Horace

You left off the part where 3 Marriott points = 1 airline mile.

So divide 75,000 by 3, and you get 25,000 airline miles.

Cledaybuck

15k+60k=75k which then transfers at 3:1 to 25k airline miles.

kaizen7

As for RC, RC rewards have double night credit for stays at RC properties. I wonder if this continue as a bonus to attract people stay at RC since RC extending limited benefits to the members
After the merge, it is not surprising if RC market share chipped away by StR and Luxury Collections especially if those other brands extend better benefits for the members

hockeyinsider

My guess -- and it's only a guess -- is that the owners of the Ritz-Carlton in Singapore, which opened in 1996, have an agreement that pre-dates the legacy Ritz-Carlton Rewards program. Such an agreement could preclude a loyalty program. Remember, Ritz-Carlton didn't have a loyalty program until 2010. I guess we will have to wait for the full terms and conditions of the new, unified program to see if this property continues to get an exemption.

I don't know who manages the Ritz-Carlton Singapore for its owner, Pontiac Land. I do know that Pontiac Land also owns the Conrad Centennial Singapore. I presume Marriott International manages it, as I've always been under the impression that most or all Ritz-Carlton properties are managed by Marriott International. The only exception that I know if is the Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur, which is managed by YTL. YTL also manages the J.W. Marriott, which is attached to the Ritz-Carlton.

I do, however, know that the St. Regis Singapore, J.W. Marriott Singapore and W Singapore--Sentosa Cove are all owned by the same owner (Hong Long) and managed by Marriott International.

protagonist

For quite awhile now, SPG has not allowed one who has received a sign-up promotion for a new credit card in the past to receive another one.

I wonder if that will change. If so that will be a big plus. Any ideas?

CPRich

Asked a few times in various threads and I think most agree it's an open question. My assumption is that SPG members who stay 50 nights in SPG properties will get the 10 they earned, under the guidance that anything earned under the existing program rules will be honored.

As MR members had no such program....I suspect new PLT's will get 5 and New PP/Ambass will get 10. But that's just a guess.

CPRich

Points transferred from SPG to MR will not count for earning MR LT status under the existing program rules, as you state.

Future LT status criteria do not have points requirements. So I'm unclear on the concern/question on how they "count towards lifetime".

C17PSGR

I haven't earn anything to suggest that if you have earned SPG Gold for 2018 that they will be cancelling it in August. I'm assuming for 2019, you'll have to meet qualification standards.

When does your card renew? Has Amex emailed anything about Sheraton Club access through the time of renewal? That seems surprising if they haven't. Alternatively, have you checked to see if they will give you a partial refund of your annual fee if Sheraton Club access terminates before the time of renewal?

CPRich

I believe people are reading the published rules of the program.

You have until 12/31/2018 to earn 2M points and 750 nights in Marriott Corp properties to earn LTP status under the Marriott Reward program terms, and be grandfathered to LTPP status in the new program.

I'm unclear as to what "too literal" means.

When you refer to a "vague" statment, do you mean:

I don't see anything vague there.

"Previously achieved", "in Rewards or SPG" - historically, program specific. (spellcheck had histrionically - maybe I should have left it )

"In addition" (i.e., this is different, supplemental, new)

"when you combine...in the new combined program"

Is there other terminology you are referring to?

s0479

bhrubin

I think it’s a missed opportunity for both RC and Edition, but I’m willing to bet that the current exemptions from breakfast are written into the management contracts. For RC, I’m willing to bet that owners (and perhaps Marriott, too) don’t want the breakfast benefit to cannibalizes their Club revenue. For Edition, it’s just a silly pretense as far as I can tell, in much the same way that RC originally thought being part of a loyalty program would somehow impugn their prestige. Just ask St Regis about that and you have an answer.

I suspect going forward that the more breakfast conscious will find W more appealing than Edition. Thus far, Edition hasn’t impressed me as anything more than a slightly less trendy version of W with a little more neighborhood character.

I suspect going forward that the Club and lounge set might still find the RC brand standard worth the upsell to a Club Level. I also suspect that eventually Marriott will cave and offer Club Level or breakfast benefit to Platinum Premier with Ambassador elites—that being a true benefit that no one else enjoys.

I suspect St Regis will do better than RC expects, with many more future Platinums considering it over RC it for the breakfast value add. Time will tell.

I honestly don’t care about lounge or Club benefits, as I always prefer room service or dining in a proper restaurant. Clubs and lounges always feel like havens for families with small children trying to maximize value, and that just isn’t what I want to deal with!

When comparing St Regis to Ritz Carlton, I honestly most care about the StR butler service, including the morning coffee service and the packing/unpacking service. That will almost certainly keep me choosing the StR over the RC in any market that has both—barring other factors.

Kmxu

This may be not the most relevant question to the new MR program.
I thought that I read somewhere that (old program) MR Gold elite is allowed to access lounges at SPG hotels, which is effective immediately, rather than after August 1 when those MR Gold elites become Platinum elites in the new program. Am I right or wrong?

I have read the entire thread. But nobody has answered questions related to the RewardPlus program, ie., the status match between United Airlines MileagePlus program and the new MR program.
Thanks.

EuropeanPete

You may have a point on the RC Club revenue protection. A membership scheme can always cross charge breakfast to a loyalty programme with internal transfer pricing, but I can see that if lounge revenue is a big driver for RC properties, then free breakfast could be seen to cannibalize that. It sounds to me like Marriott may have decided to pick their battles on this one - We are perhaps relatively lucky that the breakfast wasn't taken away from St Regis's.

The Edition brand is not universally successful (it is no Rosewood), but I do think it occupies a useful space distinct from the W. While both brands have some breadth which means that making definitive statements about their differences is hard, I would guess the average night rate at an Edition to be 50-100% more than the average W night rate. This corresponds with higher quality fittings, larger rooms, better service and more quality F&B. There is no Edition like the weaker W's in Chicago or Atlanta. Editions do not serve Pineapple flavoured Mojitos made out of a paper carton. As a Millennial, the explicit New York upper East brand of the St Regis doesn't always work for me, though I have always preferred it to what to me feels like the tacky wealthy white baby boomer focus of many RC's.

I kinda hope this will change for me to enjoy the benefits of Marriott membership, but given a city with the full range of luxury brands at similar prices and quality my ranking would probably be: Luxury Collection -> St Regis -> Edition -> Ritz-Carlton. Does JW Marriott even belong on the list?

SightseeMC

My wife earned SPG Gold through credit card spend on her biz card. She matched to Marriott. Whenever we open her Marriott account it clearly states Gold Elite. Technically she may not be a Marriott Gold, but Marriott keeps telling us she is. Not that she enjoys the benefits but isn't... that she is

I too am not that upset if we become losers in the deal. We'd like breakfast for our remaining status after August, but it's not going to keep us from using our well- earned points And Marriott can obviously deny us Platinum for the remainder of 2018 if they so choose. But the fact that so many here are arguing profusely that Marriott Gold isn't actually Marriott Gold is. . weird. Perhaps they too are seeing what they want to see.

C17PSGR

Nice analysis.

Certainly a good comparison between the Edition and the W. I like the W and stay at them often but there is often a crowd there sneaking in six people to a room and suitcases full of alcohol. Plus, GM's at W's often care more about the bar revenue than room revenue and seem to often prefer non-guests hanging out by the pool to Platinum SPG members. That being said, I don't get breakfast at LC/StR and no breakfast at RC/Edition. While I'm not a fan of the RC/StR hotel, I'll try some StR and see if my mind is changed.