uppereastsider

I just reached 251 nights with SPG and 5 years elite status (with screenshots and everything documented)... status still says lifetime silver elite, which is fine.

What I am concerned about is combining accounts. I don't want that to be the catalyst for losing LT Gold (even though I won't be using those benefits in 2019, it just feels good to have something to show after being a road warrior for 5+ years), but at the same time, I have enough MR nights that when combined I'll be Platinum Premier Elite for 2019.

Am I being too paranoid? Should I just combine to get better platinum benefits, even though I value LT Gold more, despite that having 0 value for me currently.

RogerD408

There is a difference between paranoid and cautious. I too haven't combined my accounts and I'm in no rush. I was MR LTG and SPG LTG before the merger. I am now showing as MR P and LTP and SPG P and LTG. When I combine I expect to stay MPG P and LTP with LTPP.

chad75

Racked up my 50th night last week marking my tenth year as platinum - so quite pleased with that as a strictly leisure traveller. I guess all that is left now is to patiently wait three or so months when the perfect Marriott IT system sweeps me across - which I am 100% sure will happen in a smooth and hassle free manner! 😳

yeunganson

I hope the new merged Marriott/SPG program after having their new name will send us all a ceremonial membership card (like metal card or luggage tag) similar those given to SPG Lifetime platinum. The New Marriott/SPG should take a page out of ANA Airlines where they put a lot of effort in making a beautiful handcrafted luggage tags for 1 million / 2 million / 3 million lifetime achievers. It's one of the ways to really show appreciation.

https://www.ana.co.jp/en/us/amc/refe...miler-program/

If the cost of doing this is quite high,you can always give the option for lifetime members exclusive right to order one for themselves in a subsidized price.

flyerbjorn

Just crossed 500 nights and 11 years as Platinum after the merger. All nights on Starwood. Too bad they changed the rules.

nologic

​​​​​​​What rule change are you disappointed in?

BMGRAHAM

​​​​​​​That was my question too. They haven't changed any rules as far as I know, other than allowing you to qualify for lifetime status under the old rules if you do so before December 31. That makes it better not worse

RogerD408

The 500 nights would have earned SPG LTP. And since they dumped all the legacy rules in the system, OP won't see LTP until January when they sweep the accounts.

nologic

People have until 12/31/18 to earn lifetime Platinum under the old rules .

BMGRAHAM

They should ask for the LTP now. I know people that already have been given the lifetime status that wasn't due until January but they had to ask for it.

Assimilated Cajun

Inspired by this and similar suggestions, I called the SPG Platinum line to see if I could get an additional year of Platinum (which I earned by completing my 25th stay of the year at legacy Starwood properties a few weeks ago) added to my lifetime total. I am already Platinum Premier for this year via pre-August nights on the Marriott side, so the only thing that matters to me is the additional lifetime year, which will bring me within a whisker of Lifetime Platinum under the new rules. I had previously written to one of the Lurkers about this and was assured (via a gracious response from a different Lurker) that I would indeed get an extra lifetime Platinum year, but not until el famoso January sweep. Like many posters on this thread I am nervous about that process, so I thought it could not hurt to ask one more time.

The call was among my worst Customer Service experiences with any company in a long time, and that's saying a lot. First I had to get past the electronic gatekeeper -- even more infuriating than most, because every time I either asked for a representative or tried to explain what I wanted she insisted that I choose instead from a menu of unrelated options -- and then apparently got put into the general Marriott Rewards queue, because after a while on hold I found myself speaking to someone who was pretty clearly neither a dedicated Platinum agent nor a legacy-Starwood agent. When I started to explain my issue his response was that I didn't have enough points for Lifetime Platinum. I told him that wasn't what I was calling about, all I wanted was to get the additional year of Platinum status on my lifetime total to which I was entitled on account of having 25 stays at Starwood-legacy properties this year. He said he wasn't familiar with that issue and was going to put me on hold so he could "discuss it with someone to make sure I give you the right answer." But he never came back on the line, which was a blessing wrapped in an insult. Instead, after another ten minutes on hold I was back where I started, talking to the electronic lady. Finally got past her again, and this time I spoke to someone who was clearly smarter and nicer than the first agent. But she, too, was unfamiliar with the 25-Starwood-stays-in-2018 rule, so she also put me on hold to discuss it with her supervisor. After a few minutes she came back and said that (1) nothing of this sort was going to happen until January; and (2) "Actually your lifetime nights combine, but your years of status don't. If you had six years as a Marriott Platinum and two years as a Starwood Platinum, you would only have six years total under the new program, because you really weren't Platinum for eight years." I responded that I had already combined my accounts, that the new program had in fact aggregated my total years of Starwood and Marriott Platinum, and that I couldn't understand why the company was not taking the trouble to keep its customer service representatives informed about questions as basic as this one. But I thanked her for answering my question, which was whether a phone call might speed up the process of getting my additional Platinum year.

flyerbjorn

And it worked! I logged in today to see how many nights I have to go and it said: You are Lifetime Platinum Elite.

Hooray!

uppereastsider