Marriott Bonvoy has been unafraid to remove almost any lingering value in its once great loyalty program, somehow found another valuable benefit to remove – with almost no notice.
If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.
If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.
Marriott Bonvoy Removes Air and Hotel Redemption Program
Another segment in the world’s least funny joke, Marriott Bonvoy has removed yet another valuable piece of their once reasonably valuable loyalty program. The Air and Hotel redemption program was one of the few last bright spots in a program hell-bent on deeming itself worthless to participants. The Air and Hotel program allowed Bonvoy participants to redeem their points for category hotel stays and a bulk of miles for their preferred airline to package the entire trip together.
One of the off-peak charts looked like this before the rug was ripped from underneath its loyal guests:
Due to airline transfer rates, the Marriott Bonvoy program conveys one mile/airline point per three Bonvoy points (before bonuses) made those category 1-4 redemptions free on the right side of the column with 110,000 airline points distributed. Granted, in most cases the hotel brands available in the 1-4 category are more likely to be an airport Fairfield Inn rather than a Ritz-Carlton but just another 60,000 points (or 8,571/night) would have opened up some relatively strong hotels like the Le Meridien Maldives.
None of that matters now.
On Wednesday, January 12th, 2022 Marriott International announced that one week later (January 19th, 2022) the program would be terminated. Smart travelers can still burn their ever-declining Bonvoy points for flight and hotel vacation packages but the time to do so is vanishing quickly.
Latest In Long List of Value Reductions
For elite status holders still frequenting Marriott hotels… my sympathies. The hotel rewards program has done seemingly everything short of shutting down the program altogether to disincentivize loyal guests from wanting to continue to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. Here are just some highlights:
- Established a new elite tier (Ambassador) requiring 100 nights and $20,000 on hotel spend (excluding taxes and fees) with a dedicated Ambassador.
- Removed direct access to ambassadors
- Reduced the number of ambassador employees
- Service return times are more or less, “we’ll get back to you” for these top tier customers
- Introduced Peak/Off-Peak rewards for free nights increasing the cost for most desirable stays
- Not to worry, they are doing away with award charts completely in 2023.
- Breakfast benefits seem simple on paper but require a secret decoder ring to decipher when and where they are offered
- Upgrades to the best available suite at check-in
- upgrades no longer state “best available” and in many cases are simply a larger room or a desirable floor if honored at all
- “Guaranteed” late checkout is offered at 2-4 pm for elites, but not at resorts, or convention centers, or if unavailable…
- General devaluation of points
- Most of these benefits do not apply to Ritz-Carlton even though those guests may have earned their Bonvoy status via Ritz-Carlton stays.
What’s Left of Marriott Bonvoy?
This will be the shortest section of this blog post. There’s not a lot of unique value left. Marriot Rewards was fairly competitive and even pioneered reciprocal status with airlines (United.) The Starwood Preferred Guest program was unquestionably the leader in the space and initially, Marriott retained many aspects of this program.
There are some bright spots that remain. Bonvoy Moments (formerly SPG Moments) has come back and offers value. The ability to convert hotel certificates earned from credit cards to points is a nice benefit and one others should consider.
The last remaining benefit that really matters is the conversion bonus when transferring Bonvoy points to airlines. At present, that bonus (a holdover from SPG) is a 20% bonus per 60,000 transferred. For example, if a remaining Marriott Bonvoy member transfers 60,000 points to an airline, the normal rate (3:1) puts 20,000 miles/points into their airline account but with the 20% bonus, the recipient will actually receive 25,000 miles.
Conclusion
Marriott has complete disregard for its loyal members. Some deserve sympathy, but that’s running out as they’ve had every indication that Bonvoy is no longer a program worth earning points. Some might be stuck due to their company commitments, involvement in the Marriott Vacation Club, or undying love for genuinely lovely properties that have done nothing to contribute to Bonvoy’s assault on its own program. However, for those that find themselves traveling to major metro areas like Washington DC, San Francisco, London, Mexico City, Beijing, or similar – it’s likely time to try a new chain.
