Preview: New Program’s T&Cs
 

iv. When booking a qualifying group event or meeting with Rewarding Events, ten (10) Elite nights will be awarded to the Member for his/her first group, event or meeting, and thereafter, one (1) Elite Night Credit will be awarded for every twenty (20) rooms booked and actualized, up to a maximum of twenty (20) Elite Night Credits per contract. Points or Miles may be earned in addition to Elite Night Credits for Rewarding Events.

Looks like no confirmation of Lifetime status until Jan 2019:

1. sp; Lifetime Silver Elite: 250 Qualifying Nights + 5 Years as Silver Elite, Gold Elite or Platinum Elite
2. bsp; Lifetime Gold Elite: 400 Qualifying Nights + 7 Years as Gold Elite or Platinum Elite
3. bsp; Lifetime Platinum Elite: 600 Qualifying Nights + 10 Years as Platinum Elite
4. bsp; Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite*: 750 Qualifying Nights + 10 Years as Platinum Elite
5. * Achievement of Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite Status is only available until December 31, 2018 and will not be continued thereafter. Members will receive notice of this Lifetime achievement in January 2019.

Free Night Awards at the following locations require a higher amount of Points either because the Participating Property does not have standard rooms or the standard rooms it offers have a mandatory full board requirement in peak seasons: Vana Belle, a Luxury Collection Resort, Koh Samui, Thailand; The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket, Thailand; Sheraton Steamboat Resort Villas, Steamboat Springs, Colorado; The Westin Golf Resort & Spa, Playa Conchal, Costa Rica; The St. Regis Bora Bora and the Le Méridien Bora Bora, Bora Bora, French Polynesia; Mystique, a Luxury Collection Resort, Santorini, Santorini, Greece; The St. Regis Bali Resort, Nusa Dua, Indonesia; Hotel Cala di Volpe, Hotel Pitrizza, and Hotel Romazzino, Costa Smeralda, Italy; W Maldives, North Ari Atoll, Maldives; W Koh Samui, Surat Thani, Thailand; Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa, Dubai, U.A.E.; St. Regis Residence Club, Aspen, Aspen, CO; and Phoenician Residences, a Luxury Collection Residence Club, Scottsdale, AZ.

...but we don't know what those higher amount of points will be, do we? So are they saying they won't even conform to the new Cat 8 launching next year?

My guess is that they will be CAT8 + some amount TBD and until the end of the year CAT7 + some amount TBD.

Annual Choice Benefit options:

Five (5) Suite Night Awards
40% off bed
$100 Charity Donation
The gift of Gold Elite status for a friend or family member
Five (5) Elite Night Credits
One (1) Free Night Award (up to 40,000 point level)

Shockingly... "Any Free Night Award(s) previously awarded to SPG Members as an Annual Choice Benefit which have not yet been redeemed have changed in value and are now valued up to 40,000 Points and will have the same expiration date."

Further... "The Free Night Award includes all applicable taxes; however, the Platinum Premier Elite Member may be responsible for payment of additional mandatory resort fees at Participating Properties where resort fees are applicable."

One other benefit that Platinum Preferred Elite's will receive in addition to 75% bonus earnings and the 48 hour guarantee is Guaranteed Room Type outside the US, Canada, & Europe.

vii. Guaranteed Room Type. Guaranteed priority for your requested type of room at the Participating Brands listed below when your qualifying Elite level and specific preference are noted on the reservation for your stay (pillow, room location, extra bed, crib requests, etc. are not included in Guarantee). A Platinum Elite Member or above who makes a reservation on the same day he/she plans to arrive at the property is not eligible to receive the Guaranteed Room Type benefit. Outside of the United States, Canada and Europe: Smoking/non-smoking preferences may also be given priority, based on availability; exact bed sizes may vary, and only Platinum Premier Elite Members will have guaranteed priority for their requested type of bed and room. The Guaranteed Room Type benefit does not cover room upgrades. Guaranteed Room Type is not available at The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, EDITION, Marriott Vacation Club, Marriott Grand Residence Club, Design HotelsTM and participating Vistana properties. Guaranteed Room Type is offered at the following brands: The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, JW Marriott, Marriott Hotels, Sheraton, Delta Hotels, Le Méridien, Westin, Autograph Collection, Renaissance Hotels, Tribute Portfolio, Gaylord Hotels, Courtyard, Four Points, SpringHill Suites, Protea Hotels, Fairfield, AC Hotels, Aloft, Moxy, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites and Element.

I wonder how close to final this draft is. I haven't read the entire document, but a couple of comments:

1. Did I miss where 15 credit card nights per year count toward status? Section 4.2 b seems quite limited.
2. It seems to clarify that the new program is using the SPG method of status years being the years in which the status was achieved as opposed to the full year for which it's good. I didn't see where it explicitly addressed means of "achieving" said years.

Internet Access Benefit Exclusion
 

1.3.c.i. A Member will only receive the Internet Access Benefit if the reservation for the stay includes his/her Membership Number at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to check-in for the stay.


So does that mean that reservations made less than 24 hours prior to check-in will not include complimentary internet?

Also, adds to list of triggers for canceling membership: " Fraudulently claimed to qualify as a Rewarding Events Professional Meeting Planner to be eligible to earn any of the benefits offered to a Rewarding Events Professional Meeting Planner pursuant to the Loyalty Program...". (Terms for Rewarding Events do not say you have to be a "Professional" meeting planner; terms do, however, exclude certain meeting planners from the Rewarding Events benefits.)

guaranteed priority? so they promise you will definitely maybe get it?

They came from a part of Marriott.com. If they're not final, then I expect that they are just a hairs breadth away from that.

The clause on nights is contained within the terms and conditions of the different credit cards (both that they are granted to the member as part of having the active credit card account and that a member can only get to one of them). Section 6 (in non-text form like on Pastebin) links to the terms and conditions of the cards as hosted on the sites of different issuers (Chase, Amex, etc.)

Are we talking past years or present/future years in the merged program? Present/future is defined in section 4.2.b.

Here's a big one:
Looks like Marriott following the crowd on this one.

This is pre-existing. The overwhelming majority of corporate discount rates allowed for elite benefits, but there were a few rare oddballs out there where the property negotiated with the corporation a lower rate in exchange for not receiving elite benefits. There's an example on that from the legacy MR side from July 2018.

Highly doubtful.