SPG vs. Marriott (plat)
 

Hi all!

I'm a new member and also a new traveler. Currently just made platinum status at both Marriott and SPG and wondering which more experienced travelers would prefer. :confused: I want to pursue one for the long-haul to get that lifetime but can't decide and a little confused at all the options thrown at me... Seems like SPG got the better hotels but Marriott got the better award redemptions?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks for helping out a newbie! :)

IMO, I believe Marriott Platinum = SPG Gold. With the other benefits such as guaranteed suite availability as a SPG Platinum, that pushes it clearly in the favor of SPG. What frustrates most Marriott Plats are the inability to secure suites for vacation stays, the lack of breakfast/lounges at Resorts, and the closure of said lounges over weekends.

Again, my two cents...

I would agree hence the reason Marriott is losing my loyalty.

Marriott's advantage is its big footprint, including many more extended stay properties than Starwood has.

I don't think there's such a thing as "guaranteed suite availability" for SPG Plat. And while getting a suite is not bad at all, I doubt everybody has a suite fetish.

Yes, no "guaranteed suite availability" for SPG - and even upgrade-in-advance SNAs are subject to availability and only 5 days out, and I believe Marriott removed the "suites excluded" terms - so both provide suite upgrades, based on availability, at check-in.

Marriott has better award redemption ratios (award nights earned per paid dollars/nights), using any realistic parameters I have analyzed. The tradeoff is that SPG provides award availability whenever rooms are available for sale (with very few exceptions) and MR still has limited award availability.

Marriott does have much better coverage - I current have 1 SPG property within 20 miles of my client site, but at least 6 Marriott properties. I have been in several locations where Marriott is my only option.

For the long haul - the lifetime programs are different but somewhat comparable (pending MR's changes to be announced). 10 yrs as PLT to get lifetime PLT is tough, but 500 vs. 1000 nights (800'ish if you factor in bonus nights and rollovers) is much easier.

I've been fortunate enough to be able to keep PLT in both for nearly 10 years and will be lifetime in both within the next year. If I had to choose one, I'd probably go with SPG, as the 25 stays/yr are much easier than 75 nights. Unless I knew I would do a lot of traveling outside of major cities - then MR becomes more attractive.

I have to highly disagree with the bolded statement above. SPG Gold = not having status of any sort (basically) and very rarely, if ever even being recognized your are a member of any sort. Also, SPG = absolutely no upgrades and a feeling of nothing more than the 1 day traveler.

Marriott has many more hotels and I have had great luck with the Marriott Plat.

Everyone's experience is probably a bit different (likely depending on how often you freqent a hotel and your region of travel). However, upgrades come often and front desk has never failed to recognize as a Plat member.

Marriott Lifetime membership has been around for quite sometime, while SPG just starting offering it this year (so SPG has no history with this, that I am currently aware of).

However, I have never had a problem redeeming SPG awards, but they have fewer hotels so fewer choices and have never had a single upgrade. Therefore, they no longer get my weekly business travel due to their front desk service among other issues I have had with them as a company on our timeshare. So we choose to remain the lowly SPG gold:td: (which is basically like hilton blue, (maybe silver, at best) or no status at all, imho.

They did make some changes this year, but they have been consistently terrible (imho) over the years. So, I have no faith in what could be their short term efforts to pick up business travel with what may seem a dashing offer (with no personal history of a single good experience, and infact, a lackluster history of extremely poor service on business travel).

For business travel, I find Marriott to be one of the easiest to work with on allowing you to make changes due to your business needs (for Marriott Plat. members).

Some of the SPG hotels are nicer, but the stinky service is not worth the weekly hassle for me. I am too busy on business travel to deal with poor service.

You will find many differing opinions here on FT. It sounds like you have spent many nights in both, so you will have to make your own call in the end.
It will likely decide where you like to travel and hotel availability.

Another thing to consider is the promo's and ease of earning free nights.

It's been pretty hard to beat the Marriott promos this year with the stay 2 nights and earn a free cert (up to 2 or 3 certs max in the varying quarterly promos of 2012)

However, you will find many business travelers avoid Courtyard due to the no breakfast for Plat members (others don't mind because it's a corporate expense anyway--again another personal perference).

Good Luck and Welcome to FT!