marriott

Tag Archives for marriott.

Marriott Requires $20,000 Spend for Top Tier Status, This Man Tipped $22,000 and Got Arrested

by Gary Leff

Feb 20 2019

Marriott’s new program doesn’t just require 100 nights a year to earn top tier elite status, it also requires $20,000 in spending. That’s odd for a loyalty program with so many hotels in China and elsewhere that rates are super cheap. It’s possible to stay nearly 300 nights with Marriott in a year and still not be a top tier elite.

One man probably wasn’t testing to see whether tips would count towards qualifying spend, though Marriott is at least in the process of rolling out points-earning for food and beverage while not a guest on property (something that Starwood offered for years).

Continue Reading »

How to Check if Your Personal Information Was Part of the Massive Marriott Data Breach

by Gary Leff

passport
Feb 15 2019

There’s a new website managed by OneTrust that lets you check if your information was part of the Marriott data breach.

In all 383 million records were hacked including 5.25 million unencrypted passport numbers, 8.6 million payment cards (most expired). Marriott has not revealed whether the notes they’ve taken on you were revealed.

Continue Reading »

Hilton CEO: Marriott’s Flubbed Loyalty Efforts are Bringing Him Customers – But He’s Likely Wrong

by Gary Leff

anna kendrick
Feb 14 2019

ilton’s CEO suggests that Marriott’s troubles have been Hilton’s gain.

Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta said on the company’s earnings call on Wednesday that the Honors program added 14 million new members last year, a 20% increase to a total of 85 million. He attributes that to guests shifting from Marriott. But that’s not at all suggestive of what he thinks it is.

Continue Reading »

Marriott Bonvoy Launched Today, Replacing Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest

by Gary Leff

outside marriott hotel
Feb 13 2019

Marriott has officially launched a new name for its loyalty program today. There’s no more Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards, or Starwood Preferred Guest. There’s now only Bonvoy.

We knew what Rewards meant. That’s all about earn and burn. Preferred Guest was all about how a loyal member is treated. Bonvoy literally has no meaning. It is not a word.

Continue Reading »

Use Points Advance to Lock In Current Marriott Redemption Rates Before Prices Go Up

by Gary Leff

fancy hotel
Feb 11 2019

When Marriott announced their award category changes that go into effect March 5, I noted that 346 hotels would cost more points and 37 would cost fewer.

I initially wrote that you could use points advance to lock in reservations now at the current rate even if you don’t have the points, and redeem later (after March 5 when prices go up). Several readers pointed out to me that Marriott implied in their announcement that this wasn’t the case. However I’ve re-confirmed this still works.

Continue Reading »

Marriott’s New Champagne Vending Machine and BYO Wine on Planes

by Gary Leff

Feb 11 2019

News and notes from around the interweb: Is it snobby to bring your own wine on planes? I think when Delta serves $4 Andre in business class the answer is clearly no. I love trying new wines when I’m flying Singapore (especially) but also Qantas and other carriers in first class. When the wines are mediocre or poorly-paired I just won’t just drink. It’s always a bad idea to drink booze that a flight attendant does not serve to you. My seat opponent on a Dallas – Austin flight was once written up for bringing a to-go cup from the Admirals Club with wine in it — and refusing to give it up when called out by a flight attendant. Her reasoning: she didn’t want to waste the company’s resources. The Emir of Kuwait’s holding…

Continue Reading »

Marriott’s New 2019 Award Category Changes are Out, Increases Outnumber Decreases 9-to-1

by Gary Leff

outside dining
Feb 08 2019

When Marriott launched its new program back in August they re-adjusted the redemption categories hotels were assigned to, after having done the same thing just months earlier. Moreover they ‘pre-announced’ about 60 hotels that would become more expensive in 2019 with the introduction of a new higher category 8.

Now they’ve announced 2019 category changes which go into effect March 5. Here’s what the changes look like and how to lock in lower pricing now.

Continue Reading »

Marriott Sending Out Promotions for More Points and Faster Elite Status

by Gary Leff

outside marriott hotel
Feb 04 2019

Some members are really motivated by points (redemption) and others are motivated by better treatment (status). If a program offers members more than usual for taking certain actions during a specific period of time, they’re going to get more of those actions.

And you can test customer behavior, how much do you need to offer? which customers respond best to which kinds of offers? Here are four that Marriott is reportedly sending out.

Continue Reading »

Huge Personal Milestone for Marriott Sorting Out the Mess Of Their New Program

by Gary Leff

Feb 04 2019

When Marriott launched their new program on August 18th they encouraged members to combine their accounts. They told you that you were keeping either a Starwood account or a Marriott account, but that wasn’t really true — all accounts were moved onto Marriott’s IT system.

If you were a Starwood member and a Marriott member previously you now had two Marriott accounts but for legal reasons they still displayed Starwood graphics for one of them.

I combined my accounts and somehow showed only three years at the Platinum level towards lifetime status.

Continue Reading »