Statman

5x more points means nothing when hotel redemptions cost 10x more than SPG.

aero0729

Yet you read it, than commented on it. so it entertained you either way.

aero0729

What comparable hotel is 10x more in the Marriott system?

​​​​​​The average full service Starwood hotel is 10-12K points. The average Marriott is 30-35K. The maximum cost for a Marriott is 45K, the maximum cost for an SPG hotel is 30K . max cost for a Ritz is 80K. Where is this 10x the cost. In general, Marriott pays out 5x more points.. in the current promo more like 6x more or on short stays 8-9x more and their hotels cost only 3x more at most. I posted this because I believe SPG's greatness is way over perceived. I am not saying Marriott is amazing, they have their faults but I do not see any scenario where SPG earn and burn is better than Marriott. If there is they are far few and between.

UA-NYC

#FactsMatter

Yes, for the general member w/o status, it is a 5:1 ratio. As noted by CPRich, myself, and many others, for any Plats or even Golds it's actually more like 3:1 or even better (via MAGC points, Plat amenity, CC earning, etc.)

samwise6222

I'd say I am getting a pretty good value if you asked me (not to mention that cash rate is non-refundable at booking)

margarita girl

Can I point out that if it weren’t for the absurd rule that you don’t earn points until your second stay (that we’ve never seen until Marriott came along), that you would have also received the Q1 bonus for your stay. So double pts (+ 500 weekend bonus if applicable).

myko85

Platinum award/paid stay experience at the Ritz is non-existent. No breakfast, club room, club lounge, or suites. A Marriott platinum checking in gets less benefits than an AMEX FHR booking.

Platinum award/paid stay experience at the St. Regis INCLUDES complimentary breakfast, club lounge, and upgrade to suites and club rooms.

Marriott award redemption may be cheaper -- but you're paying for it by not having access to many of the hotel's better facilities.

I like SPG because of the recognition and experience.

CPRich

Last stay - 2 nights @ $130/night

520 base points
260 PLT points
260 SPG75 points
500 PLT Amenity points
500 Green choice points
======
2,040 points, 260 spend = 8.85 points/dollar.

No SPG credit card, no promotion. Add in a promo, it's 10-12/$, have a longer stay, it's 6-8/$. For the year, just over 9 points per dollar.

Not really that complicated.

EDIT: I looked up my last Marriott stay

2,660 points, $166.32 charges = 16.0 points/$.

16 isn't 5x 8.85. It's not even anywhere near 3x, which you state is the redemption difference. By these 2 data points, I'm 66% better off at SPG. In reality, in the long run, I still do better at SPG, and get much better treatment.

ftrichard

I’m with you. My last stay: two nights at Le Meridien Xiaojing Bay cost $388 (total spend).

Base points = 776
Plat Points = 388
P75 Points = 388

ftrichard

Another point. I reckon that I redeem points for 10 free nights a year out of the 50 required nights to qualify as Platinum. So I pay for 40 nights to qualify and earn enough points to get the 10 redemption nights - usually at least one block of 5 nights in a Cat 3 @28k points or Cat 4 @ 40k points. I do stays that maximise earning during promos but nothing outrageous to achieve this. So SPG points get me 20% off during the year effectively. Would MR points?

mikesyr18

You may want to look at Marriott's credit card.

MSPeconomist

Let's not forget that several major Marriott brands only earn points at half the normal rate. These and IIRC some additional brands also only earn points on room charges, not anything else such as F&B at hotel outlets charged to your room.

ftrichard

And you can't get MR points by eating at a Marriott hotel restaurant without staying there. I've got points at numerous SPG hotel restaurants (eg. St Regis Bangkok Sunday brunch) without staying there.

When I had a group at the buffet of the Majestic KL last year I also stayed the night because it had just joined Marriott from LHW in order to get the points for this meal. If we'd gone to Le Meridien I wouldn't have had to stay to get the points.

Dalo

Mr. Aero0729 do you know a fellow who goes by DCS ?

Okijames

When booking (biz travel where I would rather trade breakfast and housekeeping for points, and don't care too much about Scary-ott's poor treatment of "elites", more on that in a sec) why not look for the best earning rate across SPG and MR? Then...

When booking award stays (where I *DO* care about how the Mrs and I are treated, and opt for breakfast and housekeeping rather than points) focus on SPG redemption options.

Re MR poor treatment of elites... I am at a Marriott right now and the experience is telling. I started a new job this week and HQ booked travel without my profile, therefore without my frequent travel info. As I check, the front desk person begins to ask for info that would be automatically displayed if she had my MR #. So I offer my MR #, she responds with a big sigh, seems to struggle switching screens/mode on her computer, enters the #, botches it twice, requiring me to repeat the #, finally seems to get it entered then says NOTHING, literally provided ZERO recognition of status (not that I care much about the actual status recognition but it would have helped to confirm she entered the right #) and proceeds to check me in. She hands me the key and bids be farewell. There you have it, Scary-ott customer appreciation! LOL!

I had to ask if enhanced WiFi is complementary, she says yes. Still not sure if she entered my MR # correctly, I asked what status I have with MR. She replied that I am platinum elite. Honestly I'm still not 100% convinced she entered the right #. Granted it is very likely she got it right, but I have a super generic name (Ex: 8 of "us" at the local dry cleaner and 6 at my dentist, not kidding! I do a lot of double checking

As long as I'm on a roll, how about a supposedly apples-apples and 1:1 equivalent points comparison...

I live 15min from the Ritz Carlton Dana Point which is effectively adjacent the former St. Regis Monarch Beach. The STR was our favorite staycation location and a large factor in my hotel program selection criteria, so much so it's departure prompted me to shift toward Hyatt due to the relative proximity of the Park Hyatt Aviara. While I disliked the idea of Scary-ott's Starwood acquisition it did appear to offer one silver lining, access to a nearby luxury staycation property in the Ritz with a better view than the STR. Great! Then I tried a 2night stay at the Ritz, shortlist of differences...

-STR 20K points/ni = Frequent ~80% suite upgrades with butler, morning tea/coffee service, comp access to spa, breakfast credit rather than 500pts, late check out, etc. etc. etc. Great stays!
-Ritz 60K points/ni = 1st room: Ground floor, poor view, had been patch painted (paint still wet, room full of fumes, and worker still in the room) ok so mistakes happen, go to front desk.. 2nd room: Still ground floor a few doors down the hall. View blocked by a tent for a wedding reception in the midst of being erected, loudly. Once completed it was literally arm distance from the room's patio/firepit, we had a closeup view of the big white tent wall. 1000 MR points for check-in, comp enhanced Internet, no breakfast, no butler, etc. etc. Also zero response to scathing after-stay survey. We have not been back.

Not that the hotels have much control of the 3rd party restaurants but...
STR restaurant Stonhill Tavern (has since changed to a Bourbon Steak) = Great food and service, 10% Platinum discount, comped corkage 2 bottles for party of 4
Ritz restaurant (name forgotten) = Great food and service service except for corkage issues, no platinum discount, full $ corkage for 1st bottle, initially refused to open a 2nd for a party of 4, this was quite a hassle. The second night of our stay we left the Ritz and had dinner at Stonehill.

FWIW Stonehill offered the same great food and service, no discount or points as the hotel had been deflagged, comped corkage.

Yikes, um, getting of my rant box now...