VickiSoCal

Cannot be used at Ritz, there are Ritz cheques that can be used at Ritz.

ussie44

Thanks for that information. Are Ritz cheques buyable with MR points? If yes, do you know where? I can't find any link.

USirritated

No, they can't be used at Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Keep in mind that Even though RC's are now part of MR, Bill Marriott only agreed to allow it reluctantly recently. RC was originally purchased/owned by the Marriott family, who purchased 49% of the company in 1996, and an additional 50% in 2000, bringing their ownership to 99% of the company, and eventually it came under the MI corporate umbrella sometime after that, please don't ask me when. Anyway, less than two years ago (others might remember the exact date, I do not), they finally allowed MR members to use their MR accounts for both earn and burn their points at RC, but before that, only burning points was permitted. If you asked Bill Marriott privately, he would still say he is reluctant about it, because he wanted to keep the companies separate. There are still some things which are separate, such as RC and MI cheques.

Yes, the first part of what Vicki said is fully true, the second part is true, but not totally accurate. There used to be CY cheques, and Ren cheques, and separate certificates for many of the brands, but MI cheques could be used at the lower brands, and vice versa, and now there are only MI cheques. There are still separate certs for some of the brands. Ren Savvy Savings certs can be used at the other brands, and Marriott Bonus Bucks certs can be used at the other brands in the MI family, and it has been that way for many years now....all except for RC. RC is the only MI family brand which does not have that reciprocity in the whole chain. MI could allow that reciprocity if the company wished to, and more than likely, eventually that will happen, especially now that Bill Marriott has retired from being day to day CEO. Until now, with RC, it always seems to be being dragged kicking and screaming into what it allows as far as cooperation with the other MI brands.

VickiSoCal

Sorry, I was going off what someone on FT said who purports to be an expert on RC. My bad.

ussie44

The upside is that we've both learned something! Thanks.

VickiSoCal

There is a RC Gift Card- 1000 dollars for 190,000 points, a terrible deal IMO.

https://www.ritzcarltonrewardsshops....?pid=204139145

USirritated

That's one of the great things about FT, that we can always learn something, and have fun while doing it.

socrates

I can assure you the brand made the decision to participate in MR - not anyone else, there was no reluctancy...additionally the family didn't purchase RZ MI did....once MI purchased the remaining shares they did not own (this was back in '98) the decision was made to continue running the brand as a separate organization with the current management team...around 2000 the decision was made to go a different direction and you'll notice changes bringing the brand into the fold...since this time the brand has been run as a brand, not a subsidiary/separate company...all brands decide their future...while at one time MI felt it was best to keep Marriott's name as far away as possible from the brand today they are seeing value in associating the two (consumer preferences change and brands need to adapt)

Just an FYI - Bill has been directly responsible for strategy and associates for gosh the 10 years before he moved into his current role....brand management reported to the COO not the CEO

USirritated

Politely, I disagree about a lot of what you said, and not only that, some of it, specifically the FYI section, does not even make sense. For example, which current role are you referring to Bill Marriott moving into? Are you saying that Bill Marriott's current role is CEO, or something else?

socrates

I'd refer you to the history of the company which can be found on the company's webpage - in regards to you're question about Bill, no he is no longer CEO but he is not retired

USirritated

I never said that Bill Marriott is retired, I said that he is retired from being the day to day CEO, which can clearly be seen here. Executive Chairman is somewhat undefined generally, and differs from company to company. In this case, it seems to be something in between a non-working board member and a CEO, not having day to day responsibilities, but still impacting strategy and corporate vision.

My question was "which current role are you referring to Bill Marriott moving into? Are you saying that Bill Marriott's current role is CEO, or something else?"

Your FYI said that Bill Marriott has been directly responsible for strategy and associates for 10 years before moving into his current role, and then you said brand management reported to the COO not CEO.

What did not make sense was were you referring to Bill being CEO while responsible for strategy and associates, or COO, where he was responsible for brand management, and why was his role only for 10 years before his current role (which is Executive Chairman), since he had been CEO since 1972?

socrates

The CEO and COO positions have been split for the past few decades and now Exec Chairman has been added to the mix - sorry I was not more clear about this - should you have any further questions about the corp structure or history/time line I'd be happy to answer them via pm but I feel we've taken this topic as far off topic as possible

Have a great holiday my friend

bonzaiflyer

Anyone know if Gift Cheques are still around? Was wandering thru the Marriott site and couldn't find the E195 (I think that was it) award. It was 135,000 pts for $1000.00USD of cheques.

pooker

Marriott no longer offers the gift cheques. 2012 was the last year for them to be ordered.

USirritated

Marriott replaced the gift cheques with gift cards, and made them MUCH more expensive for Plats. Until December 31, 2012, $1,000 worth of cheques cost Plats 135,000 MR points, but since January 1, 2013, a $1,000 gift card costs everyone 204,000 MR points. Talk about inflation! 66.2% point inflation (unless anyone is aware of a Plat discount which is not on the MR site in the gifts pages).