What do you think? Is there a remaining value that I am missing? If you’re still loyal to Marriott, why?
This just means that there has been too much consolidation in hotel space. For all the BS that obama spewed he was all pro big corporations. He allowed many to merge, acquire, grow and consolidate power. In social media, airlines, hotels.
Bill Clinton with NAFTA and obama pacific trade pact, two “liberals” willing to ship millions of american jobs overseas.
Pay attention Debit. That has been a bi-partisan effort
Stupid this has nothing to do with a freaking president. Please go read a book or better yet think about what you should comment or not comment
Debit- Did you forget to take your meds this morning? Shame on you
Debit, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.
As a 20- year Marriott Lifetime Platinum member, I completely agree. Marriott’s perennially high customer standards has taken a nosedive.
Outsourcing everything to low paid kids in the Philippines has contributed to this decline. They have no idea of the concerns of seasoned world travelers.
I have plat for 2022 but not looking to chase that status again. Good that these changes come at the beginning of year. For me, I prefer to AirBNB if staying more than one night. These hotel changes just reinforce that,
When Marriott first devalued their credit card earn with their new cards post Starwood Merger I got out. Moved all my points out of that system and dumped the credit cards. I think your right. There is 0 value in Bonvoy and no reason to direct any spend towards Marriott. In fact given how Marriott treats their customers there is very good reason to actively avoid the chain.
You neglected to mention that this latest charming move by Marriott was supposed to occur with zero notice, which pretty much summarizes Marriott’s view on treating loyal customers with respect and consideration.
@Christian – I said this: “On Wednesday, January 12th, 2022 Marriott International announced that one week later (January 19th, 2022) the program would be terminated. Smart travelers can still burn their ever-declining Bonvoy points for flight and hotel vacation packages but the time to do so is vanishing quickly.”
Vote with your wallet.
The CEO clearly stated they don’t care about their members/guests, they only care about their franchise owners.
I have almost stopped using Marriott from the day the absorbed SPG Starwood. This is a really low quality company with no respect whatsoever to their client and I wish them all, but success in the future!
I don’t know a single person that has used this redemption in years. Is it really a loss?
What’s left of value? What’s left that even makes it a comparable program to Hyatt or Hilton, especially at a similar number of stays/nights?
No one is arguing the rank of programs. My point on this particular loss was that, well, it’s hardly a loss when few have used this redemption since the ol’ days. There are a lot more egregious slaps in the face from Bonvoy. But this one is hardly worth the energy.
We all love Hyatt, no doubt. Hilton, nah, same as Marriott in my book, and with less aspirational properties. Bottom line is that Marriott will bank on everything with footprint. And it works. I spent 104 nights at Hyatt in 2021. I spent 136 nights at Marriott. Not by first choice for those non Hyatt nights, but simply because there was no Hyatt to choose from that worked (or any other property….even non-points like FS).
Marriott can do whatever if it wants based on sheer footprint at this point. Until Hyatt closes the gap. Oh, that’s assuming that when Hyatt does (if) they won’t also begin to degrade the program. Be careful what you wish for?
In “the old days” the cost was 20% less (270000 miles vs current 330000 miles for lowest level) and the hotel certificate was good for better hotels (category 5 at the lowest level). There was also a lightly-marketed 5-day version at lower cost.
Marriott Inc doesn’t get paid by hotel guests. It gets paid by the affiliated hotels. If those hotels are each more concerned about their bottom line than maintaining member satisfaction, the program will move in that direction. Right now, with anti-covid provisions limiting travel, those Marriott Travel Packages are less in demand than they ever before have been. So Marriott Inc can scrap them at a low cost in member dissatisfaction, and have a bone to throw to affiliates.
