spgplat21

I'd be a little short of the 750 number based on SPGs count, but I've had the personal credit card for 12 years and the business one for 5 or 6 of those so if you just took those nights and credited them like Marriott did for their lifetime status, I would have over 750. So it's not fair to say that only those over 750 would have met Marriott's lifetime status. The thresholds and requirements were different, but I think about equally as difficult, with some arguing that the 10 year requirement of SPG's made it harder and others arguing that the 750 requirement of Marriott, even with the looser definition of nights, was harder. The truth is likely somewhere in the middle, which is why they should have mapped both LTPs to the same status.

Plus any way you slice it MR LTP members (even if mapped to regular platinum) are now in a much better spot benefits-wise than they were before the whole merger, and SPG LTP members are, at best, in a neutral spot or arguably a slightly worse spot than they were previously if you look at things as a whole.

mooper

Not only multiple room credit for SPG, but award nights counted for more years than they have with MR, I believe. You're correct though - there are ways to game both programs to make it easier to achieve status (LT or otherwise), and I've done this, as have others. But for the vast majority of the members, it comes down to nights stayed, primarily. For such members, the MR LTP took 50% more nights than SPG LTP.

I'm pointing out the 50 SPG nights in the to-be legacy program gets pretty much what the new program Platinum provides, while 75 MR nights in the to-be legacy program gets pretty much what the new program Platinum Premier provides.

Again, someone who has been doing 75 or 100 nights in SPG would be better aligned with the new Platinum Premier tier.... so if it's *just* that subset of SPG LTPs offered it, I think that's fair and logical.

SPG LTP members who stayed 75+ nights are in an arguably worse spot, not all SPG LTP members.

jmkclee

But those aren't butt in bed nights. One could have the cc, put $90k on it (30 Nights) plus the 15 one gets for having the cc for a total of 45 nights. Not even qualified for gold. I don't know when Marriott started MR, but that's about 16.5 years...without ever having stayed at a Marriott. And if they stayed and put more on the card (which they would have to to get to 2M points), even less time. Without ever being Platinum 75. At best, SPG gave 10 nights from cc (if you have both personal and business cards). True, you got night credit for award stays, but never that many...and it is still one's butt in the bed on an award stay. So one could be Marriott LTP without every having been Platinum, let alone having to have the status for 10 years. Sure, most probably did average 75 nights over 10 years, but not all butt in bed and some did it well before 10 years.

jmkclee

THIS. Especially making Marriott LTP in 6 years.

jmkclee

Think of it this way. If an SPG person spent every single night in a hotel, that person wouldn't make LTP until 10 years, regardless of how many nights they stayed. A Marriott person would have made it in less than 3 years.

JackE

Which group was loyal to Marriott longer?

Medved

Agree entirely. I'm too at 750+ SPG nights, PLT for 15 years, ballpark 1.5MM SPG points accumulated since 2000 (count all sources). At least those SPG LTPs who have qualified before Aug. 1 with 750/2.3MM LTP (MR LTP equal qualifications criteria) should be grandfathered. On a fair side, members should be allowed to qualify for 750/2MM before 12/31/18.

Upsetting. In practical terms, LTP PP it is just a bit extra points and better hypothetical chances for suite upgrades. Recently, I bump into sold out hotels all the time -- no suite upgrades anyways.

spgplat21

There's certainly an argument that Marriott was the acquirer and so it's fair to treat folks that were loyal to Marriott better than folks that were arguably more loyal (because of the 10 year status requirement) to SPG (a former competitor), but I don't think that's been the intention or message throughout the merger process up until the different LTP mapping.

Regardless, I just don't think the decision makes sense from a business standpoint. If anyone was loyal to the MR program before the merger, why in the world would they leave it now, so it doesn't make sense to risk upsetting a large group of people for what is likely almost no gain in additional loyalty from the MR LTPs.

Alex_I

- And this is why it is particularly upsetting for long time SPG PLT members with >750 nights. LTP PP is not much more than PLT but merged Marriott still want to make it stick to SPG members.

boolean64

For now...at some point down the road wouldn't be surprised to see more differentiation.

jrothenb

I called the Marriott PLT desk one hour ago to respectfully advocate that SPG LTP either be grandfathered as the new LTPP, or offered an avenue to earn that status. The PLT agent said that they had received a number of similar calls, and that she believed there was new guidance from above, and asked me to wait on hold while she checked with Marriott Rewards supervisors. I will share exactly what I was told, and please ask that readers treat me as Sgt. Joe Friday, and know I am only sharing the facts as I received them, without any hyperbole added.

1. After checking with two separate MR supervisors and a hold time of nearly one hour, the PLT agent said she was told that SPG LTP will be grandfathered as LTPP. She said that it wouldn’t be right to not grandfather SPG LTP as LTPP when the other two LT groups (MR LTP and RC LTP) are

2. She looked specifically into my own account (with SPG LTP, only modest MR history), and assured me that I would be grandfathered into LTPP

3. She said that it’s important that SPG LTP link their status to their MR account, as this online match is apparently necessary in order to be eligible for the grandfathered status.

4. I asked if she could send me an email confirmation of this for my records. She said that she would be glad to. I have included that email below, and have redacted her personal information since she was very helpful, and I have no desire to get anyone in trouble.

This will be cross posted to both the SPG and MR FT appropriate threads. Wishing all well during these uncertain times!

“Mr. XXXXXXX,

First off, I would like to thank you for your patience today and the extreme long wait you had to endure.

Your question to me was: why under the Marriott account are the Platinum Lifetime elite members going to grand-fathered in as Platinum Lifetime Premier?

I spoke with a representative in Marriott Rewards and they explained that as of today, if a Marriott member and also SPG, and you have linked your accounts together that as of now, you are considered a Marriott Reward member, where as you will also be grand-fathered in Rewards as a Platinum Lifetime Premier.

I hope this helps.

XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX

XXXXX Platinum Desk
XXXXX###
[email protected]”

spgplat21

Awesome if true.

UA-NYC

75 MR nights in the legacy program maps quite nicely to the new 50 night Plat level (even better actually than the new 75 night level), and is even better than what you had at 75 nights prior in some ways.
- you get 5 SNAs where you didn't before
- still 50% bonus points
- more defined suite upgrade language

75 nights in the new program gets you more bonus points than 75 nights did in the old program.

I can't think of a single way in which Marriott Plat was better than SPG Plat benefit-wise...

yeunganson

If this is true, I think that would be a very fair offer. Starwood doesn't have the same footprint as Marriott and those who made it to 10 years have demonstrate true loyalty backed my real revenue to the hotels by actually staying in hotels.

Some have posted because we are being acquired, those being acquired would have less benifits than those who acquired us. This logic works more in nations being conquered (and citizens can't just move) than commercial transactions. In commercial transactions, customers can move to other chains because there isn't contractual obligation to stay (unlike citizenship of a country). So it make sense the acquired customers are as valuable if not more than their own.
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yeunganson

I think our program's Plat status in the 50/75/100 are hard earned by sleeping in hotels. There is no major gimmicks on bonus credit card nights. No loopholes on booking conferences rooms. There is no comped by credit card spending or status automatch with airlines. This means those Plat members in USA with Spg amex worked just as hard as those members in Europe or asia with no Spg Amex.

So if the new program do away with the conference room loophole and some crazy 15 nights headstart to those with cards.... We have a more equality spread among world members.