Fastest way to accumulate points
 

I did a search and didn't find the answer.

So I'm a Lifetime Platinum at Marriott and recently signed up for an SPG account as well as a result of the merger.

I have both credit cards.

I probably spend 100 or so nights/year on the road, typically with Marriott. I'm not enamored with Marriott any more, and in fact am staying in the Little Rock Four Points as I type this as the full-service Marriott was sold out this week (and even though the GM offered me an override, I nixed it in favor of an opportunity to check out a low-end SPG property).

My question is this: what's the fastest way for me to accumulate meaningful points (for future hotel redemptions) using either my MR or SPG card at either Marriott or Starwood properties, as I can obviously easily exchange back-and-forth for the 3:1 ratio. Is either program currently more generous than the other regarding point awards?

Marginally so. The SPG card at properties in either program earns 2 SPG points, which x3 is 6 Marriott points, while the Marriott card at either property earns 5 Marriott points. (For those not lifetime, the Marriott card giving an elite night every $3000 might offset that, but since you're lifetime, it wouldn't.)

There's similar margin earning differences in each program itself at the same types of properties. But that's the clincher: Only at the same type of properties.

Ie, the differences between the two progarms are much smaller than the hotel earning rate differences between a Fairfield Inn (10 Marriott points per dollar) vs a Residence Inn (5 Marriott points per dollar). So it matters much more which specific brands you stay at, rather than which program you stay it.

And it also matters much more whether you max out all promos. Promos on not-so-expensive hotel stays may double your earnings or more. So if you stay exclusively during promo periods and max out each promo, you'll earn way more per night than if you stay exclusively outside of promo periods. (Me, I belong to multiple hotel programs, and I "follow the promos" so right now during the Marriott / SPG "dead" time of promos I'm staying with other programs. I'll come back to Marriott once they start up a new promo.)

Also, do you earn 40000 points a year on your Marriott credit card? If nowhere near that, consider that you accumulate points faster by not applying much for any credit cards other than Marriott family credit cards, and not always having one! For each specific card, you have to wait 2 years since you last got the bonus, plus have the current card closed, But you could do this with both the personal and business Marriott card, on a staggered basis, and thus always have one kept open, while you close and re-apply for the other one. But since Marriott cards are from Chase, you have to stay below 5/24 to make this all work. (The Marriott business card is exempt from 5/24, but the Marriott personal card is subject to 5/24.)

Btw, it's unclear if/when the SPG card will go away. Not this year, but maybe sometime next year? So the SPG part of the equation is temporary.

Thanks. Excellent point ref. promotions. I think I maxed out the recent MR Bonus that ended on 4/15.

I only signed up for the SPG Amex card for the 35k points (worth 105k MR points). And now that I have it, I actually have a chance to stay at an SPG property given the full-service Marriott being sold out this week.

This property is actually decent. And for a budget hotel, even more so. In several ways, I actually prefer it to the Marriott downtown. Even though I don't pay for parking (or more specifically, I do of course, but I expense it to the company), $22 for valet pkg (no self-park option) at the full-service vs. free self-park here is a no-brainer.

In any event, given the point situation, I'm back at the full-service next week at $225/night vs $125/night here just to maximize points. Sooner or later (2018?) the two programs will merge--I was just wondering if there's any way to game the system to our advantage prior to that merger, but it really doesn't sound like it unfortunately.

The only type of "gaming" is that you have SPG matching status without needing to stay at SPG any particular amount. Ie, the equivalent of a free status "match" with no "challenge" component. And thus you earn status points at SPG without having had to qualify separately for SPG status. (But that's simply a preview of what will happen once those brands are part of the merged program and you are too.)

The other type of "gaming" you've already done, which is applying for a hotel card in a program you didn't use much before because it's going to merge into the program you do use much. I just did the same (SPG biz Amex in my case), and did something similar with US Airways right before the American Airlines merger, and with Continental right before the United merger.