Wow! Just Wow. Levels start at 5000 points per night and go up to 100,000 points per night with standard, off-peak and peak categories. Peak and Off-Peak starts in 2019! Marriott gives true no Blackout. Details here! Travel Packages are gone too!

New Free Night Award Chart!

Start spending you points now!!!


Regards,

RIP...

From the SPG side, I'm not yet sure whether this is a devaluation.
Cat 1 = 7500 (2500 SPG vs 2-3k now)
Cat 2 = 12500 (4166.67 vs 3-4k now)
...
Cat 7 = 60000 (20000 SPG vs 30-35k now)
Cat 8 = 85000 (28333.33 vs N/A)

Especially if RC goes from tiers to categories!

How do you know if there's a devaluation if you don't know which hotels go in which categories? Of course some high end properties will be going up since the max is 70k a night currently.

Marriott categories went from Category 1 (5,000 per night) to Category 9 (45,000 per night) with a book 4 nights, get the fifth free policy. From the MR side, this is a likely huge devaluation as a lot of properties are unlikely to decline significantly in category while the cost in points in each category increased.

On the other hand, Ritz categories already went up to 70K pts/night, but I'm guessing that the Cat1-8 will result in a lot of properties being bumped up in category in the new system relative to their old points amounts.

Hahaha...sounds like you work for Fox News or a tabloid newspaper. The hotels have not even been assigned categories yet. Calm down.

Still get 5th night free, thank God

• Stay for 5, pay for 4. Receive a complimentary night when you redeem for 5.

I *sense* a devaluation coming, especially through the use of Peak and Non-Peak (where "Peak" ends up being half the year).

But I'm still digesting the whole thing...we have a couple months before we need to start the category-creep outrage.

Ritz-Carlton is also folded into the new categories, so the 100k per night room will most likely be a Ritz or St. Regis in peak season.

I don't see this as much of a devaluation at all. Cat 8 is only going to include the finest RC properties in the world (Tier 4-5) and many of the St Regis properties. Cat 7 probably includes Ritz Carlton Tier 2-3 and the remaining St Regis properties.

If Chase is going to be giving away 35,000 points with their new Marriott Chase Premier Plus credit card, still good for a Category 5 night, what does that say about conversion to the new categories. I will guarantee few if any full service Marriott's in Hawaii will be below the new Category 7 which is at least 60,000 points for a standard award if you book after August 1. That's a 15,000 point devaluation per night, or 90,000 points for a week. Starting in 2019, 1 week at a Marriott on any of the Hawaii Islands will cost 420,000 points! That's 150,000 points more than today! And I believe many of the properties in Hawaii will be Category 8, requiring Peak awards at 100,000 points per night! starting in 2019. 600,000 points for a week, more than double what you need now! I doubt very seriously there will be any standard or off-peak award nights available in Hawaii, except maybe for the CYs & RIs!

I wonder what comes of SPG properties that currently require over 35k SPG (St. Regis Bora Bora, St. Regis Maldives, etc.) -- if they become category 8, they become a good deal (even at peak category 8 pricing). And are they category 7 in the interim (which would be a real steal at just 20k SPG)

I feel like this has to be a devaluation on the Marriott side on the higher tier properties. For example, I stay at a Marriott Caribbean property every year, a cat 8 or 9 which is 40/45k. That now will get bumped up to at least a cat 6 (50k) and possibly even a cat 7 (60k). No way it gets moved down to a cat 5 (35k).

All the bloggers are raving about all the additional points that will be earned in the new program. My gut tells me that we will need it once they come out with the hotel award categories.

It was brilliant marketing ploy for them to announce all these "positive" changes in April and then, later in August, reveal the hotels that will be in each hotel award category. I also see a large devaluation coming.

And you know this for sure based on .....?