What Was Marriott Thinking & Trust Left?

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Aug 20, 2018

Not sure what to think of this drama surrounding Marriott Rewards Travel Package certificates? How Marriott Rewards leadership is so tuned out that they (or he) didn’t see the membership revolting like what happened with the Platinum Premier for life membership option that wasn’t first available for SPG members. Should have been clear for anyone.

I cannot count the number of times (too many) that I was in touch with our contacts at Marriott and requested the conversion chart so that the members could make informed decision when redeeming for Travel Packages. The answer, however, always was no.

Marriott Allows Cat 6, 8 & Tier 1 – 3 Travel Package Cert One-time Downgrade & Can Book Now

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John Ollila

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Aug 20, 2018

10 Comments

Marriott Rewards on Saturday released the existing Travel Package conversion chart that didn’t make much sense (read more here).

Marriott had suddenly started to use max seasonal values not even yet in place instead of standard ones when mapping these and members where revolting (rightfully so).

It’s Monday & SPG Side Doesn’t Have Access To Booking Systems

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John Ollila

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Aug 20, 2018

10 Comments

Not sure how well the system merger of SPG to Marriott is going on at the moment (since late Friday night) but the message that I received from the SPG Platinum desk and from my Ambassador are not encouraging.

Seems that SPG side is completely cut off from the system at the moment and unable to make or modify reservations and it is MONDAY.

Reader Question: SPG Platinum Member Suite Upgrade Benefit Downgrade?

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John Ollila

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Aug 19, 2018

1 Comment

A LoyaltyLobby reader left a question regarding the new Marriott/SPG program T&Cs that deal with Platinum member upgrades.

Remember that you can always email us, send a message via Facebook or use Twitter and include photos too. We’ll try to cover Reader Questions & Comments here several times a week.

SPG Data Integration Issues (Report Yours Here)

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John Ollila

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Aug 19, 2018

37 Comments

New SPG website and app (Marriott white labels) both came alive very early on Sunday roughly 28 hours after they went dark late on Friday night.

Seems that Marriott has had quite a few issues, however, porting the data over looking at my account and there are just some incorrect messages. What problems are you experiencing if any?

Marriott Travel Package Conversion Chart (New & Old)

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John Ollila

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Aug 18, 2018

21 Comments

Marriott Rewards has now released their Travel Package Conversion Chart from the new to old certificates.

The conversion chart uses the MAXIMUM night values for comparison purposes and not the standard ones.

SPG To Marriott Conversion On-going

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John Ollila

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Aug 18, 2018

2 Comments

Starwood’s website and app both went offline just before midnight on Friday and it won’t be before Monday before account combine functionality has been rolled out to all members.

The website and the app (both white label SPG versions of the current Marriott ones) should be working later today. SPG members need to update their Android and Apple apps.

Last Minute Marriott Rewards & SPG Program Merger Checklist

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John Ollila

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Aug 17, 2018

1 Comment

Marriott Rewards and SPG programs are merging tomorrow into the same platform (Marriott’s) and members should expect that the websites and apps are intermittently offline for the day (let’s hope that not for longer).

SPG members, hotels and reservation information are ported to the Marriott platform (probably already done) so this change mostly affects Starwood, although may cause instability is something goes wrong.

Reader Question: Marriott & SPG Program Merger Free Night Certs, Ambassador & Lifetime Status?

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John Ollila

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Aug 16, 2018

3 Comments

A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us bunch of questions by Facebook regarding the Marriott & SPG program merger that will take place on Friday this week.

Remember that you can always email us, send a message via Facebook or use Twitter and include photos too. We’ll try to cover Reader Questions & Comments here several times a week.

Reader Question: Does It Make Sense To Redeem For Marriott Rewards Travel Package?

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John Ollila

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Aug 15, 2018

2 Comments

A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a question by email regarding redeeming for Marriott Rewards Travel Package that are changing this coming Saturday (and for the worse).

Remember that you can always email us, send a message via Facebook or use Twitter and include photos too. We’ll try to cover Reader Questions & Comments here several times a week.

Marriott Rewards Combined Award Chart & All Suite SPG Properties?

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John Ollila

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Aug 14, 2018

4 Comments

Marriott Rewards released on June 28 (read more here and here) combined award chart that includes all the SPG properties that would in place once the programs are merged (this coming Saturday).

The award chart was supposed to be complete (there were no * anywhere) and has the number of points required for a free night at each hotel in the system (including the previously ridiculously expensive all suite SPG hotels).

SLS Las Vegas Exits Marriott System On August 17, 2018

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John Ollila

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Aug 14, 2018

1 Comment

W Las Vegas became part of SLS Las Vegas in July (read more here) and now the SLS itself (part of Tribute Portfolio) is exiting Marriott/SPG portfolio effective August 17, 2018.

Marriott Rewards & SPG members won’t earn points and elite qualifying nights or are eligible for benefits beyond this date either.

Marriott & SPG Outages This Week

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John Ollila

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Aug 14, 2018

Both Marriott Rewards and SPG sent out emails to respective program members warning them about outages happening this week due to the program merger.

It is business as usual for Marriott, however, that has had constant outages since launching new website in the fall of 2017. You can expect even more outages this week starting on Wednesday.