Don't disagree, except for TP awards. For a number of airlines (those that you can transfer into 120K airline miles/points) you will still be getting a better transfer rate from the Marriott side.)

The real advantage is the ratio improves for the other airlines

Marriott to airlines is 40% ratio
now you get 3M-1SPG-1.25miles
or
12M=4SPG=5 miles = 48% ratio

disappointing match for MR Gold. Not even close to comparable. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth seeing how they match over *W Gold

Yeah, because the ONLY real difference between MR Gold and SPG Gold is lounge access for MR Gold...which SPG Business Amex holders got at Sheraton lounges anyway. Until a few months ago, MR Gold (or Plat!) didn't even get guaranteed 4 pm late checkout, something SPG Gold has guaranteed for years.

It takes 10 stays or 25 nights to attain SPG Gold...out of 1300 hotels.

It takes 50 nights to attain MR Gold...out of 4700 hotels, over 3/4 of which are less expensive on average than SPG's entire portfolio.

Your disappointment is disappointing...and laughable.

In the meantime, MR members now can exchange their MR points for 30+ airlines that they never could before, and MR elites now get more likely 4 pm late checkout.

MR Gold wasn't that spectacular before, and it isn't that spectacular now. SPG Golds being matched to that makes total sense. The only new benefit is Lou ge access, which most SPG members qualified for anyway--though SPG doesn't offer lounges in all its brands like Marriott does.

Do what you like for 2017...but until Marriott announces (hopefully in the coming months) what the qualification and status levels will be for the newly merged program for 2018, no one will know what is best to do for stays in 2017.

SPG members are welcome to transfer SPG points to United using the Marriott transfer vehicle...but SPG points usually are far more valuable for other airline transfer partners since Chase URs transfer already 1:1 to United. If you need to "top off" for a UA award, so be it, BUT OTHERWISE I'd recommend focusing more on Chase UR.

The only thing that makes sense to me in here is when you say MR Gold isn't spectacular, I completely agree. But two very important benefits are the lounge access and free breakfast. I don't care about exchanging miles for airlines, and I get the late checkout in both programs. This is a pretty big loss if I stay at a Starwood. The price is generally pretty comparable at the different levels. Again, that's mainly US business travel, I'm aware Starwood has some nicer resorts at higher prices in locations around the world.

I don't really see how it has anything to do with how many hotels are available. I travel throughout the US for work, and I'd say 95% of the time both a Starwood and Marriott are available. If I were to stay the same number of times and pay the same amount of money, I'd easily make Platinum at Starwood.

So it's very disappointinting as a MR Gold, but there's the loophole where I can stay just a few nights at Starwood next year, and then match to Marriott Platinum. I'm actually looking forward to that, and to your point in the next post I quoted, I'm crossing my fingers I can stay Platinum in 2018.

I'd never really looked at the SPG qualification rules before. I was shocked how easy it is to make lifetime platinum. Maybe it doesn't mean the same as lifetime platinum in MR? I would have already qualified if I had chosen SPG over Marriott 12 years ago. I'm only half way to LT Plat in MR.


Good point, platinum might only be good for the last few months of 2017 depending on the new rules.

Also, the lifetime status rules will be interesting. If it's a fair conversion at all, there will be a lot of MR members that will automatically get some type of LT status...and I can't see that happening.

Color me confused on this whole thing. Maybe I am just being dense, but I don't know what to do. Maybe it is because I am a Platinum member of both programs. Or I maybe I just don't understand the linking process in general.

- I am a SPG Platinum Preferred. Just re-earned that via 50 nights through Feb 2018. I have 275K points. I have 18 Suite Night Awards. 285 total nights.
- I am a Marriott Platinum. I have 54 nights this year. Plan to hit 75 by the end of the year to re-earn Platinum again through 2018. I have 400K points. 214 total nights.

Does it make sense for me to link these accounts now?