Hilton has officially eliminated breakfast, Marriott just has some occasionally confusing rules. Hilton’s chart had long been gone and their points have long been worthless. We are anticipating Marriotts to decline soon. Hilton doesn’t guarantee late checkout or suites.
Look, I’m as disappointed with the direction of Bonvoy as anybody, but they’re still way ahead of Hilton.
@Jerry – Unfortunately, there are some inaccuracies in your response. Hilton has not eliminated breakfast. They now have a complicated amount you are due when staying in various properties, but they have not eliminated it. I value Hilton points at 0.4¢/point and Marriott at 0.5¢/point though they are coming out with a fixed price that they won’t share until they implement it in March. For what it’s worth, I put Hyatt points at about 1.6-2.0¢/point (domestic/foreign.) Hilton doesn’t guarantee late checkout but neither does Marriott. They say they do, but not if they are full (same as Hilton), not always until 4 pm (same as Hilton) and not at all properties (resorts and convention centers) – a caveat Hilton does not have. Marriott does have Suite Night Upgrades, but only for tiers that exceed the highest requirements by Hilton, they are not necessarily guaranteed and do not always equate to a suite.
More than anything else, I trust Hilton to not pull the rug out every time they get an itch, and that matters.
I’m glad you find so much value in Hilton. I used to really like the program. When referring to breakfast, I was speaking in hyperbole, not literally. You’re correct they offer a credit, but in my experience it doesn’t always cover the cost of breakfast. I’ve also never not been offered 4:00 PM checkout at Marriott, but perhaps I’m just lucky. Of course it’s all moot because until I get my 60th night at Hyatt, neither are getting any of my discretionary spend.
I’m haveTitanium elite status. It ALWAYS gets me upgraded, often to an ocean view, a large suite, and special treatment. As far as breakfast goes, one diesn’t need to search to find out if it’s included. Just ask! I’ve never used points for airline travel. I got a hotel card to use for hotels & I’m quite satisfied with it. I have a separate card for air travel.
Didi,
This is great for you. I’ve been an Ambassador for 3 years. I have not gotten an upgrade once, even when available and prompted. This is at a myriad of Bonvoy properties in major and some minor cities in the US. I wish your experience was the norm, but I have to say I feel it is not.
How did you get titanium? I’m at almost 700 lifetime nights and I’ve been downgraded to gold because I fell short for one year and then COVID hit. I was platinum before that and about to hit platinum for life, when platinum was I believe the highest level. Now I’m 3 notches below the highest level. I can’t understand. I would think 700 nights is within the top 1% of Marriot members. Is it really that low? Do people out there really have 1000 nights or 2000 nights? Is that really common?
As a former longtime Starwood member, I knew we would get the shaft with the Marriott merger. They offered more hotel availability than the Starwood franchise but they were mostly dumps. I hope they eventually fold due to lack of business.
Miles and points brokers are the ones that have caused devaluations to accelerate. I suspect that they are the ones with the highest percentage of redemptions for these packages.
Yes it kind of sucks that it’s going away, but their just trying to tighten their rules so the avenues that gamers use are limited, and therefore their revenue hit is limited.
I completely agree with this story and the comments on it. As a loyal Marriott customer for over 15 years, the pandemic seems to have really given Marriott the chance to run the Bonvoy program into the ground. As a Titanium member, I still have not received any type of upgraded room lately, and the person who mentioned breakfast is spot on, it’s nothing more than a crap shoot knowing if a lounge is open, much less with any food or drinks available.
It seems that Marriott has walked back the elimination of this program, at least for the time being.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33906294-post1195.html
I’m a lifetime titanium elite member with
a million points in the bank, and have never once used this perk.
Your opportunity is closing.
Where is the value? The same with Hilton and Hyatt – earning points for business travel or other travel and then redeeming. I’ve redeemed at very good Ritz Carlton. Edition. And Marriott stays recently. I’m going to a convention in 10 days or so where I think I will earn 15 or 20K points. I have redemptions in Santa Barbara and Barcelona booked for this year.
