Official Announcement: SPG and Marriott Programs to Merge on August 18th

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Jul 25, 2018, 7:02 pm

#16

Safti

Join Date: Aug 2012

Location: Canada

Programs: Marriott LTPP

Posts: 568

There has never been one single document coming from either Marriott or SPG where they announced August 1st as the date of merger. All documents say August. Maybe they've been waiting for a lawsuit. Who knows.

Jul 25, 2018, 7:54 pm

#17

matravelguy

Join Date: Apr 2017

Posts: 74

Does this mean that hitting 50 nights in advance of August 18 will still let SPG members select 10 suite night awards as their benefit? Or is that benefit changing in advance of August 18?

Jul 25, 2018, 7:58 pm

#18

surfmonkey89

Join Date: Apr 2018

Programs: Starwood, Marriott Rewards

Posts: 56

If I've already linked my Starwood and Marriott accounts (back when doing so linked your status as well - many months ago), do I have to do some other sort of linking, or am I good? And if I'm good, should I assume that my new number will be my current Marriott number?

Just saw that was mentioned specifically, and the answer is "yes". My bad

Last edited by surfmonkey89; Jul 25, 2018 at 8:48 pm

Jul 25, 2018, 8:46 pm

#19

mahasamatman

A FlyerTalk Posting Legend

Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: GVA (Greater Vancouver Area)

Programs: DREAD Gold; UA 1.035MM; Bonvoy Au-197; PCC Elite+; CCC Elite+; MSC C-12; CWC Au-197; WoH Dis

Posts: 52,140

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExpatSomchai

Bummer have a stay on points on the 18th and the hotel is dropping down in the new points levels.

I'm in the same boat with a point stay on the 13th.

Jul 25, 2018, 8:47 pm

#20

mahasamatman

A FlyerTalk Posting Legend

Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: GVA (Greater Vancouver Area)

Programs: DREAD Gold; UA 1.035MM; Bonvoy Au-197; PCC Elite+; CCC Elite+; MSC C-12; CWC Au-197; WoH Dis

Posts: 52,140

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfmonkey89

do I have to do some other sort of linking, or am I good?

You will still need to manually merge your accounts after 18 August.

Jul 25, 2018, 10:22 pm

#21

CPRich

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: May 2002

Location: Pittsburgh

Programs: MR/SPG LT Titanium, AA LT PLT, UA SLV, Avis PreferredPlus

Posts: 31,010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Safti

There has never been one single document coming from either Marriott or SPG where they announced August 1st as the date of merger. All documents say August.

No one has mentioned anything about August 1 in this entire thread, so I don't know who this was supposed to be directed at.

But it's wrong. Covered several weeks ago.

First answer - "On August 1, 2018"

Third answer - "Until August 1", "Starting August 1, 2018"...

Last edited by CPRich; Jul 25, 2018 at 10:31 pm

Jul 25, 2018, 10:34 pm

#22

CPRich

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: May 2002

Location: Pittsburgh

Programs: MR/SPG LT Titanium, AA LT PLT, UA SLV, Avis PreferredPlus

Posts: 31,010

Quote:

Originally Posted by HHonors OUTSIDER

If your SPG account and MR account are linked by Aug 18 you will not get a new MR number. If they are not linked your SPG number will be converted to a MR number not a new SPG number. Hope this answers your question?

There seems to be some uncertainty here

Quote:

As a result Starwood numbers will stop working. Everyone will get a new 9-digit Marriott number that corresponds to their SPG number. Passwords will be the same as with each member’s Starwood account. When you log in with your SPG number you’ll get a prompt showing the Marriott number for that account, and that’s the number you’ll need to use.

This implies that your SPG account will be converted to a new MR account, and then you'll need to go to MR and combine the two MR accounts. They won't be combined automatically.

Quote:

I was surprised to see that members actually need to combine their own accounts. Flueck explains that it’s “important to have consent” from members to do this. Once the new program launches you can combine your accounts, and will need to do so even if you already linked them

Above William said he's seeking clarification on which number will survive.

