Commie

Has anyone done any analysis into whether its better to stay at a Sheraton instead of a Marriott for earning points?

I am in a work situation where I am staying 4 nights a week, and I can either stay at a Sheraton or a Marriott. Both hotel's will cost about $600 for the 4 nights. I am a Lifetime Platinum with Marriott. I am also lifetime Hilton Diamond, and have about 500K in points with hilton right now, and about 150K MR.

My main points goal will be a Dec18/Jan19 trip to Madrid/Barcelona/Portugal. So want to make the most of the points. I think I have enough hilton points for my intended stays. Want to use a bit more Marriott points, to stay in the Marriott in that area. Starwoods doesn't seem to have as many options.

So my question for maximum point earnings, do I stay at the Marriott for rest of year? or stay at the Sheraton, and transfer the SPG points to Marriott at the 3-1 ratio? Another note, I have a SPG credit card, so staying at the Sheraton will also get me double CC spg points.
Or do I just stay at the Embassy Suites all together, and stick with Hilton points?

I've tried all 3 hotels, and if I have to rank the quality and service, it would be Sheraton, Marriott, and ES.

imverge

I'd stay with Sheraton and pay using your SPG card then transfer the points 3-1 to Marriott and then redeem for the nights.

CJKatl

There is not blanket answer. You need to run the numbers for where you are staying and redeeming points. All things being equal, though, you come out ahead on SPG both because there is a slight advantage on the 3:1 transfer rate and because the welcome points are worth more because of the transfer.

LoganFlyer

Let's do the math. The SPG credit card awards 2 points per dollar for either a SPG or Marriott stay, so that doesn't matter.

Marriott:
$600/stay = 6000 base points + 3000 elite bonus points + 500 welcome points = 9500 Marriott points/stay

Sheraton:
$600/stay = 1200 base points + 600 elite bonus points + 500 welcome points = 2300 SPG points/stay = 6900 Marriott points/stay at the 3:1 Marriott:SPG rate.

This excludes promotions, make a green choice, and other things that you can add to the calculation above as needed. But if your primary goal is to collect the maximum number of Marriott points, it looks like staying at the Marriott is the winner.

Horace

There are two entirely separate questions here. The first involves earning points (where to stay for work). The second involves using points (maximizing a vacation on the Iberian Peninsula). Well, there's also the Hilton part of the question, but I'm going to ignore that here.

You have Lifetime Platinum Elite with Marriott Rewards. As long as your accounts are linked, you also have Platinum status with SPG too (although Rewards and SPG have somewhat different Platinum benefits). With lifetime status, you're not chasing status renewal, so there's no need to concentrate on one program.

Rewards points and SPG points can be moved back and forth feely, with 1 SPG point = 3 Rewards points. So points earned in one program can be used in that program or the other program. That's why you can safely disconnect the question of earning points from the question of using points.

You can do the math on how many points you would earn at each hotel. The rules for Rewards and SPG are different. Be sure to include the Platinum bonus, the arrival gift, extra points for declining housekeeping (if you choose to do that), which credit card you're using, promotions, and so on.

As long you earn one third as many points at a Starwood property, you're breaking even.

The separate question of where to use points on vacation would best be pursued in threads about Madrid, Barcelona, and Portugal, as well as comparing cash rates to point rates.

margarita girl

The math changes quickly with MAGC since SPG gives 500 pts/night X 3 on a 4 night say. Also the credit card points can make a significant difference. Promotions also need to be taken into consideration. OP may need to alternate between Starwood and Marriott to go with the most lucrative promo (which may not be with SPG in Q2 based on the rumors currently floating around).

LoganFlyer

With MAGC:

Marriott:
$600/stay = 6000 base points + 3000 elite points + 500 welcome points + 1500 points for declining housekeeping = 11,000 Marriott points

SPG:
$600/stay = 1200 base points + 600 elite points + 500 welcome points + 1500 MAGC points = 3800 SPG points = 10,400 Marriott points

Marriott still comes out ahead, though not by much. Also, the credit card does not matter when determining which property you'll earn more points from. If you use the SPG Amex, you get 2 SPG points per dollar for a Marriott stay or 2 SPG points per dollar for an SPG stay. If you use the Chase Marriott card, you get 5 Marriott points per dollar at a Marriott property and 5 Marriott points per dollar at an SPG property. No difference either way.

Kacee

Exactly. It depends on room rate, number of nights, and promo. Currently SPG has a double points promo while Marriott is giving 2000 nights per stay. So one night stays will usually bonus better at Marriott, longer stays at SPG. Except weekends get an additional bonus at SPG, and if your room is really expensive double SPG points may be better even on a one night stay.

No one size fits all answer.