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On Friday, I covered some of the changes that Marriott recently announced concerning the merger of Marriott, SPG, and Ritz Carlton’s loyalty programs. I am only discussing Marriott and SPG since those are much more commonly used than Ritz points.
In August, the loyalty programs become one, using just one point currency, award chart, elite qualifying system, etc. They will keep their separate names until 2019 when the loyalty program will be given just one (yet to be announced) name. In Part I, I went over changes to elite status, earning points from hotel stays, and redeeming points for hotel stays. Today in Part II, I’ll cover earning points through credit card spend, the new credit cards hitting the market in May and August, and redeeming points as airline miles.
As a quick review…
In brief, this is what’s happening in August
- All SPG points will be automatically converted into Marriott Rewards at a rate of 1:3, which is the current transfer rate. Marriott points will turn into the sole currency for the whole program.
- Elite status between programs will be transitioned to a singular benefits/qualification system with five tiers: Silver, Gold, Platinum, Platinum Premier, and Platinum Premier with Ambassador service.
- Earning Points:
- The rate of points earning from stays at hotels will increase at an average of 20%.
- The rate at which you earn points from credit card spend will decrease significantly for SPG members, and increase for Marriott members.
- Redeeming Points:
- As for redemptions at all SPG, Marriott, and Ritz-Carlton family hotels, there will be one singular award chart, eventually with eight categories and three tiers within each category (standard, off-peak, and peak). Prices are going up for Marriott members and generally down for SPG members.
- As for redemptions as airline miles by transferring points to airline loyalty program parters, the transfer rate across the board will be 3 Marriott points to 1 airline mile (current transfer rate nor the current bonus structure for transferring to airline miles will change).
- Two new credit cards will be introduced: the SPG American Express Luxury Card in August, and the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card, in the beginning of May. There will also be changes to already existing SPG or Marriott cards.
Some Missing Pieces Yet to be Determined
- The name of the program for 2019 and on
- What hotels will be in what category (a list with specific destinations has since been shared by Marriott since Part I was published, but we still don’t have a complete list)
- The ability to book hotel award nights with a mixture of cash and points awards options will remain, but the pricing under the new singular program is not yet known
- Hotel + Air Packages (sticking around, but we’re not sure what they’ll look like)
Redeeming Points as Airline Miles
Thankfully, this part of the plan for the unified loyalty program is not getting worse. It’s actually improving, as SPG’s airline transfer partners and Marriott’s airline transfer partners are combining into one long list under the new program, and all points will transfer at the rate of SPG’s current system (which is better than Marriott’s current system).
Right now, 1 SPG point transfers to 1 airline mile, and when you transfer in increments of 20,000 SPG points you get a 5,000 mile bonus in the program you are transferring to.
All transfer ratios as of August 1 will be 3 Marriott points to 1 airline mile, and you’ll get 15,000 bonus points for every transfer of 60,000 points. This means your existing SPG points are not being devalued on August 1 your SPG points will be tripled in the conversion to Marriott. The same bonus for transferring in increments of what used to be 20k SPG points (60k Marriott points) will be equivalent as well, since 15,000 Marriott points = 5,000 SPG points.
SPG and Marriott’s current separate programs have separate airline partners you can transfer points to. Those two lists will merge into one long list of airline transfer partners in August, and a couple new ones will be introduced that are on neither’s transfer list as of now. Below is a chart that breaks down each program’s current transfer list, what the new list will look like, and what the Marriott point to airline transfer ratio will be as of August 1, 2018.
