It’s Official! Starpoints Will Convert To Marriott Rewards At 1:3 Ratio (And A Lot More News Too!)

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The Marriott and Starwood merger is finally closing today and the merged entity is not wasting any time in getting information out to its customer base. Marriott has posted details of what Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) and Marriott Rewards members can begin to expect and members of both programs are already being invited to link their accounts.

Marriott Rewards + SPG – The Headline Points

• Marriott Rewards and SPG is not expected to combine until 2018
• The loyalty programs will, essentially, remain completely separate until 2018
• Marriott Rewards & SPG members can now link their accounts HERE
• Once accounts are linked members will be able to transfer points between the loyalty systems.
• Starpoints will be converted to Marriott Rewards Points at a ratio of 1:3
• Status will be matched across loyalty systems as soon as accounts are linked
• All 30 brands will remain

Linking Accounts

Marriott has provided a page for members to link their loyalty accounts (link here) but, at the time of writing, this is the message I’m seeing:

I suspect this will be live at some point today.

Point Conversions

Marriott has confirmed that Starpoints will convert to Marriott Rewards at a ratio of 1:3Status Matching

Starwood SPG members win out here as the status tiers are being matched along the simplest lines possible. This is what Marriott has to say:

Once your Rewards and SPG accounts are linked, you’ll instantly receive Status Match across both programs. If you currently have Elite status in one of the programs, your highest Elite status level will apply across all accounts.

Members will receive Marriott benefits at Marriott properties and SPG benefits at Starwood properties – there will be no crossover of benefits at this point.

The Major Questions & Answers So Far (per Marriott):

The full (and long!) list of FAQs that Marriott has published is HERE but I’ve picked out what I think the more important points are and reproduced them below.

Will Rewards and SPG be turning into one program?

These are two of the best programs in the industry, and we want you to benefit from everything that makes SPG and Rewards great. We don’t anticipate that the two programs will come together before 2018, and we will keep you informed of any updates. In the meantime, there’s no change to how you book reservations, manage your accounts or earn Elite night credits, points and miles in the current programs.

What does the merger mean for my Rewards and/or SPG account?

The loyalty programs will continue to operate as separate entities for some time — we don’t anticipate combining the programs until 2018. Your Rewards account will have its own login, points balance and associated hotels. The same goes for your SPG account. Now that the two companies have merged, you can link your Rewards and SPG accounts. We encourage you to do this so you can get the best benefits across the portfolio. Please note, the policy remains that you can be a member of either Marriott Rewards or The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, but not both programs.

Can I earn Starpoints® and receive SPG benefits during stays at hotels in the Rewards portfolio? And can I earn Rewards points and receive Rewards benefits for stays at hotels in the SPG portfolio?

You’ll continue to receive SPG benefits at hotels participating in the SPG program and Rewards benefits at hotels participating in the Rewards program. But you can’t earn or use benefits across programs — SPG hotels will not offer Rewards benefits, and Rewards hotels will not offer SPG benefits. You’ll only get your points and benefits at a hotel if you’re enrolled in the program in which that hotel participates, so it’s a good idea to sign up for both SPG and Rewards if you haven’t already. While the programs will remain separate for some time, learn more about how you can gain access to benefits across both programs through Status Match and Points Transfer.

Will I be able to combine stays in both programs towards my status?

We anticipate that all three Loyalty programs will continue to run separately through early 2018, and your accounts remain separate. You’ll only earn credit for stays at a hotel if you’re enrolled in the program associated with that hotel, so it’s a good idea to sign up for both SPG and Rewards if you haven’t already.

As a Gold or Platinum member of the Rewards or SPG program, how will my room upgrade benefit be impacted?

Your upgrade benefits within either program remain unchanged. Both programs will maintain the current policies for suite upgrades, as well, until further notice.

What happens to my existing Rewards points or Starpoints?

Your Rewards points will live in your Rewards account and your Starpoints live in your SPG account. The programs will continue to operate as separate entities for some time. In fact, we don’t expect the programs to merge until 2018. You’ll use Rewards points on Marriott.com or RitzCarlton.com and Starpoints on SPG.com. You can’t use one program’s points directly within the other program, but once you’ve linked accounts, you can transfer them between your accounts in order to redeem across the combined portfolio.

Can I earn Rewards Elite night credits for staying at an SPG participating hotel (or vice versa)?

Because the programs remain separate, you earn Elite nights in the program associated with the hotel you’re staying at. For example, if you spend two qualifying nights at a Sheraton®, the credits apply to your SPG account, not your Rewards account.

I’m in Marriott Rewards Elite Concierge or have ambassador through SPG. Do these benefits now work at all hotels? 

Elite Concierges are associated with Marriott Rewards and ambassadors are associated with SPG, so they’ll remain within their respective programs. Your SPG ambassador can only make requests at SPG participating hotels and your Elite Concierge can only assist with requests at Rewards participating hotels.

If I have Lifetime Status in one of the programs, will I also get it in the other program when I link my accounts?

We appreciate your loyalty! Lifetime Status is specific to the program that you earned it in. While linking accounts will not result in Lifetime Status in the other program, your Elite status will be matched to the same Elite tier in the other program. Any existing Lifetime Status you already hold within either program will still be enjoyed within that program. We’re working on more ways to recognize your loyalty and Lifetime Status as we work towards harmonizing the programs, which we don’t anticipate happening until 2018.

I have attained Lifetime status in one of the loyalty programs already. Will that be recognized in the Status Match to the other program?

