mostly in properties with reduced points earning (such as RI) could have four or five times the nights required but miss the points requirement for lifetime status, yet there's no evidence that money spent in such properties is necessarily less profitable for Marriott. In fact, at these properties, Marriott elites get virtually no elite benefits such as upgrades, lounges, or breakfast (other than the breakfast which is offered to everyone).

IMO there should be some tradeoff ratio so that someone with lots of nights needs fewer points and someone with lots of points needs fewer nights for lifetime status. This and keep a version of a longevity requirement of years in the program or earned years at the status level. Otherwise there will be lots of anomalies of people who make lifetime quick and easy versus others who are seemingly deserving yet miss making one of the criteria.

mooper

What isn't fair about it? Marriott wants to provide the greatest incentive for people to earn (buy) their points because it is most profitable for them. Makes sense.

AirMiles2001

That makes a lot of sense. I hit 750 nights many years ago and it took till now to hit the points. I had to get quite creative to get the points even paying for some stays instead of spending points....oh....maybe that is the point of it!

fmkgb

LT elite is a reward for loyalty to the Marriott brand. Am I any less loyal to Marriott if I have stayed 780 nights (usually on my own dime) in the last 13 years earning Platinum (mostly) and (sometimes) Gold status every year but I chose to receive miles rather than MR points? I don't think so. I do have and use the Marriott credit card and I do choose the Marriott brand for my stays and that is what loyalty is about.

USirritated

I've never understood the reasoning around choosing miles over points with MR. There are so many more benefits with points for MR than there are for miles, and LT is just the cherry on top.

Actually, because of the larger footprints of the rooms, and the majority of Residence Inns being patio style rather than highrise, the Real Estate and maintenance costs are significantly higher, as are the room outfitting/furnishings costs. Also, since this type of property emphasizes longer term stays, the average revenue per room, per night is lower for Residence Inns. However, the lower levels of services and perks is a slight offset, but not as much as you would think. Actually, I have long thought that increasing the services and perks and points at Residence Inns would yield higher occupancy levels and average revenue per room, per night, by drawing in more shorter term guests. I am not intimate with the longer term stay choices, having only ever stayed in Residence Inns (lots) and Extended Stay America (once or twice), but I would think that MI would benefit quite a bit by positioning the RI brand on the luxury end of the longer term hotel segment, while positioning either TownPlace or SpringHill in the middle or even moderate lower range of the longer term hotel segments. FWIW, my perspective on this is as a retired Commercial REALTOR of 23 years working experience.

I have always thought that MR would be a better program by offering multiple paths to LT Gold and Plat, just as MSP suggests. The goal of any hotel company is BIB nights, at whatever rate those rooms are being offered. Just because someone has business in a rural area such as Wyoming or South Dakota, where the average room rates for FI, CY, TPS, SHS, etc MIGHT be less than $85 per night, should count just as much when someone gets up to 600-1000 night ranges, even if their points are lower than 1.5 million, or something along those lines. But, as with all things, they didn't ask me!

mooper

It depends how you define loyalty. Marriott is a for-profit company with shareholders and is obligated to maximize profits for them. They are probably trying to incentivize profitable activity more than loyalty per se, as they should. If you choose discounted rates and earning miles instead of points, you're less profitable to them than if you stay at premium properties/rooms and earn MRPs, especially if you use their branded credit card. It seems perfectly fair and logical they'd reward "profitable loyalty", for lack of a better term.

VickiSoCal

Staff wise, while a residence inn might not have bellhops etc, they must have more housekeeping per room, because it seems those units woud take longer to clean.

SkiAdcock

Why do you think if someone adds another brand into the mix they won't receive lounge access or bonus points. They can do a status match, elite challenge or get a credit card and get those things. They don't have to start out at the bottom.

For many years I kept Hilton as my back-up brand & had Gold status with them. We have many FTers who are top status w/ Marriott AND *Wood, Hilton or Hyatt.

Agree.

Agree.

I think some of the airlines had dual ways of getting status - miles or segments. The latter being because some people flew quite a lot, but they were on shorter flights so a lot of segments but not miles.

Too bad Marriott couldn't have figured out something similar.

While I don't understand choosing miles over points I do agree w/ you that LT elite is a reward for loyalty.

Cheers.

Twickenham

There's absolutely no benefit to regularly receiving miles instead of MR points, as you can always convert points into miles if you choose.

Taking you numbers, say you have stayed 780, paying an average of $100/night. For simplicity sake, let's say that all those nights were at properties that earn 2 miles/$ rather than 1. You would have earned 156,000 miles. In that same period, you could have earned 780,000 points. These points could be converted into between 217,000 and 310,000 miles (depending on airline). And that's just the straight conversion - that's not using the much better travel package option.

SacTownGuy

I emailed CS and they replied within a couple hours with my total points. Will have LT gold in 2013! Also, I found this part of the email interesting:

Please note once a member achieves a given Emeritus status, it will not be reflected on their account unless the requirements for that equivalent Elite status cease to be met. For example, if your account status is Platinum Elite, and you achieve Emeritus Platinum status, your account will continue to reflect Platinum Elite status until you no longer fulfill the requirements to renew the Platinum status.

Minneapolis

Kudos to Marriott for ditching the tenure requirement! That was ageist and discriminatory to young professionals in their 20's, like myself.

Cheers to lifetime Platinum!^

USirritated

I do not think that in that way, because I know that lots of people keep status with more than one brand, and I know that status matches are possible, at least with some chains, but do all of the chains allow status matches to top tier? It just seemed to me that MNAudi was implying that s/he did not already have status with other brands, and was going to try them out. Of course, the way I read what he said originally might not be what he intended to convey. It was just my observation of that post.

RogerD408

SPG had the same issue. But I think too many complained that they wanted to see the words "Lifetime" the second it was earned (before check-out even) that changes were made. SPG even turned it into a marketing event with special packages customized for each member.

I will admit I feel all the warm and fuzzies when I log-in and see Lifetime status on my SPG account. The question that remains to be seen from either, is will I loose the "Lifetime" moniker should I regain status via stays/nights. Or is it once tagged always tagged?

iztok

1,606,025 and 536 nights. I guess I will be LT Gold after this change. I am rather new to the program (only probably 4-5 years I think) so I am on a good track to become LT Plat in 2015 or 2016 with new criteria. I'll have points before that, just not the nights.