Starwood Preferred Guest | Marriott | Combined List + New Partners (8/1) | Transfer Rate (8/1) |
---|---|---|---|
Aegean Airlines | Aegean Airlines | 3:1 | |
Aeromexico Club Premier | Aeromexico Club Premier | Aeromexico Club Premier | 3:1 |
Air Canada Aeroplan | Air Canada Aeroplan | Air Canada Aeroplan | 3:1 |
Air China Companion | Air China Companion | Air China Companion | 3:1 |
Air New Zealand Air Points | Air New Zealand Air Points | Air New Zealand Air Points | Not yet defined |
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan | Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan | Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan | 3:1 |
Alitalia MileMiglia | Alitalia MileMiglia | Alitalia MileMiglia | 3:1 |
All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club | All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club | All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club | 3:1 |
American Airlines AAdvantage | American Airlines AAdvantage | American Airlines AAdvantage | 3:1 |
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 3:1 |
Asiana Club | Asiana Club | Asiana Club | 3:1 |
British Airways Executive Club | British Airways Executive Club | British Airways Executive Club | 3:1 |
China Eastern Airlines | China Eastern Airlines | China Eastern Airlines | 3:1 |
Delta SkyMiles | Delta SkyMiles | Delta SkyMiles | 3:1 |
Emirates Skywards | Emirates Skywards | Emirates Skywards | 3:1 |
Etihad Guest | Etihad Guest | Etihad Guest | 3:1 |
Flying Blue (Air France, KLM, etc) | Flying Blue (Air France, KLM, etc) | Flying Blue (Air France, KLM, etc) | 3:1 |
Gol Smiles | Gol Smiles | Gol Smiles | 3:1 |
Hainan Airlines | Hainan Airlines | 3:1 | |
Hawaiian Airlines | Hawaiian Airlines | Hawaiian Airlines | 3:1 |
Iberia Plus | Iberia Plus | Iberia Plus | 3:1 |
Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank | Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank | Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank | 3:1 |
Jet Airways | Jet Airways | Jet Airways | 3:1 |
Korean Air SkyPass | Korean Air SkyPass | Korean Air SkyPass | 3:1 |
Avianca LifeMiles | Avianca LifeMiles | Avianca LifeMiles | 3:1 |
Lufthansa Miles & More | Lufthansa Miles & More | Lufthansa Miles & More | 3:1 |
Qatar Airways Privilege Club | Qatar Airways Privilege Club | Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 3:1 |
Saudia Alfursan | Saudia Alfursan | Saudia Alfursan | 3:1 |
Singapore Airlines Krisflyer | Singapore Airlines Krisflyer | Singapore Airlines Krisflyer | 3:1 |
Thai Airways Royal OrchidPlus | Thai Airways Royal OrchidPlus | 3:1 | |
United MileagePlus | United MileagePlus | United MileagePlus | 3:1 |
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 3:1 |
Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer Club | Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer Club | 3:1 | |
Aeroflot Bonus Program | Aeroflot Bonus Program | 3:1 | |
COPA Milesconnect | COPA Milesconnect | 3:1 | |
Frontier Airlines EarlyReturn | Frontier Airlines EarlyReturn | 3:1 | |
JetBlue TrueBlue | JetBlue TrueBlue | Not yet defined | |
LATAM Pass | LATAM Pass | 3:1 | |
Qantas Frequent Flyer | Qantas Frequent Flyer | 3:1 | |
South African Airways Voyager | South African Airways Voyager | 3:1 | |
Southwest Rapid Rewards | Southwest Rapid Rewards | 3:1 | |
TAP Portugal | TAP Portugal | 3:1 | |
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | 3:1 | |
El Al Matmid | Not yet defined | ||
China Southern Sky Pearl Club | 3:1 |
If you transfer in chunks of 60,000 Marriott points (the equivalent of transferring SPG points in 20k chunks now), the transfer rate you’ll get considering the 15k Marriott point (5k SPG point now) bonus will be 2.4:1.
We still don’t know yet what the transfer rates will be to Air New Zealand, El Al, or JetBlue.
Marriott’s relationship with United will stay intact as of August, so you’ll still be able to transfer Marriott points to get United miles, however that transfer rate is suffering a devaluation. It is possible right now to transfer Marriott points to United (via the RewardsPlus program) and get a 2.24:1 rate (by exchanging 112,000 Marriott points for 56,000 United miles). So, depending on how many United miles you need, if you’re looking at booking a United award and were planning on transferring Marriott points to get United miles, you may want to make that transfer before August 1.