Don’t worry; you’ll continue to enjoy all the benefits of Lifetime status in the program in which you earned it. We are initially matching your tier status between programs, and when the programs are combined in the future, we’ll consider ways that preserve the continued recognition of our most valued lifetime customers.

How soon does Account Linking give me Status Match and Points Transfer?

As soon as you get your Account Linking confirmation, you’re good to go — Status Match gets applied automatically, and Points Transfer is immediately available for you to use.

We’ll be synching your accounts daily with our hotels, so keep in mind it might take up to 24 hours for your newly matched status to be reflected in your accounts. If you do something during this brief time period that results in a status upgrade or downgrade, it could also take 24 hours to appear on your linked account.

Does linking my accounts merge them into one account?

No. For now your accounts are still separate: one for Rewards, one for SPG. Linking creates a connection between them to allow for Status Matching and Points Transfer.

What happens to my Elite status expiration date?

Nothing will change until you link your accounts. Once you do that, your Elite status expiration date is based on whatever year your higher status program expires.

For example, if you are a Marriott Rewards member with Silver Elite status through February 2017 and an SPG member with Platinum status through February 2018, once you link accounts, both accounts would be Platinum level. Your Rewards account would have a new expiration date of February 2018, and your SPG expiration date would remain unchanged. If you achieve Platinum status with SPG again in 2017, the status expiration on both accounts would extend to February 2019.

How do I transfer points between my Rewards and SPG accounts?

Transferring points is easy, fast and free.

First, your accounts need to be linked. You can learn more about how to link your accounts at Marriott.com, RitzCarlton.com or SPG.com.

Once you do that, just log in to your online account at Marriott.com, RitzCarlton.com or SPG.com and follow the easy steps to initiate the transfer.

You won’t be able to transfer points by contacting the SPG or Rewards Customer Service Centers.

Thoughts

I’m surprised and impressed at how quickly Marriott has moved to get all of this information out. Not having to put up with a period of too much uncertainty is good news for both SPG and Marriott Rewards members as it makes planning for the future that much easier.

There’s quite a bit of good news here for members of both loyalty systems:

• SPG members get a conversion ratio to Marriott Rewards of 1:3 and that is as good as anyone could have realistically hoped for – if you thought you’d get a better ratio than that then you’ve been living on a different planet to the rest of us.
• SPG Platinum and Gold members get reciprocal Platinum and Gold status with Marriott despite having far lower requirements to attain those levels (you can earn SPG Platinum with as few as 25 nights while Marriott Platinum takes 75).
• Marriott Platinum Members will now have some good benefits at SPG properties courtesy of the status match to SPG Platinum.
• Now that points can be moved freely between the loyalty systems its is possible to, essentially, transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to SPG (transfer to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio and then to SPG at a 3:1 ratio) – not a great use of Chase UR points in my opinion but it could be useful to anyone with a larger UR balance than they know what to do with.

There are still some unanswered questions that I’d like to see answered:

• What SPG Platinum Benefits can Marriott Platinum members expect to get? Marriott Platinum status requires 75 nights at Marriott properties so can Marriott Platinums expect the same SPG benefits as a SPG Platinum who has stayed 75 nights at SPG properties? I hope so!
• If Marriott Platinums are to get the benefits of 50 night or 75 night SPG Platinums how do they go about choosing their bonuses?
• What is Marriott planning to do with Lifetime status? The comments in the FAQs are very non-committal and don’t leave me feeling too comfortable. Will lifetime SPG earnings combine with lifetime Marriott earnings or is Marriott planning a full revamp of lifetime status?

As well as good news there is also some bad news in here….although none of it is at all unexpected.

• Existing SPG Platinum members will now, suddenly, find themselves up against a large number of newly minted SPG Platinum members (the Marriott Platinums) and so can probably expect benefits like upgrades to be harder to come by.

• While the 1:3 conversion rate is as good as any SPG member can have hoped for it’s not exactly fantastic for Marriott loyalists.

• For 45,000 Marriott rewards points I can stay at any Marriott in the world (and yes, there are some good properties out there!) but, for the 15,000 Starpoints that those Marriott Points can be converted to, my options are considerably more limited on the Starwood side of things. It’s not the end of the world but it’s still not great.

Bottom Line

As a Marriott Platinum I’m going to do ok out of this merger and I’m probably a lot happier than an SPG Platinum is right now….but at least they get to hold on to SPG for quite a bit longer but, after getting some more information out of Marriott since this blog posted, I’m a lot less happy with how Marriott Platinums are being treated right now. I’m going to look into this some more and write a separate post that will probably come out on Monday.

As things stand, SPG members get to keep all their benefits for at least one more year so that buys them quite a bit of time to decide what the best course of action is….but they still shouldn’t get too comfortable with what the combined loyalty system is going to look like in 2018. I suspect there will be a lot of benefits culled.

Allowing members to merge accounts and get reciprocal status so quickly is a very smart move by Marriott. I’m already planning my stays for next year and, now that I know I’ll have SPG Platinum status through February 2018, I’m very likely to book stays at Starwood properties that would otherwise have gone to Hyatt.

My big concern centers around Lifetime status. I’ve very close to lifetime Gold status with Marriott and it won’t take me too much longer to earn lifetime Platinum status so I’m very keen not to see those disappear into thin air.

Overall it’s great that Marriott hasn’t wasted any time getting this information out to customers and, for the time being at least, SPG and Marriott Rewards members have the best of both worlds….I suggest we make the most of it because it’s not going to last.