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The Marriott/Starwood tie-up finally concluded on Friday and we got a lot more information about what Marriott and Starwood elites can expect in short-term. Marriott Rewards and SPG accounts can be merged, status matches have been made available, points can be moved between loyalty systems and customers are in a much more informed position now than they were just a few days ago. But, in the run-up to the merger completing, most of the attention focused on the Starwood elites and how they feel about the news…so I thought I’d share what , as a Marriott Platinum, think now that the initial dust is beginning to settle after Friday’s announcements.
I’ll be honest from the start and say that I think Marriott has let its top-tier elites down and I’m not overly happy with they way things have kicked off.
Elite Status
My biggest annoyance is with how Marriott has handled the status match across the systems.
All Starwood’s top-tier elites have been handed Marriott top-tier status while Marriott elites only get the watered down version of Starwood’s top-tier.
In case anyone is wondering what I mean by that here’s a quick explanation:
- Marriott has one top-tier status and that’s called “Platinum”. It takes 75 nights at Marriott properties (60 if you have the Chase Marriott credit card) to attain that status.
- Starwood’s top-tier status is also called “Platinum” but it’s a bit more complicated than Marriott’s. There are multiple levels within the Platinum tier depending on how many nights a customer stays at Starwood properties:
- Platinum – earned with as few as 25 nights at Starwood properties
- Platinum 50+ nights – self-explanatory
- Platinum 75+ nights – self-explanatory
- Platinum 100+ nights – self-explanatory
The Platinum benefits get better the higher up the scale you get..although Platinum 50+ nights is probably the sweet spot for most.
What Marriott has decided to do is to match all of Starwood’s Platinum elites (regardless of their Platinum tier) to Marriott’s Platinum status but Marriott Platinum elites are only being matched to the very basic SPG Platinum status.
Why?
The answer is pretty simple: Marriott is pandering to the Starwood elites that it’s not yet ready to annoy (that’s a little way down the road).
Marriott knows that its elites aren’t with it because of the rewards system (they’re with Marriott because Marriott has properties where they travel) so the corporation feels emboldened to give them a little kick while they try to keep the SPG elites happy.
I don’t think that’s particularly fair.
Why should an existing Marriott Platinum, who’s spent upwards of 60 nights at Marriott properties, have to compete with newly minted Marriott Platinums for benefits (upgrades and space in the already overcrowded lounges) when the newly minted Platinums may not have any more than 25 nights under their belts?
Point Conversions
Marriott has set the points conversion ratio at 1 Starpoint to 3 Marriott rewards points and members of both rewards systems can move points back and forth between SPG and Marriott Rewards as soon as they’ve merged their accounts.
I appreciate that Starwood has by far the larger number of aspirational properties in its portfolio but it’s not like Marriott is completely devoid of properties worth visiting.
The most expensive Marriott properties, like Grosvenor House on Park Lane in London, will set you back 45,000 Marriott Rewards points or, according to the new conversion ratio, 15,000 Starpoints…and that’s an absolute bargain for SPG members.
15,000 SPG points won’t get you into the top two categories of SPG property or even a category 5 property when a basic room isn’t available…..
….but it will now get SPG members into the best Marriotts around the world.
Conversely, a Marriott Rewards member with 45,000 Rewards points can only use those to visit a mid-tier Starwood property at best.
Doesn’t seem quite right to me.
Bottom Line
I’m well aware why Marriott is bending over backwards to keep SPG members happy at this point but I don’t think it’s going about this the right way. It shouldn’t be doing this at the expense of it own existing members – there has to be a better way.
It’s been amusing to see the schadenfreude emanating from some SPG elites who appear to be enjoying the anger that’s being expressed by Marriott Rewards members (at all levels) and revelling in the fact that, for the time being, they’re doing just fine.
To them I’d just say this: I wouldn’t laugh too hard or be too happy if I was you because Marriott will come after you next. I’ve already predicted what will become of your beloved SPG benefits once Marriott merges both rewards systems together and it’s not going to be pretty for you.
If Marriott is perfectly happy to screw over its own elites what chance do you really think you have when Marriott stops trying to keep you happy?