If so,

1. Since I am a member of both, do I use my Marriott or SPG account to link?
2. Since I am Platinum on both already, I will just continue to be Platinum on the linked account, right?
3. Since we get 3 Marriott points for every SPG point, does it make sense to transfer all my SPG points over to Marriott? That would put my Marriott points above 1M (if I understand the transfer process correctly). Any benefit to that?
4. When I link, am I going to lose my Suite Night Awards?

Anyone have any idea how long the 3:1 point transfer will last? I'm assuming until the programs finally combine? I just got approved for the SPG Amex and will get about 30,000 Starwood points from that (or 90,000 Marriott points). Sweet! But I'm thinking I should just continuously use it for my everyday purchases and then convert the points every couple of months.

Before you link: You have two accounts in two separate programs, with Platinum status in both. SPG recognizes you as Platinum-50 because SPG counts nights toward Platinum tiers. Also, you have a bunch of Suite Night Awards in the SPG account. You earn and redeem Rewards points at Marriott-legacy properties, and you earn and redeem SPG points at Starwood-legacy properties.

After you link: None of that will have changed. (You can link through either program. The result is the same.)

You will gain two -- possibly three -- advantages:

1. If, between now and when the programs are combined (no sooner than 2018), one of your two accounts fails to re-qualify as Platinum, both accounts will remain Platinum anyway. This also means you don't have to chase re-qualification in both programs. This gives you more flexibility in choosing where to stay.

2. You will have the option of transferring points between accounts. There's no reason to make a transfer until you want to redeem points and you need more points of one kind or the other. But it's a nice option to have.

3. Marriott has not revealed details of how the programs will eventually be combined, but linking the accounts ahead of time will probably make this process smooth and painless. Giving Marriott visibility that you have earned Platinum in both programs increases the chance that Marriott will recognize you as one of their best customers.

Could hit 'RBP', but in all honesty ... not worth it.

If you think *W Gold is close to MR Gold you are in fact in a very small minority. Free breakfast and lounge access is a huge differentiator. Have had *W gold for quite some time and honestly never seen an upgrade worth talking about. With MR Gold I get upgraded in a meaningful way on >75% of my stays (which are both US and ex-US). So yes, it is disappointing that they did not match 50 nights over to 50 nights.

If you link your accounts, you can choose to switch your remaining planned Marriott nights to SPG. Your SPG Platinum status has already earned you Marriott Platinum through Feb 2018.

This would likely allow you to reach SPG Platinum 75.

While I find starwood properties to be (in general) nicer than Marriott... The MR Gold benefits are vastly better than Starwood (the lounge+ breakfast). As far as I've experienced, the SPG Gold benefit is an extra point per dollar.

There's a reason for the disconnect between SPG Golds and MR Golds...and it has a lot to do with the the much higher affluence and spend of SPG elites compared with those at Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and Accor.

SPG elites are well known to spend more than everyone else in those groups...and so we care less about free breakfast and lounge access. We'd be just as likely to prefer room service...which isn't as common for the other elites. As a result, fewer SPG Golds care about lounge access and free breakfast. That's also why not all SPG brands even offer lounges.

I'm SPG Plat100 and I could care less about either even though I get both. I generally could care less about the RC Clubs even when I stayed at RC properties! I want room service, dammit!

Getting a free breakfast at a lounge isn't as important to all consumers. Getting a free breakfast benefit also isn't as important to all consumers. The more affluent you are, the less likely you are to care about those. That's the big difference that's gone unmentioned and undisuccused in these comparisons and contrasts.

For MR Golds who feel hosed, by all means stick to your duller roster of Marriott hotels--only half the brands of which allow free breakfast anyway! I'm sure SPG Golds will be happy to keep the SPG hotels to themselves...since those brands are far more interesting and treat elites pretty well. That matters more to SPGers, it seems.

Well looks like SPG Gold via Amex Platinum (and my grand total of 2 stays/2 nights with them) this year means I'm Marriott Gold. This does make me more likely to steer more stays to Marriott, especially as I like their footprint and they're very price competitive for my needs. I'm surprised by this turn of events but I'm not complaining.