Intercontinental / Marriott Program Comparisons?
 

Hello!

I am currently a PC Plat / IC Royal Ambassador, and have decided to try Marriott since they are in most of my travel areas as well, and we often have meetings at some Marriott Resorts.

My question is if any of you are signed up for both programs, and if so, which one do you prefer and why?

Marriott comped me to Plat so I could compare Elite benefits, any opinions out there on which program is better?

Thanks!

SAS

Intercontinental / Marriott Program Comparisons?
 

There is an Intercontinental across the aprking lot from the Marriott I've been staying at for 6 months. I looked into the IC program but stayed wtih Marriott for the following reasons.

If I am wrong about the IC bennies, I hope someone will correct me so I can re-evaluate my loyalty to the Marriott chain....

1). Marriott charges fewer miles/room...the IC rooms are a flat 30K/night; JW rooms get cheaper the more nights you book. I'm comparing the IC hotels with a cat 6-7 JW. I think a Holiday Inn is comparable to a CY, but I only use points for vacation, and if I'm burning vacation, it'll be somewhere really nice....
2). Points/stay: The JW gives you 10 points/night plus 3 miles per $ w/ the MR Visa. The IC gives you 10 pts/$ without the visa bonus but you get 1,000 points for booking online. I usually pay about $130/night in Addison (Dallas) so it's a wash for me, but the more expensive the hotel, the better deal the JW becomes. Both chains bonus you about the same percentage for Silver/Gold/Plat status.
3). The CY I stay in has a deal with the Bally's for free workouts while you stay there...the IC charges $6/visit, no aerobic/yoga classes, and the gym is kind of depressing.
4). I have not looked into buying the "Ambassador" status for $150/year. The IC website makes them look pretty good, with free fruit, 1 PPV movie/stay, guaranteed room upgrade, free limo service to the airport, but the actual deal, net of fine print, is never as good as the promo.

I forgot to ask SAS....
 

Smartssmurf, what has your experience been with the Royal Ambassador status? Is it worth it? Do you really get to plunder the mini-bar for free?

Only Royal Ambassadors may "plunder" the Mini bar, but yes, every day you may do so, if you please, at no charge.

If you stay often at IC branded hotels, paying for Ambassador status is well worth the price, in my opinion.

I only purchased Ambassador status, and then was invited to RA status, because I use the benefits on Vacation.

I usually stay at ICs other brands due to availability in my travel areas.

From what I have read so far in Marriott threads, it doesn't look like Marriott offers as many point earning promotions, is my impression accurate?

With Priority Club I have been earning about 350,000 points a year, on about 150 nights a year, is this possible with Marriott?

Feedback is appreciated!

Thanks!

Intercontinental / Marriott Program Comparisons?
 

It's very possible to get 350,000 points/year with 150 stays:

10 points/$ spent, plus 25% plat bonus = 12.5 pts/$ Spent;
plus: 3 points/$ spent if you pay with your MR Visa = 15.5 points/$ Spent

Times: 150 Nights
Times: $144.09/night cost = 335,000 points

Plus: 15,000 points for signing up with MR Visa = 350,000.

IOW, if you pay more than $144.09/night, you'll make 350,000.

This assumes no "Extra bonus miles" promos, like the 25K promotion they ran last year where you got 5K miles up to 5X every third stay, when paid for with your AMEX. Obviously, this promo would replace the 3 bonus miles w/ MR Visa in the analysis above, so YMMV.

Can you guess what I do for a living?!?!?

Also: was my analysis correct that Intercontinentals charge 30K points/night stay?

Yes, IC branded hotels usually charge 30,000 points for reward nights, lower branded hotels such as Holiday Inn run between 15 g and 25 g.

I usualy travel on company business, I can only pay with the company Visa, unfortunately!

For the record, the Marriott elite bonuses are:

Silver - 20%
Gold - 25%
Platinum = 30%

Doesn't change your analysis much.

Also, there is a Marriott promo starting March 1 which can yield up to 30,000 points, and one can get a room at a Marriott property for as little as 7,500 points.

Finally, the cost (in points) per night for an award decreases the more nights you get, up to a maximum of seven nights. For a top-level property, this amounts to about 18 to 21K+ points/night.

Take that, Holiday Inn!

It's doable.
You get 30% bonus points as Platinum and 25% as Gold.
If you fix the stays at 150 it depends on the rate you get at the hotel.

4 x Room rate 114 a night + tax (Gold)
* BASE EARNINGS = 4,560
* 25% ELITE MEMBERSHIP BONUS = 1,140
Total: 5,700

4 x Room rate 114 a night + tax (Platinum)
* BASE EARNINGS = 4,560
* 30% ELITE MEMBERSHIP BONUS = 1,368
Total: 5,928

4 x Room rate 138 a night + tax (Platinum)
* BASE EARNINGS = 5,520
* 30% ELITE MEMBERSHIP BONUS = 1,656
Total: 7,176

4 x Room rate 169 a night + tax (Platinum)
* BASE EARNINGS = 6,760
* 30% ELITE MEMBERSHIP BONUS = 2,028
Total: 8,788

148 / 4 = 37

37 * 8788 = 325,156 for 37 x 4 night stays with an average rate of 169$ a night

of course your mileage may vary. And if you have a Marriott Visa depending on your spending habits may be as much as additional 25k points a year. I entertain the clients with my MR Visa instead of using or corporate card under the premise it's not taken there (and most of the time it's not since it's a Diner's)

...and furthermore
 

I did almost 150 nights at Marriott last year, and I spend considerably less than $144/night. I still managed to put together about 200K points so far, and the promo hasn't even started yet!

The point-to-point comparison is somewhat meaningless unless we take into account the redemption value of the points.

I don't know that much about the IC program, but at 30K/night, 7 nights at their top-end property apparently costs 7 x 30 = 210K. At Marriott, seven nights at a Category 6 or 7 property will cost you 130 - 150K.

If they're charging 25K/night at a Holiday Inn, do they really charge only 30K for the top of the line?