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, 4:53 pm
#106
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: SFO
Posts: 3,878
It's a double whammy for the OP. SPG card earning decreased, and increase in award points for the two properties.
Jun 28, 2018, 5:54 pm
#107
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: NYC
Programs: B6 Mosaic, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 119
Another reason for this property to jump up: it's a Cat 1 a couple of stops on the T from downtown. Anything else in the area is a Cat 5++. I suspect whenever cash rates in Boston are reaching $300+ (fairly common) a lot of folks will be redeeming here.
As to why it hasn't been so popular for redemptions, my guess is: uninspiring neighborhood and facing railway.
As to why it hasn't been so popular for redemptions, my guess is: uninspiring neighborhood and facing railway.
Jun 28, 2018, 6:05 pm
#108
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: GVA
Programs: BA Silver (OW Sapphire), A3 Gold (*G), Bonvoy LTTE, HHonors Diamond, LeClubAccor Silver, UA Silver
Posts: 1,777
Jun 28, 2018, 6:11 pm
#109
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Starwood:Lifetime Platinum, Air Canada:Basic, Asiana:Lifetime Diamond Plus, ANA: Basic
Posts: 980
I am facing a mix bag.
My frequent hotel Westin Tokyo costs -10000/night less. The Sheraton Miyako is 14000 more. The Prince hotel is slightly lower at 5000. Almost all the Marriott properties in Tokyo got more expensive.
My frequent Sheraton Hong Kong got more expensive - 14000.... Seoul got slightly cheaper across the board.
My frequent hotel Westin Tokyo costs -10000/night less. The Sheraton Miyako is 14000 more. The Prince hotel is slightly lower at 5000. Almost all the Marriott properties in Tokyo got more expensive.
My frequent Sheraton Hong Kong got more expensive - 14000.... Seoul got slightly cheaper across the board.
Jun 28, 2018, 6:55 pm
#110
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: SMF
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, SPG LTP
Posts: 1,526
Sheraton Hoi An Tam Ky is going up 4,000 points per night. Unfortunately, it disappeared from Starwood's site back in February before it ever opened. I had a brief moment of excitement, but I think it's just an error.
Jun 28, 2018, 7:36 pm
#111
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: BNA
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Bonvoy Plat, HHonors Diamond, DL Gold
Posts: 383
After the SPG AMEX proposed devaluation, I was keeping an open mind about award redemption for legacy SPG properties post 8/1. Following the much anticipated new Marriott/SPG award chart release, I am not surprised at the valuations, yet I am still disappointed. My interest is in legacy SPG properties. I don't care about legacy Marriott property category changes. Some of my favorite properties have gone up to higher award categories.
The following are some of my fav SPG hotels which have moved to higher Marriott categories for award redemption:
Marriott Cat 6: Hotel Bristol, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Vienna
Marriott Cat 6: Augustine, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Prague
Marriott Cat 7: W Hong Kong
There are many other great or solid SPG hotels that have gone to higher categories. The new award chart has solidified my intent to not spend on the AMEX SPG/Marriott credit cards to accumulate points. There might be some value in the annual free night certificates. Nevertheless, I cannot see much value spending on the SPG AMEX instead of points-earning opportunities from other competitive travel credit cards.
The following are some of my fav SPG hotels which have moved to higher Marriott categories for award redemption:
Marriott Cat 6: Hotel Bristol, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Vienna
Marriott Cat 6: Augustine, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Prague
Marriott Cat 7: W Hong Kong
There are many other great or solid SPG hotels that have gone to higher categories. The new award chart has solidified my intent to not spend on the AMEX SPG/Marriott credit cards to accumulate points. There might be some value in the annual free night certificates. Nevertheless, I cannot see much value spending on the SPG AMEX instead of points-earning opportunities from other competitive travel credit cards.
Jun 28, 2018, 8:54 pm
#112
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: BNA
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Bonvoy Plat, HHonors Diamond, DL Gold
Posts: 383
Here's a real devaluation...
Le Méridien Chiang Mai
2018 Marriott Category 5: 35,000 points per award night
2015 SPG Category 2: 4,000 Starpoints (3,000 Starpoints on weekends) per award night (equivalent to 12,000/9,000 Marriott points)
Just pay cash here
Le Méridien Chiang Mai
2018 Marriott Category 5: 35,000 points per award night
2015 SPG Category 2: 4,000 Starpoints (3,000 Starpoints on weekends) per award night (equivalent to 12,000/9,000 Marriott points)
Just pay cash here
Jun 28, 2018, 10:51 pm
#113
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: SFO
Programs: Marriott Ti/LTP
Posts: 1,329
After the SPG AMEX proposed devaluation, I was keeping an open mind about award redemption for legacy SPG properties post 8/1. Following the much anticipated new Marriott/SPG award chart release, I am not surprised at the valuations, yet I am still disappointed. My interest is in legacy SPG properties. I don't care about legacy Marriott property category changes. Some of my favorite properties have gone up to higher award categories.