Earning Points Through Credit Card Spend
These are the current ways to earn SPG/Marriott points through credit cards:
- Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express (the business version of this card has the same earning structure, both have a $95/year annual fee)
- 2 SPG points (which = 6 Marriott points) per dollar spent at Marriott/SPG properties
- 1 SPG point (which = 3 Marriott points) per dollar spent on all other purchases
- Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card (the business version of this card has almost the same earning structure, but it’s annual fee is $99 vs $85)
- 5 Marriott points per dollar spent at Marriott/SPG properties
- 2 Marriott points per dollar spent on airline tickets purchased directly with the airlines, at car rental agencies, and at restaurants (the business card also offers 2x at office supply stores, and for internet, cable and phone services)
- 1 Marriott point per dollar spent on all other purchases
- Chase also issues a Marriott Rewards Credit Card (consumer and business version) that earns less points for a $45/year annual fee.
The SPG Amex cards (both personal and business) will continue to accept new applications come August 1, but the earning structure on them is changing. The earning structure will also change on existing legacy cards.
- Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express
- 6 Marriott points per dollar spent at Marriott/SPG properties
- 2 Marriott points per dollar spent on all other purchases
- Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express
- 6 Marriott points per dollar spent at Marriott/SPG properties
- 4 Marriott points per dollar spent U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, and on U.S. purchases for shipping
- 2 Marriott points per dollar spent on all other purchases
While earning will go up slightly for spend at Marriott/SPG properties (from 5 to 6 Marriott points), it will go down on the existing cards for all non-bonused spending to two points per dollar instead of three. Thats like earning .66 SPG points per dollar spent. Ugh.
All of the existing Chase Marriott cards will stick around and keep their same earning structure, but there will also be a new card added to the family: the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card. A new premium Amex consumer card will be added to the Marriott point-earning portfolio as well.
The New Credit Cards
The Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card debuts May 3, 2018. It will come with 100,000 Marriott points, 15 elite credit nights each calendar year (starting in 2019), and have the following earning structure:
- 6 Marriott points per dollar spent at Marriott/SPG properties
- 2 Marriott points per dollar spent on all other purchases
While this should be considered a separate product (in terms of eligibility for the sign up bonus) than the current Marriott Rewards Premier Card, I assume the Chase 5/24 rule will also apply to this product (as it does the Marriott Rewards Premier Card), which will negate many people’s eligibility.
The SPG American Express Luxury Card debuts in August of 2018. While I expect it will, we don’t yet know if this new premium card will come with a bonus. We do know it will come with the following benefits package:
- 6 Marriott points per dollar spent at participating hotels, 3 Marriott points per dollar spent on airfare and restaurants, and 2 Marriott points per dollar spent on everything else
- $300 annual statement credit for purchases at Marriott properties
- Anniversary free night certificate valid at any property retailing for up to 50,000 points/night
- Gold status
- Platinum status after you spend $75,000 on the card in a year
- Priority Pass Select membership
- $100 Global Entry fee credit
Overall, earning points to transfer to airlines through everyday spend will be totally diluted by August. We lose the ability to earn 1 mile per dollar on non-bonused spend as not one single card in the existing or planned portfolio will earn 3 Marriott points per dollar on everyday purchases.
Bonuses on Existing SPG Cards have dropped
Looks like just today the bonuses on the existing SPG Amex cards have disappeared and been replaced by flimsy statement credits. They are both offering a $100 statement credit after $1,000 in purchases on the cards within 3 months of account opening. They are also both offering an additional $100 statement credit after your first purchase at a participating SPG or Marriott hotel in the first 6 months, for a total of $200 in statement credits.
Compared to the 25,000 SPG point bonuses before, these statement credit bonuses suck. 25,000 SPG points is worth roughly, to me, $625. Apparently this is not something to worry too much about, as Mommy points was just told that we can expect a “very rich welcome bonus later in the summer”.
*Also note that SPG Business Amex cardholders will lose Sheraton Lounge access as of August.*
Bottom Line
While we are getting even more transfer partners and thankfully current transfer rates are staying the same (this is good news for our existing SPG/Marriott points), for those that primarily earned SPG points through credit card spend for redemption via transfers to airline partners (ahem…me), the news about the future earning structure of all the cards in the Marriott portfolio is a big blow. Personally, I will no longer be putting non-bonused spend on either of my SPG cards like I have been doing by default once August hits. No matter how you value these future super-Marriott points that will transfer to tons of airlines, not earning at least enough points to transfer to one mile per dollar spent on everyday spending is not good enough for me.
What do you guys make of these changes? Planning on applying for any of the new cards?
