RogerD408

Consider all hands are in scramble mode with dealing to frantic calls by members asking what's going to happen to them or working on getting things ready for after their merge. Grab screen shots of how things show now and do the math to make sure you have passed over the required thresholds. IF things don't shake out, I'd say after a month, then, unless everything has become a cluster ****, you should be able to get ahold of some very knowledgeable people that have survived the fire storm.

CopperSteve

Apologies if this isn't the right place to post my question.

The new requirements for LT status include years with status in addition to nights stayed. Thanks to the United-Marriott RewardsPlus partnership, I've enjoyed Gold or Platinum status with Marriott since, I believe 2013. Once the merger was announced, I got matching status with SPG. Will those years of status count towards the LT requirements? I am at 377 nights, so it is conceivable I will be very close to LT Gold if my years of status count.

I recognize that there is some animosity towards "gifted" status from things like the United partnership. I will say that I have increased my stays with Marriott (and later, SPG) as a result. With stays booked to the end of the year, I will hit 75 nights this year (currently at 46).

Thank you.

dsquared37

I've paid attention to the UA partnership because my 4 years of gifted status could play a role in what level of LT i'd have moving forward. On one hand SPG Lurker has indicated that if the Marriott agent can see years of status you should be good. On the other, questions specifically addressing the UA partnership were left hanging with a simple answer of it being proprietary info.

IOW, we just won't know until we do.

CopperSteve

Many thanks. My fingers (and toes) are crossed!

CJKatl

Let me start by saying I have no animosity towards someone with gifted status and do not understand those judgmental posters who think it is any of their business or that without the data on which the status match decision was made still believe they know better than the professionals who had the information and made the decision. With that out of the way. I sympathize with you and those in your position. Marriott has not given a clear answer on this, and now claims there is a competitive reason for keeping this secret. Members.Marriott states:
Of course this is meant for SPG Golds who status matched to MR Gold, but shame on Marriott for not clarifying if it also includes UA status matches. My inclination is it does include UA status matches which is why it was not more specific about just SPG to MR matches, but that is purely my gut and not based on what is written or any explanation Marriott should have but did not offer.

Good luck.

GregWTravels

pinniped

I crossed the LTG-LTP threshold last week. Everything updated immediately with the posting of #750 .

I was able to go to the United-Marriott site and link my UA#, and it showed Silver about 2 days after that.

A few days after that, I got a "welcome to LT" email from Marriott, although nothing I didn't already know in it.

Assimilated Cajun

I also called MR customer service and got conflicting answers (from different agents within the same call) on the following technical question, which ought to have a simple answer: When you first achieve a tier status in MR or any other program, it's generally in the middle of a program year. You then have that status for that program year (in my case program year 2013, which ended in early 2014) and for the succeeding program year (2014, which began in early 2014 and ended in early 2015). I had assumed that if I first got MR Gold status in mid-2013 and re-qualified in every succeeding year I would now have six years of Gold and/or Plat status -- program years 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 -- and that since I have already earned Plat status for program year 2019, I'd be credited with a seventh year toward lifetime status. But one of the MR CSRs said no, we count from the day you first achieved status in September 2013, so you're not even at five years yet. The other CSR seemed to think my calculation was right but couldn't promise anything. Similarly, I've seen statements by FT members that seem to be imply various answers to this question. Does anyone know which method will be used?

For what it's worth, my SPG dashboard suggests that Starwood gives a year's credit for each program year in which the member achieved the status, rather than only giving a year's credit after each "status anniversary". If the two programs calculate years of elite status differently, I guess they'll have to decide on one method or the other between now and August 18?

Also, if a year of elite status is counted anniversary-to-anniversary, then should those of us whose anniversaries in one or both programs will be occurring between August 18 and December 31 wait until after our anniversaries to combine our MR and SPG accounts and thus transition to the new unified program? The fifth anniversary of my achieving MR Gold status will be in mid-September. If I don't get credit for 5 years until that date, but I make the transition to the new program on or about August 18, will I be stuck forever with only four years of status in the old program?

Thanks so much to anyone who can provide information on this.

funkbandit

Nobody outside Marriott knows for sure. I have been told that there will be an elite year counter visible in the account Information after the transition in August. This will be the only way to tell how MR counts elite years. Personally, I am convinced that this is not the best way to handle it, but it is how it is.

CJKatl

In the legacy MR program you always qualified for the next calendar year but were given the remainder of the current year once you qualified.

• When you qualified in 2013 it was for 2014. 2014 was your first year of being Gold or Plat, which is what the CSA likely meant when you were told you qualify for a full year.
• By virtue of qualifying for 2014, you were given the remainder of 2013 despite not qualifying for 2013, which would have had to been achieved in 2012.
• Thank about it: if you hit 75 nights in Oct 2013 and got credit for both years 2013 and 2014 you would get two years' credit for the same 75 nights which would not make sense.
• When you requalified for each subsequent year, you qualified for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
• This was clearly shown on the previous nights counter which showed nights stayed this year towards next year's qualification.
• This gives you six years of qualification.

SPG apparently counted by year of qualification, so they would have counted the years you qualified, giving you 2013-2018, also six years. The way of looking at qualification is a little different but the count winds up being the same.

CJKatl

It is eminently clear to anyone not engaged in wishful thinking. A member always qualified for the full next calendar year. If a member qualified in 2010 it was for 2011 but the member was given the remainder of 2010 despite not having qualified in 2009. According to members.marriott, for the new program elite status:
Clearly in the example above the member achieved elite status once, not twice, so the fact the member got elite benefits for part of one year and all of the next is irrelevant to the count. The rule is not the number of calendar years the member had status; it is clearly looking at how many times the member achieved the status. There is no confusion on this.

Muerz

RogerD408

Yes, from everything I've read MR LTPs will become MPG LTPPs, as will SPG LTPs, and those with with over 750 combined LT nights and 10 years combined Plat (+ MR Gold) status. So much for the top 3%.

CJKatl

The legacy program used "Plat Prem" to describe a very different level than the new program means by "Plat Prem." The comment above is deceptive in equating the two very different levels. Marriott did not choose to use different terms for things like the new Gold which is the 25 night level when the legacy Gold was fifty opens everyone up to the confusion that is shown in the post above. Colors used to label the levels are not meant to equate the levels.

bl393

For those of us LT-G seeking to become LT-Plat, anyone know when the switch over will take place?
August was the cutoff month but my account still shows Elite Gold. Others seeing the same?
Checking since I would like to book a few rooms for upcoming honeyroom. Otherwise will book using Hyatt diamond for bennies and more free points.

Thanks!