jaf

What is a Marriott Point worth compared to a Starwood point?

e.g. is 3 marriott points = 1 starwood point?

looking for a general rule of thumb.

keeton

Here is an execellent recent thread that did some breakdown analysis of earning/burning MR vs. SPG points.

Mr. Roboto

HERE is another thread where you might find some answers.

krj9999

The Starwood Amex gives a much better return than Marriott Rewards Visa however, if you earn a significant portion of your points from credit card use.

Brendan

Before the large-scale category changes of Feb. 2007, I said 3 : 1. Now probably 2.5 : 1.

hhoope01

Even CC use can be debated. I do like to use the FF mile Travel Package awards which gives me a 1-to-1 point to mile ratio. So use of the Premier CC restaurants and places that give me 2 points per $, in effect give me 2 miles per $ which is better even that the SPG card. And given that I don't really stay at *wood properties the main reason I would get SPG points would be to transfer to FF miles.

craz

jaf Welcome to FT

1 of the rules of FT is a Poster is not allowed to cross-post. Which is what you did by asking the same question both here on Marriott and also on the SPG Forum.

aaupgrade

Jaf, another welcome to FT.

You will receive different answers to both your questions:

What is a Marriott Point worth compared to a Starwood point?

and

What is a Starwood Point worth vs. Marriott? (on the SPG forum)

In this forum, the link provided in post #2 is probably the most recent source, and may be the best analysis done in the past few years.

You may also want to consider more than point value when making your decision because other factors are just as, if not more, important than point value.

Generally I find that Marriott is better for me from a number of perspectives shown below in order of importance.

1. They have properties where I work and play. For work Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and every US city I frequent for business. For play, Asia, Australia, Europe, a number of Caribbean islands, Vail, CO. Vail is very important and an overriding consideration for me as I spend 4-6 weeks a year there.

2. Better return on points (see thread link in post 2 for my analysis).

3. Hotel-Air Travel packages where one can get 1 for 1 exchange of points to miles. So for every dollar I spend at Marriott I get 18 miles, best mileage earning power anywhere.

What Marriott doesn't provide that SPG does:

1. For 1000 points you can get 50% off room rates which I use whenever I stay at SPG properties. No need to be elite for this. Marriott does not have a similar award.

2. Award availability as there are no capacity controls for standard room awards. Marriott has Stay Anytime for DOUBLE the points, which many of us have complained about the availability, but the bottom line is we can go book a paid stay and then call up the Platinum desk and have them switch it to a Stay Anytime award. Friends don't let friends use Stay Anytime Awards.

Soft areas:

1. Some have said SPG international hotels have more character, more interesting, etc. than Marriotts. For the most part I would agree with this statement since the statement specifically targets the Marriott brand, but the Marriott Renaissance brand has many, but not all, hotels with local character. SPG does have higher end international proeprties with its St. Regis and Luxury Collection. Some Marriotts/Renaissance are on par with some Luxury Collection hotels, but overall SPG wins this one. Marriott has Ritz Carlton, but one cannot earn points there, they may only redeem points. So Ritz Carltons are not fully integrated into the Marriott Rewards program as St. Regis is with the SPG program.

2. There have been many discussions about better upgrades at SPG. Well I have heard just the opposite in posts also. I am neutral on this one as I have been very happy with my upgrades. Quite often I don't get them, and usually there is a valid reason (Maui Ren excluded). In the 10 years I have been staying at the Vail Marriott, I have only been upgraded once. That's what happens when you have 2-3 week stays during ski season and they are sold out sometime during your stay. I am sure the same happens at popular SPG properties.


Using the search tool you can research a number of other discussions regarding upgrades, elite benefits, quality of hotels, and will find a variety of opinions, some of which are very passionate.

pinniped

Roughly. For simple estimating purposes, I use 1:3:4 for SPG:MR:HH.

The Feb 1, 2007 devaluation of Starpoints probably shifts that a little bit in favor of Marriott though.

bdschobel

I'm going to close this thread due to cross-posting and ask readers to find the same topic discussed on the Starwood board:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=729849

Bruce
Moderator