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
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Any thoughts on the ritz card?
Brooke, since the Ritz card is not limited by Chase’s 5/24 rule, getting it gives card churners a way to eventually get the Marriott card by doing product change when the 2nd year’s annual fee comes due on Ritz card. Tricky part with Ritz card is using the airline credit, but we enjoyed using the credit to upgrade seats and then sent screen shots using Chase SM to get the credit applied. Plus we really enjoyed the sign-up bonus free nights at the Ritz in Aruba. It’ll be interesting to see what changes they make to the Ritz card, and I thought I saw somewhere that changes might be announced for this card on May 3rd.
Are you keeping your SPG cards? My AF is due in 5 days for the personal and next month for the Biz. I believe this means I would need to pay 2 AF’s each before I would get the free night cert. That’s not a good deal so I may just dump both cards now unless I get a decent retention offer.
Call for the points and say good buy if no good retention offers.
There are new cards coming if needed.
Meh. Once my AFs hit I’ll call in for a retention bonus most likely. If I get something worthy of paying an AF, I’ll keep them open mainly just to increase the average age of my accounts for my credit score. If I don’t get offered something worthy, I’ll close without hesitation.
I called and they had a retention offer ready for me. My fee just hit two weeks ago so I asked if it was possible to get it credited back, or credited if I cancel the card, noting that the card was going to give feeer points than before. Got 7k points for a small spend as my offer. Took it.
I really would’ve canceled.. 2 Marriott points per dollar isn’t worth it for me.
Yea, I’m with you.
FYI, you can always get an annual fee credited back by canceling after it was charged…at least for a month after if not six weeks.
But where do you park any points you already have in account?
What are you asking exactly? What airline to transfer points to?
2 points for others expenses suck, big time. Why would they devalue this? No Benifit redeeming for airline or hotel.
What about Westin time share points? Will it continue and will it be 3 M points per 1 Spg point?
I already cancelled my SPG personal card. Right now, I’m trying to maximize my spending for a few months on my SPG business card. After that, if I keep the card, it will likely only be for the free annual night rather than my go-to card for general spending.
On a separate note, if I hit 50 nights with Starwood before August, then hit 75 before the year is out, how will that work for SNA’s? Will I have 2 sets of 10 each, 1 set for this year and 1 for next?
Hi all
You mentioned about Chase Marriott having $85 annual fee for business version. That’s incorrect, it’s $99. The personal is $85.
Updated.
Sarah,
I can’t get a straight answer from Amex on these questions regarding the upcoming changes to my SPG Personal Card. I am hopeful that you either have already addressed these, or have a better information source where answers can be found.
My Amex billing cycle ends on the 12th of each month.
1) How will Amex/SPG/Marriott handle the treatment (i.e. conversion rate) of charges made on my SPG card from July 13 through July 31 (those dollars should each earn 1 Starpoint, which should then each be converted into 3 Marriott points)?
2) How will the treatment of those charges be segregated from charges made beginning August 1 through August 12 (with each of those dollars being worth just 2 Marriott Points)?
3) Will Amex make two, separate transfers during that billing cycle, the first transfer on July 31 for charges made through that date and the second transfer made upon the closing of the normal billing cycle?
4) Which date will Amex use to afix the proper conversion rate–the date the charge was made OR the date the charge is actually posted to my Amex SPG account?
If Amex does not plan to segregate the 2 categories of charges or otherwise make proper conversions, then it follows that I should just put my Amex SPG Personal card into the drawer a few days before close of the end of the July billing cycle.
Thanks.
I understand that putting non bonused spin on my SPG card is basically being devalued by 1/3. what if I put all my non bonused spin on my Marriott rewards card is that still being devalued? If so that will really suck.
From the perspective of earning points for transferring to airlines, putting non-bonused spend on the Marriott cards has always been a bad idea. As of now, they earn 1 Marriott Reward per dollar spent on everyday purchases. That is 1/3 of an SPG point–in other words, 1/3 of an airline mile. Horrible. As of August 26, the earning rate for everyday spend is actually getting better. It will improve to 2x instead of 1x (same rate as SPG cards). Does that make it worth spending on? Like I said for the SPG cards: nope.