Tag Archives: Marriott Hotels

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Why I’m Giving the New SPG Luxury Card a Pass

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I’ve been on the fence about whether or not to apply for the new Amex SPG Luxury card and I’ve finally decided to pass. I’ve been a long time Amex customer and have had both the SPG personal and business cards for many years. I used them both, and put as much spend on them as I could. For years all my non-bonused spend went on the personal SPG card and the business card saw heavy use, too.

I really appreciated the Sheraton lounge access that came with the business card. SPG was for many years my number one hotel chain and until the SPG/Marriott merger, SPG was always in my top two. I’ve had multiple amazing SPG hotel stays on four continents.

I never got to Platinum status but did maintain Gold year after year and always felt my Gold status was acknowledged in many generous ways. The merger with Marriott was not one I would have voted for, but then my vote didn’t count :) My SPG cards came out of my wallet and my last Sheraton stay was 8 months ago. Continue reading →

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How to Combine SPG & Marriott Accounts (Points, Lifetime Status & Free Night Certificates)

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Good morning everyone, happy Friday!  I’m not a huge fan of SPG or Marriott and didn’t give too much thought to choosing a reward package, so I’m far from an expert when it comes to the SPG / Marriott merger.  But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night…  But I did just combine my old SPG / new Marriott account with my existing Marriott account, so I wanted to show you the steps and share some of the interesting things about the combination process.  First thing first, I signed into my new Marriott account (old SPG account) and it shows that I have 3,495 Marriott Rewards Points, which sounds right, since I did have 1,165 SPG Points in my account.  It also shows 2 “Standard Redemption Rate” awards – I’m not sure what those are, but I think they are related to my 2 SPG award stays booked on July 11.

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Continue reading →

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Marriott Fans, I Need Help!

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Ready for a rant? And this isn’t even about the Marriott/SPG merger, either. I’m not a Marriott loyalist, but I’m no hotel newbie either. It’s a simple task I should be able to do that I can’t. And I’m frustrated. I challenged Grant, as well, and he couldn’t figure it out. I can’t find an email address for a Marriott property so I can email the hotel directly. Surely this has to be doable?? I can do it with Hyatt hotels, and Hilton, too. And used to be able to easily find email addresses at SPG properties. So I’m asking you TWG readers and Marriott loyalists……how the heck do you find an email address for a Marriott property?? It’s not on Google nor on the hotel website. Oh yeah, it’s the Copenhagen Marriott! But I’m hoping someone will be able to tell us in general how to find email addresses for Marriott hotels. Thanks, everyone, for hopefully putting an end to this rant :)

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Marriott Rewards Travel Package Update

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Marriott Rewards official launch day for combining Marriott and Starwood programs came and went, but not without controversy around its Travel Packages. At first Marriott disallowed changes to their Travel Packages and members who had Travel Packages were, to say the least, frustrated by the way Marriott had been communicating all along and especially during the launch period.

Fortunately for Marriott and its members holding Travel Packages, the main two issues have been resolved. Continue reading →

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Marriott Rewards: New Program Launch Day is Here!

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Though the talk about Marriott and its new combined hotel rewards program has been going hot and heavy all summer, the day is finally here when the new program will finally launch. The combined program will launch tomorrow, August 18. I hope everyone who wanted to book hotels before the rates went up has already done so!

No one has covered this news better and given us easier to understand rewards points lists more than Ric over at Loyalty Traveler. If you’re still confused or need the most up to date information on Marriott’s 8 hotel categories and the hotel point increases, head over here.

One aspect of all combined program I’ve thought about, having been an SPG loyalist for years but not much of a Marriott customer, was how much I’d be affected by this merger.

I took a look at the Marriott stays I had booked and decided to pay with cash instead of points. It’s a better value for me because I use Pruvo and never overpay for my hotel stays and also because I use my Citi Prestige 4th night free benefit and reduce my out-of-pocket costs that way, as well. It’s always good to let math be your friend and see whether points or cash gets you the best value.

Were you able to book some of your favorite Marriott hotels before the prices in points increase tomorrow?