Jun 28, 2018, 12:52 pm
Last edit by: Oxon Flyer
Official announcement from Starwood Lurker V :
Maximize your points as our programs become one this August.
As you may already know, SPG®, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® will become one program this August. You’ll be able to redeem for free nights and unforgettable experiences at over 6,500 participating hotels across 29 brands.
Our Free Night Award Chart will be updated and give you more power to redeem your points. Even better: More hotels are moving down in redemption rates than up – so chances are that you’ll be able to redeem fewer points for free nights at the hotels you love.
Here are our top eight tips to help you maximize your points:
• Plan ahead. Explore the full list of hotel category changes and decide if you want to plan your trip before or after the updates take effect. Here are just a few examples of hotels that are moving to a lower category in August:
- REDEEM FREE NIGHTS FOR 10,000 FEWER POINTS
Hotel Talisa in Vail, Le Méridien Barcelona, W Punta de Mita, The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka'anapali, The Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, and Le Méridien San Francisco
- REDEEM FREE NIGHTS FOR 5,000 FEWER POINTS
The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort, Renaissance Paris Republique Hotel, The St. Regis Princeville Resort, Courtyard New York Manhattan/Midtown East, Autograph Collection’s Hotel Punta Islita, and Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Napa Valley
See the complete new award chart here.
• Take advantage of future Category 8 hotels. Future Category 8 hotels will be available at Category 7 rates from August until 2019. Redeem now to save up to 20% and guarantee your rate even if the stay occurs after new rates take effect. Explore future category 8 hotels.
• Use Cash + Points. Stay for as little as $55 and 3,500 points at more hotels than ever. Your next vacation may be closer than you think. See the Cash + Points Chart.
• Stay five nights, pay for four. Get a complimentary night when you redeem four consecutive nights.
• Save more with PointSavers. Enjoy up to 20% off when you redeem points at top destinations. All 29 brands participate, all you have to do is enter the city, state or country along with your dates to find participating hotels. See the PointSavers Chart.
• Upgrade your stay. Use points to upgrade your room (think suite or a room with a picture-perfect view) during your stay.
• Enjoy Travel Packages. Travel Packages now include all SPG hotels. Until now, SPG Nights & Flights applied only to SPG Category 3 and 4 hotels. Starting in August, Marriott Rewards and SPG members can redeem points for airline miles and hotel stays at any of the 6,500 participating hotels. This offer continues to be one of the richest offers among travel loyalty programs.
• Get instant gratification. Instantly redeem points for cocktails, meals, spa treatments or anything else you can charge to your room at participating hotels. Each US$1 is valued at 250 points, so if you would like a spa treatment worth US$50, you would redeem 12,500 points.
Explore all the changes happening in August and read FAQs now by visiting members.marriott.com. In the meantime, please feel free to share your feedback and we’ll do our best to answer your questions.
Maximize your points as our programs become one this August.
As you may already know, SPG®, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® will become one program this August. You’ll be able to redeem for free nights and unforgettable experiences at over 6,500 participating hotels across 29 brands.
Our Free Night Award Chart will be updated and give you more power to redeem your points. Even better: More hotels are moving down in redemption rates than up – so chances are that you’ll be able to redeem fewer points for free nights at the hotels you love.
Here are our top eight tips to help you maximize your points:
• Plan ahead. Explore the full list of hotel category changes and decide if you want to plan your trip before or after the updates take effect. Here are just a few examples of hotels that are moving to a lower category in August:
- REDEEM FREE NIGHTS FOR 10,000 FEWER POINTS
Hotel Talisa in Vail, Le Méridien Barcelona, W Punta de Mita, The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka'anapali, The Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, and Le Méridien San Francisco
- REDEEM FREE NIGHTS FOR 5,000 FEWER POINTS
The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort, Renaissance Paris Republique Hotel, The St. Regis Princeville Resort, Courtyard New York Manhattan/Midtown East, Autograph Collection’s Hotel Punta Islita, and Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Napa Valley
See the complete new award chart here.
• Take advantage of future Category 8 hotels. Future Category 8 hotels will be available at Category 7 rates from August until 2019. Redeem now to save up to 20% and guarantee your rate even if the stay occurs after new rates take effect. Explore future category 8 hotels.
• Use Cash + Points. Stay for as little as $55 and 3,500 points at more hotels than ever. Your next vacation may be closer than you think. See the Cash + Points Chart.
• Stay five nights, pay for four. Get a complimentary night when you redeem four consecutive nights.