The following are some of my fav SPG hotels which have moved to higher Marriott categories for award redemption:
Marriott Cat 6: Hotel Bristol, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Vienna
Marriott Cat 6: Augustine, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Prague
Marriott Cat 7: W Hong Kong
There are many other great or solid SPG hotels that have gone to higher categories. The new award chart has solidified my intent to not spend on the AMEX SPG/Marriott credit cards to accumulate points. There might be some value in the annual free night certificates. Nevertheless, I cannot see much value spending on the SPG AMEX instead of points-earning opportunities from other competitive travel credit cards.
The following are some of my fav SPG hotels which have moved to higher Marriott categories for award redemption:
Marriott Cat 6: Hotel Bristol, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Vienna
Marriott Cat 6: Augustine, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Prague
Marriott Cat 7: W Hong Kong
There are many other great or solid SPG hotels that have gone to higher categories. The new award chart has solidified my intent to not spend on the AMEX SPG/Marriott credit cards to accumulate points. There might be some value in the annual free night certificates. Nevertheless, I cannot see much value spending on the SPG AMEX instead of points-earning opportunities from other competitive travel credit cards.
Jun 28, 2018, 11:41 pm
#114
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: BNA
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Bonvoy Plat, HHonors Diamond, DL Gold
Posts: 383
It should be pointed out though that there are differences between current Cash and Points for SPG Cat 6 ($180 USD + 10,000 Starpoints) vs. the new Marriott Cat 7 ($250 + 30000 points, Standard ). This is according to the new Marriott Cash and Points chart which was made available on Gary Leff's "View from the Wing" web site. The Cash and Points chart will show differences even if staying within the same category number. The cash component change going from SPG Cat 6 to Marriott Cat 7 is a bit more than most.
The W Hong Kong historically has not made a lot of nights available for Cash and Points though. Due to the changes in Cash and Points in the new awards chart, some may find devaluations on properties moving from SPG Cat 6 to Marriott Cat 7.
Jun 28, 2018, 11:59 pm
#115
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: SIN
Programs: TK-G | Accor P | SQ-G | Marriott T
Posts: 3,828
I am confuse For legacy SPG points, the current rate should be still available until Dec right
Jun 29, 2018, 2:21 am
#116
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 147
Information for booking upgraded rooms with points is pretty minimal on the website (although I'm pleased to see it will be an option). It simply says starting at 5,000 points per night. If Lurker can provide any additional detail it'd be appreciated. Specifically, is this 5,000 points going to apply across all hotel categories? Or will there be a different rate for upgrading a room at a category 8 versus category 3 property? Also, what is the pricing for suite redemptions (will it still be double the entry level room points)?
Jun 29, 2018, 4:54 am
#117
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: GVA
Programs: BA Silver (OW Sapphire), A3 Gold (*G), Bonvoy LTTE, HHonors Diamond, LeClubAccor Silver, UA Silver
Posts: 1,777
Jun 29, 2018, 5:18 am
#118
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Marriott Bonvoy
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Englandshire
Programs: SPG LT Plat, BA G, BD*LG, MG Blue+ ...
Posts: 16,017
One for the perennial "Sheraton Heathrow vs Sheraton Skyline" debate :
Sheraton Heathrow unchanged at 21,000
Sheraton Skyline up 67% to 35,000
Sheraton Heathrow unchanged at 21,000
Sheraton Skyline up 67% to 35,000
Jun 29, 2018, 6:14 am
#119
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Programs: AA, CX, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 1,484
I am facing a mix bag.
My frequent hotel Westin Tokyo costs -10000/night less. The Sheraton Miyako is 14000 more. The Prince hotel is slightly lower at 5000. Almost all the Marriott properties in Tokyo got more expensive.
My frequent Sheraton Hong Kong got more expensive - 14000.... Seoul got slightly cheaper across the board.
My frequent hotel Westin Tokyo costs -10000/night less. The Sheraton Miyako is 14000 more. The Prince hotel is slightly lower at 5000. Almost all the Marriott properties in Tokyo got more expensive.
My frequent Sheraton Hong Kong got more expensive - 14000.... Seoul got slightly cheaper across the board.
Jun 29, 2018, 6:35 am
#120
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: SIN
Programs: TK-G | Accor P | SQ-G | Marriott T
Posts: 3,828
i have relooked again at the new tables. What surprise me FP Sukhumvit Bangkok will be cheaper than Aloft. Aloft is as expensive as Bangkok Marriott.
Not sure why people want to use the point at Aloft Bangkok then.
Last edited by lingua101; Jun 29, 2018 at 6:41 am