bartman9

I have tried to figure this out, but haven't seen much info. How does the Ritz rewards program compare to the Marriott one and how are they related?

I don't see much info about it here on FT.

aaupgrade

All intents and purposes they are the same and interchangeable. The only difference is the offers one receives. MR members receive Marriott offers, and RCR members receive RC offers.

R&R

Which of the Beijing Ritz is convenient to the city area attractions?
I would really like to take a Luxury splurge award stay for about 5 days, if that is NOT too long for the location.
Not a business trip.
Interested in historical sites, .

CO_Bulkhead

So if you stay at a Ritz Carlton, can you earn Marriott points?

hhoope01

Yes. In fact, if you earn RC points and change to the Marriott program, your points and elite status will be the exact same, but will be Marriott points/status. (And the reverse is true as well with a move from Marriott to RC.) You could probably switch back and forth weekly if you wanted with no real impact to your account.

As mentioned, the only real difference are the promotions you will be targeted for. In reality there are no RC "points". All the points in both programs are exactly the same (and probably tracked in one database bucket by Marriott.)

No Clue

I suppose they have a good reason for this but it seems like they would allow access to both since they use the same rewards number. I tried signing onto the RC website and it redirects me to the Marriott home page. The RC info I was trying to access is unavailable to me.

Readog

How would I go about switching back into the Marriott program. I'm Platinum Premiere now and it appears I am in the RC program - mailings from RC, member card is RC...would much rather Marriott.

hhoope01

I think you have to call MR and tell them you want to switch your primary membership.

I've never actually done it, so it may be possible to do it online, but I've not been able to find out how. So I would just give MR a call.

Readog

Thanks - I called MR and they switched me back. Took no time at all.

hailstorm

From my Ritz-Carlton Rewards account, when I try to make a Ritz-Carlton points reservation without having enough points in account to cover it, I receive the following message:

However, I do not see any place on the Ritz-Carlton Rewards website that allows for purchasing points. From the Marriott site i do see the Purchase Marriott Rewards Points link, but it's unclear if these points can be purchased for a Ritz-Carlton account.

Should this work, or is there some Ritz-Carlton Rewards specific option available?

aaupgrade

Use the Marriott site for purchasing points. It's all the same program.

Keep in mind that according to what has been said by Marriott, you will not need these points until a week before your stay and must call Marriott Rewards (not reservations) M-F during business hours to pull the certificate and attach it to your reservation. Marriott has also said that the points will automatically be deducted and a cert pulled, but my trust factor is not high enough to ever advise or have friends do this.

FWIW, I usually insure friends do this a few weeks before so as not to muck with the system and possibly end up having to jump through extra hoops, and /or lose the reservation. Yes, I know it is not supposed to happen, but one never knows.

BTW, if you have friends or family with points, they can also transfer the points needed for the reward, rounded up to the next 1000. And, no I am not one of your friends or family.

hailstorm

Thanks! Sounds pretty complicated...last time I made an RC points reservation online, everything happened automatically.

Will you marry me?

kcmd

How does the lounge access work...Gold MR gets lounge but not at RC right?

aaupgrade

Not complicated at all. You can make award reservations online with or without the required points. My comments above were with respect to making award reservaitons without having the required points and how to follow-up once you do have the required points.

IF you do NOT have the required points when making the reservation then you will need to get the certificate issued and attached to your reservation later when you do have the required points, OR rely on Marriott's system which is supposed to deduct the points automatically 7 days before arrival for reservations that were originally made without the requisite points. A simple call to Marriott Rewards gets the cert issued and attached to one's reservation and gives one peace of mind on reservations that were originally made without the required points.