• Save more with PointSavers. Enjoy up to 20% off when you redeem points at top destinations. All 29 brands participate, all you have to do is enter the city, state or country along with your dates to find participating hotels. See the PointSavers Chart.
• Upgrade your stay. Use points to upgrade your room (think suite or a room with a picture-perfect view) during your stay.
• Enjoy Travel Packages. Travel Packages now include all SPG hotels. Until now, SPG Nights & Flights applied only to SPG Category 3 and 4 hotels. Starting in August, Marriott Rewards and SPG members can redeem points for airline miles and hotel stays at any of the 6,500 participating hotels. This offer continues to be one of the richest offers among travel loyalty programs.
• Get instant gratification. Instantly redeem points for cocktails, meals, spa treatments or anything else you can charge to your room at participating hotels. Each US$1 is valued at 250 points, so if you would like a spa treatment worth US$50, you would redeem 12,500 points.
Explore all the changes happening in August and read FAQs now by visiting members.marriott.com. In the meantime, please feel free to share your feedback and we’ll do our best to answer your questions.
New Marriott Awards chart for SPG properties, published 28 June 2018
Jun 30, 2018, 7:21 am
#136
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: BDU
Programs: DL:MM, Marriott:LTT
Posts: 8,779
If I book a SPG property before 8/1 with SPG points and that property will increase in points after 8/1, what happens if I need to cancel after 8/1? For example, I book a 12K SPG/nt property now and it comes a 50K Marriott/night property after 8/1 - do I get back 50K Marriott points as a refund? And will it vary according to whether the booking was set for peak or off-peak times?
PointSavers have never worked that way although I have not seen any announcement indicating there might not be a change. Historically certs are based on the Cat. A higher Cat hotel on a PointSavers rate would not be eligible for using the Cert even though it is within the points redemption because it is still too high a Cat for the cert. Unless it is announced that you can use the certs for a higher level hotel on PointSavers I would assume you cannot and it is the same as it has always been. It will also depend on whether the new Certs are still tied to Cats or are truly points.
Last edited by CJKatl; Jun 30, 2018 at 7:35 am
Jun 30, 2018, 7:35 am
#137
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Marriott Bonvoy
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Englandshire
Programs: SPG LT Plat, BA G, BD*LG, MG Blue+ ...
Posts: 16,032
SPG properties where you actually want to redeem have gone up disproportionately
It seems an inescapable truth that, in transitioning the calculation of award levels of SPG hotels from the SPG method to the MR method where
then, for most SPG members :
Jun 30, 2018, 7:36 am
#138
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: YXU / YUL
Programs: AA LT Gold, Aeroplan, Marriott Titanium (LT Platinum), HH Diamond
Posts: 407
Jun 30, 2018, 11:12 am
#139
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Virginia
Programs: HHonors Gold, IHG Platinum, Marriott nobody
Posts: 470
This reminds me of the old Marriott Cat 1 to 4 cert that I had a hard time to use in NYC. There just isn't any Cat 4 hotels in NYC in areas that I was willing to stay at. There were years that I would just let the certs expire.
Jun 30, 2018, 11:37 am
#140
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: BDU
Programs: DL:MM, Marriott:LTT
Posts: 8,779
I was not referring to the PointSavers, but rather the new free night cert that comes with the SPG AMEX in 2019. It can be redeemed for any hotel night worth up to 35,000 points. In 2019, Marriott will have standard, off-peak, and peak period for the same hotel. With my favorite SPG hotel at exactly 35,000 points during standard period, they won't refund me the 5,000 point when that hotel will be worth only 30,000 points during off peak, but will be out-of-reach for me during peak periods when they want 40,000 points. The uncertainty is a negative for me.
This reminds me of the old Marriott Cat 1 to 4 cert that I had a hard time to use in NYC. There just isn't any Cat 4 hotels in NYC in areas that I was willing to stay at. There were years that I would just let the certs expire.
This reminds me of the old Marriott Cat 1 to 4 cert that I had a hard time to use in NYC. There just isn't any Cat 4 hotels in NYC in areas that I was willing to stay at. There were years that I would just let the certs expire.
Jun 30, 2018, 11:51 am
#141
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Virginia
Programs: HHonors Gold, IHG Platinum, Marriott nobody
Posts: 470
Good point. Another thing to watch out for in 2019.
