M.dA.R.

the rules for elite qualification in both programs are very clear...

mahasamatman

Because (a) you didn't meet the requirements to hit that level, and (b) you expect special treatment.

MSPeconomist

Is Hyatt offering you Plat or Glob?

PaulInTheSky

Going with FFPs is like going by the rules. They are clearly still two companies in terms of operations and frequent guest programs, and they said it at the very beginning they are not combining nights at the moment. So if you say at 55 nights in Marriott, 45 nights SPG, does that make you PLT in each program? No. You are loyal to each frequent guest program to the point that you are considered as GLD elite. By your logic, if you stay at each brand for nine nights(Hyatt, Marriott, SPG, Hilton, Carlton, BestWestern, Accor), does that mean you are loyal to all hotel programs?

What do you think a frequent guest program is like Hilton when you can hold a CC (AMex) that can grant you Diamond status every year? What do you think about your loyalty to Hilton when others stay no nights at Hilton but have the same status as you because they have the AMex CC? I thought about going for Hilton LT DM once I finish with LT goals with Marriott/SPG. By the time AMex Hilton CC came up, I had made up my mind not to blindly go after Hilton.

pinniped

This was my first thought. In fact, it almost seems impossible.

44 nights at Starwood, all two-night stays.
57 nights at Marriott, all really cheap stays.
That could leave you 1 EQN short in both programs.

Or you're counting some non-qualifying stays in those 100+ nights.

Or you're exaggerating a bit on the 100+ nights.

chongl

I think the only party in this scenario that didn't do their due diligence, is you.

With the way SPG and Marriott are operating right now, your assumption that they would make an exception is akin to owning a Toyota and expecting Lexus to perform your warranty work.

loomis

It looks like the OP starts an account on FT, presumably for the sole purpose of complaining about not getting something that he was not entitled to. Aggressive language noted.

Something tells me that we will soon see him in the Hilton and/or Hyatt forums, asking who he should switch to next, when he does not get exactly what he demands.

As has been noted many times on FT, if you keep switching travel providers for every menial thing that they do that you do not like, you will quickly run out of options.

Troopers

I don't disagree with the community sentiment but FT is filled with exception examples...there are always exceptions to every rule, policy, etc. Unfortunately for the OP, s/he didn't get the exception.

CPRich

Having spent time with Hyatt and Hilton programs, dealing with a very limited footprint and a very low value elite member program, I look forward to OP returning in a couple of years.

Though not here - hit-and-run posters very rarely provide updates.


fwiw, add me to the consistent message that I'm glad the programs actually follow their well-published guidelines.

pinniped

The crazy thing is: I empathize with the OP. He's done something that is almost impossible to actually do, and I could easily see a non-FTer (read: someone who isn't a total nerd about these programs) doing and not being aware of it until too late. I can also see where Marriott/Starwood might be willing to grant an exception to someone who really has fully barely short of Platinum in both programs.

Different tone, less entitlement, less informing us how sophisticated he is...he might actually get some helpful advice here. Hotel programs have been generous to me over the years, occasionally extending Plat/Diamond when I didn't fully earn it. Asking how to proceed in this situation isn't unreasonable, but "reasonable" discussion left the station 1 sentence into the OP.

Makes me wonder if the request to Marriott and Starwood wasn't a snotty entitled demand/threat, and that's why it got shot down.

paolo64

In the early days of the acquisition there were regulatory and shareholder issues that precluded any premature merging . The programs had to remain separate. Surely those issues are long since resolved and there is no longer a compelling reason to keep them apart.

dilbertsdaddy

Sorry you were not aware, but you could have stayed 50 nights with SPG and been Plat in both.

pinniped

My armchair opinion is that Marriott realizes that SPG members have a much different relationship with their program than Marriott members do with Marriott Rewards. I honestly believe Marriott is still trying to figure out how to merge - or *if* they can merge - without killing the secret sauce of SPG. That is, the better on-property recognition, upgrades, and other benefits.

If heritage Starwood becomes too Marriottized, I suspect a *lot* of the SPG fans would defect to Hyatt. Footprint-wise, Hyatt isn't so dissimilar to SPG to make that a show-stopper.

Marriott is still looking for a thoughtful solution that keeps SPG fans from leaving, and it isn't easy to find. They could have legally merged programs on January 1, 2018, but they didn't. This is a genuine conundrum still to be solved.

NDtraveler

Can this post be tagged as dykwia?

1readyset2go

Wow rough crowd. I am more pissed about the change to Pepsi products (gag). Then again, I am just a lowly Gold.