Last edited by CPRich; Jul 25, 2018 at 10:42 pm

Jul 25, 2018, 10:56 pm

#23

pokee

Join Date: Sep 2012

Location: YVR

Posts: 1,847

Well, I assumed August 1st for everything...I have been having conversations with people all over the place about August 1st being the merger date, and everyone else had assumed the same. And the documentation above solidifies why we assumed this. Did they just go and pull a switcheroo?

I am a bit bummed, as I am Gold at the moment, and was hoping to have Plat status by August 11th for a stay at a Westin...dang it!

Does this mean we can continue to convert MRs to SPG until August 17th then???

Jul 25, 2018, 11:18 pm

#24

krazykanuck

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jul 2008

Location: IAH

Programs: DL DM, Hyatt Ist-iest, Stariott Platinum, Hilton Diamond

Posts: 12,795

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starwood Lurker

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Marriott International

[email protected]

The bolded is a really sad change in your signature there dear lurker.

RIP SPG

ckendall likes this.

Jul 26, 2018, 12:06 am

#25

stimpy

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Feb 1999

Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques

Posts: 34,339

I don't know if this is discussed in another thread, but will my corporate booking process still be separate on each website after August 18th? On SPG.com I continue to use my existing SET code and marriott.com uses whatever they call their codes?

Jul 26, 2018, 12:27 am

#26

Keyser

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Apr 2009

Location: India

Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah

Posts: 29,682

good news for me....i have a couple of stays in early august where i have booked 2 rooms....looking forward to getting night credits for both rooms till august 18th....

Jul 26, 2018, 2:11 am

#27

anam

Join Date: Oct 2014

Posts: 39

I was wondering, would August 18th be the date when we can start using Marriott gift cards for SPG properties? Or would it happen sometime before/after?

Does anyone know?

Jul 26, 2018, 2:40 am

#28

lingua101

Join Date: Jun 2009

Location: SIN

Programs: TK-G | Accor P | SQ-G | Marriott T

Posts: 3,831

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starwood Lurker

We now know the exact date in August when SPG®, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® will combine into one program – Saturday, August 18.

To help make this experience as smooth as possible for you, we wanted to share some key dates and important information.

Now Through August 17 --

· Free Night Awards: Be sure to check out the Free Night Award Chart we shared last month to decide if you want to redeem for your Free Nights before or after the new Chart takes effect on August 18.

· Account Linking for Status Match & Points Transfer: Since you’ll be able to combine your SPG and Rewards accounts starting August 18, the last date to link accounts for status match and points transfer will be August 17. Click here to link accounts.

Starting August 18 --

· One Program Live: SPG, Marriott Rewards and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards will become one program with new benefits and opportunities at more than 6,500 hotels across 29 brands. In the meantime, visit members.marriott.com for full program details and FAQs.

· Account Combine Available: If you have both a SPG and Rewards account, you’ll want to combine into one at SPG.com or Marriott.com. You’ll have to take this step even if you’ve already linked accounts. Once complete, all your points and nights will be added together, and you’ll have one profile and one account– and may even achieve new status when you add up all your Elite-night credits.

· New SPG.com and SPG App: SPG members will experience a new website and mobile app, with changes to design and user experience. Look for changes at SPG.com and updates in the app store.

· New SPG Number: All SPG members will receive a new 9-digit account number to align with the specifications of our new loyalty system. Members will receive the new number via email (starting August 19 for members opted in to email) or while logging in to SPG.com. Passwords will remain the same, unless a member elects to change it themselves.

· Planned Systems Outage: As we launch our new program, a temporary outage of all systems, sites and apps is planned for August 18 beginning early morning (U.S. Eastern Time). This means that for most of the day there will be time when bookings are not possible, your account is not accessible, account combine is not available, etc. Please plan accordingly and be a bit patient with us during this transition.

Hopefully you’ll find this information helpful, however please feel free to comment here with questions and suggestions and we’ll do our best to answer all of them.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts LLC

[email protected]

William, for the booking, the date, 18-Aug, will it hotel time of US Eastern time?