Jun 30, 2018, 8:48 pm
#142
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: DAY
Programs: Rapid Rewards, Skymiles, Hilton HHonors, SPG/Marriott Rewards
Posts: 4,952
Jun 30, 2018, 10:51 pm
#143
Join Date: Jan 2016
Programs: Marriott AmBE ; AA EXP; Amtrak Select Executive; Hertz PC
Posts: 151
wow. I just booked the Four Points By Sheraton International Drive in Orlando for 3000 SPG points. In August, it will cost 8333 SPG points for a night!! basically all the low end point redemptions are all doubling up. mid tier can either be up or down and high end you save a tiny bit.
Jul 1, 2018, 3:28 am
#144
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 486
wow. I just booked the Four Points By Sheraton International Drive in Orlando for 3000 SPG points. In August, it will cost 8333 SPG points for a night!! basically all the low end point redemptions are all doubling up. mid tier can either be up or down and high end you save a tiny bit.
Jul 1, 2018, 2:17 pm
#145
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 137
If you cancel you get back however many points were taken out of your account for the reservation. Note that it has been confirmed that you do not have to have the points taken from your account when you make the reservation. I have always done it this way by calling Marriott and asking that the points not be taken out as the reservation is made. A week before the reservation you will bet an email reminding you to pay the points. If you do not, the points will be automatically taken out. You do not need to have the points in your account at the time of reservation. If you do not want to call, make a dummy reservation online to drain your points, make the reservation you want and cancel the dummy reservation so those points return to your account.
Jul 1, 2018, 2:26 pm
#146
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA LTG (EXP), Hilton Silver (Dia), Marriott LTP (PP), SPG LTG (P) > MPG LTPP
Posts: 11,329
That wasn't exactly my question. Thanks, I already knew about not needing to have the Marriott points in your account as I made numerous rewards bookings months ago in planning for the merger. But SPG properties require you to have the SPG points to pay for them when you book. My question in my specific scenario is if I book an SPG room with 12K SPG points now, and when that room becomes 50K Marriott points on 8/1, what do I get back if I cancel that room after 8/1? 36k Marriott (1:3 conversion) or 50K Marriott which is what that room is in Marriott's system? Greg at FM feels I would only get back 36K Marriott points, but I question if Marriott's IT is that organized.
Jul 1, 2018, 2:47 pm
#147
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: BDU
Programs: DL:MM, Marriott:LTT
Posts: 8,779
Just like when booking before a point change, expect to get back what you paid and not the going rate. Now the question will be if you have merged your accounts before cancelling the rez, If you have then the 1:3 conversion is appropriate, if not, then the SPG points you paid should return to your SPG account.
Again, not merging accounts does not keep someone in a retired legacy program. There is no five month conversion period where all the programs are running. The old programs will be retired and the new program begins on a day to be finalized in Aug.
Remember, the MR and SPG IT systems are not being retired immediately. Both will run the new rewards program until the two systems are merged somewhere down the line. It is doubtful a single IT platform, the present SPG platform, will be running two different currencies concurrently. My guess would be on the day the new program is implemented the shift will be made to the new currency and everything will be running on it.
Jul 1, 2018, 2:54 pm
#148
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,797
they already said starpoints are being converted. that means starwood accounts can be converted into marriott accounts, and people can end up with multiple accounts that they put together whenever. i dont see any reason they would have to automatically combine or kill accounts.
going to be odd having "points" from "starwood credit card" for a few months, my big question is re expiration extension
going to be odd having "points" from "starwood credit card" for a few months, my big question is re expiration extension
Jul 1, 2018, 3:27 pm
#149
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: BDU
Programs: DL:MM, Marriott:LTT
Posts: 8,779
they already said starpoints are being converted. that means starwood accounts can be converted into marriott accounts, and people can end up with multiple accounts that they put together whenever. i dont see any reason they would have to automatically combine or kill accounts.
going to be odd having "points" from "starwood credit card" for a few months, my big question is re expiration extension
going to be odd having "points" from "starwood credit card" for a few months, my big question is re expiration extension
Merging is irrelevant. Starpoints are going away when the old program is retired and the new program starts in Aug. Any refund will be in the new currency with the conversion rate applied if applicable and not in Starpoints.
Jul 1, 2018, 3:38 pm
#150
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,797
marriott refers to it as "combine" in august upon request
vs "link" and "transfer" currently, may continue or end
(there will no longer be a reason to transfer)
vs "link" and "transfer" currently, may continue or end
(there will no longer be a reason to transfer)
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Jul 2, 2018 at 12:02 pm