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 28, 2018, 9:58 am
#31
Company Representative - Starwood
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Marriott Employee Level
Posts: 31,593
Members can cancel the reservation and rebook when the new category pricing is available. Keep in mind that members should always check the cancellation policy first.
Best regards,
William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts LLC
[email protected]
Jun 28, 2018, 9:58 am
#32
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador
Posts: 598
Looking at Orlando and they interestingly made the Sheraton Vistana properties a category 6 and the Marriott timeshare properties (including the luxury Lakeshore Reserve) a category 5.
Also a few increases in Boston across the board for the mid-tier hotels, going from what used to be 12k Starpoints to essentially 16.6k Starpoints.
Also a few increases in Boston across the board for the mid-tier hotels, going from what used to be 12k Starpoints to essentially 16.6k Starpoints.
Jun 28, 2018, 9:58 am
#33
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: HHonors, TrueBlue, Delta SkyMiles, Hyatt Discoverist, Starwood Preferred Guest, American Airlines.
Posts: 2,035
For those who spend many, many nights a year at the various Marriott properties - the system is good for them. For those who want to earn as many points possible through credit card earnings to get points... Marriott is one of the worst chains for that.
I would call the recent chart changes a devaluation to the program (although there's obviously improvements in some places).
Jun 28, 2018, 10:01 am
#34
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Miami, FL
Programs: UA 1MM, AA Plat, Marriott LT Titanium, Hyatt Glob, IHG ♢ Amb, Hilton ♢, Hertz Pres
Posts: 6,018
Pretty much what I said.
Yes, it may be a win for "some" when 62% of properties changing value went down. In an election, that's known as a landslide.
If you're looking to find a specific niche of a small percentage of properties where there's a negative impact and use that to support a pre-defined conclusion of "every year without fail, overall, our points are being devalued", you can.
A factual analysis of the data does not support that conclusion. But when you've already decided the outcome, there's really no point in discussing.
Yes, it may be a win for "some" when 62% of properties changing value went down. In an election, that's known as a landslide.
If you're looking to find a specific niche of a small percentage of properties where there's a negative impact and use that to support a pre-defined conclusion of "every year without fail, overall, our points are being devalued", you can.
A factual analysis of the data does not support that conclusion. But when you've already decided the outcome, there's really no point in discussing.
Jun 28, 2018, 10:02 am
#35
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Chicago
Programs: Hyatt Glob; UA 1K; BonVoyage LTT (RIP SPG); HH Dia; JX Insighter
Posts: 1,643
Jun 28, 2018, 10:08 am
#36
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Pittsburgh
Programs: MR/SPG LT Titanium, AA LT PLT, UA SLV, Avis PreferredPlus
Posts: 31,010
The only way I'll ever look at Marriott is if they allow 1:1 MR transfers, and that's when I use the Everyday Preferred 30+ times per month.
Other than that, unless you're staying in a hotel 80+ nights a year (which I understand many people do) I think Hilton provides better dollar for dollar earnings both on credit cards and rewards nights
A $150 a night hotel shouldn't cost 40,000 or more per night.
Other than that, unless you're staying in a hotel 80+ nights a year (which I understand many people do) I think Hilton provides better dollar for dollar earnings both on credit cards and rewards nights
A $150 a night hotel shouldn't cost 40,000 or more per night.
Hilton - been there (Diamond), done that, not even close.
40,000 points is just an abstract number. If a program earned 1000 points per dollar, 40,000 for a $150/night room would be a steal. Under MR's current program, 40,000 for a $150 night is not a good deal. So don't do it.
Instead, spend 40,000 on a $460 at the AC Sant Mauro in Madrid. I found that to be a pretty good deal.
Jun 28, 2018, 10:08 am
#37
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Dubai
Programs: SPG 100 Ambassador, LH M&M Senator, Skywards Silver
Posts: 250
Jun 28, 2018, 10:10 am
#38
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Chicago
Programs: Hyatt Glob; UA 1K; BonVoyage LTT (RIP SPG); HH Dia; JX Insighter
Posts: 1,643
Jun 28, 2018, 10:11 am
#39
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 486
Looking at Orlando and they interestingly made the Sheraton Vistana properties a category 6 and the Marriott timeshare properties (including the luxury Lakeshore Reserve) a category 5.
Also a few increases in Boston across the board for the mid-tier hotels, going from what used to be 12k Starpoints to essentially 16.6k Starpoints.
Also a few increases in Boston across the board for the mid-tier hotels, going from what used to be 12k Starpoints to essentially 16.6k Starpoints.
Jun 28, 2018, 10:11 am
#40
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 125
So, the suite only hotels, bora bora, maldives, look like absolute bargains. Or am I missing something?
Jun 28, 2018, 10:14 am
#41
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: La Jolla, CA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador, Lifetime Titanium, Delta Plat, Hilton Diamond , Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,615
The post lists Las Alcobas as a 5000 Point Savings- is the chart wrong? It seems to indicate 30000 fewer points will be required.
-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
Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Napa ValleyLuxury CollectionUSA90,00060,000. -30,000. 7
-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
Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Napa ValleyLuxury CollectionUSA90,00060,000. -30,000. 7
Jun 28, 2018, 10:19 am
#42
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Pittsburgh
Programs: MR/SPG LT Titanium, AA LT PLT, UA SLV, Avis PreferredPlus
Posts: 31,010
But 62% is absolutely meaningless when some of us only stay in the US. What is the US %? Others only stay in South America. What is the South America %? And then - within those areas... some of us only stay at Westins/LM/Sheraton and never stay aLoft/4P etc. And for some it's the opposite. So you and Marriott can continue to "factually" say 62% all day long. But this factual stat is misleading. It does not represent the stay patterns of many. You are quoting numbers for an academic world - which is simply not representative of the real world and many stay patterns.
USA - down 4.4%, 65% of properties with changed values got cheaper.
South America - down 3.0%
But I get it - you have decided it's a devaluation and facts are misleading, math is irrelevant - opinion is what matters.
Let me ask this then - how did you determine that the program has been devalued, as you claim? And no, just stating "without fail, overall, our points are being devalued" doesn't support it. Nor does picking through data and finding specific segments. That's the "it may negatively impact some" that everyone has agreed with.
Jun 28, 2018, 10:24 am
#43
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Europe/SEA
Programs: TK E+, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum, Dusit Gold
Posts: 1,714
the cash and points chart must be a joke xD
Jun 28, 2018, 10:25 am
#44
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 301
Is there a definitive date set for when the new award charts kick in ? August 1? Later? Maybe sooner?
Jun 28, 2018, 10:26 am
#45
Join Date: Jun 2004
Programs: BD, DL, UA, AA, Marriott, SPG
Posts: 1,131
Looks like the reduced level of categories has really lead to a lot of properties in the same city being at the same category level even though the cash rate differs a lot. I'm sure we'll see a lot of changes upwards in 2020 based on the fact that everyone will probably try to redeem for the same hotels.