None of this requires me to be “loyal” to Marriott – I am not loyal to any chain. I have redeemed at Hyatt and Hilton in recent times too. Marriott has good hotels, so does Hyatt and Hilton. I do most of my stays at Marriott, though, because they have a lot of hotels where I can earn points with business travel, and it is harder to earn Marriott points through credit card spending. Loyalty to hotels is a fools errand, there are well located, good properties in all of the major brands, plus independents.
I’m lifetime Titanium and I’ve never used this perk before. Airlines to me are less important than the actual hotel. With mor e competition in the skies, and the pandemic, I’ve been able to find business class seats for purchase at better values than restrictive rewards tickets.
I currently write this post at the St. Regis Maldives, of which I used 400K pts for 4+1 night free stay. I was upgraded from a garden villa suite, to a beach villa suite. I didn’t want the over the water bungalow, as they really don’t serve us any value other than pictures just to say you’ve been in one.
I stayed on a bungalow at the St. Regis Bora Bora, again staying with points. The beach villas are more desired than the otw bungalows, are more spacious, have more features, and you can walk directly to the beach, in oppose to having to bike or walk from the otw bungalow to take a walk on the beach. This is why they are priced higher than bungalows throughout the year.
Yes, Marriott has def watered down their rewards program greatly, but what you get as a member also also depends on what property, as well as your interactions/conversations with on site staff. When I get the intital email a week prior to my stay, I always make requests in advance, as well as thank them for reaching out- a bit of kindness can go a long way.
I travel a lot internationally, and it’s obvious you get better service/benefits outside of the US for the most part. However, I’ve been upgraded to Presidential Suite several times over the last 5 years at various US properties. Again, don’t be a douchebag, and more times than not, the staff will do what they can for you. I actually get upgraded 7/10 times, without even having to use suite night rewards.
I can’t say this is the same experience for someone silver, gold, or even platinum, but for me, the program still works for the most part, with some slight inconveniences like the breakfast mystery at some locations. Overall, I’ll still use them since I have a lifetime status.
This response is thoughtful and generally in line with my experience. The most relevant question is whether you travel primarily in US or outside the US. Ex US, marriott, hilton and most other chains are committed to giving elite members a meaningfully better experience. May not check every box of stated benefits but other perks may be added. There is real value in status. I’ve never not been offered breakfast perk at an ex US marriott (even in executive apts). In the US, it is a race to the bottom and many individual hotel managers will push as far as they can from bs amenity fees to denying benefit. In the US, hyatt is somewhat better about honoring benefits. ex US, Hyatt is a joke with limited footprint and overpriced properties. I travel primarily ex US now and find marriott and IHG (Asia) useful. Hyatt is pointless. Hilton is hit and miss. In many ex US markets, if you want good service just stay at an independent hotel with relatively reasonable cash rates. You’re also more likely to find the stay was memorable.
As a lifetime Platinum member via Vistana 5 Star ownership for 10 years. I switched to Hyatt for business travel and have been a Globalist for 5 years and will continue with Hyatt as my primary hotel chain. Agree with Kyle and it is a bummer they have made these changes and my wife and miss Starwood and have not been pleased with Marriott.
I have worked in the hotel industry for over 10 years. I started at Hilton, but I was never a fan. It felt like such a corporate atmosphere to me in almost all the properties i worked at. I wanted to work in a place where once you walked in the front door it just engulfs you with warmth and feeling like you’re at home. Marriott was where I found that.
Working for Marriott for over a decade moving my wait up from associate to supervisor to manager for multiple properties, I knew they bit off more than they could chew with the merger. Going through it and the changes was a nightmare for Staff and guests alike. So many changes were coming through to make up for the money that was invested and it eventually felt like staff and guests were becoming an afterthought. Associates and managers weren’t making nearly what they should have been… what they were worth and so many guests felt like they weren’t valued anymore. It wasn’t about certain benefits being taken away, it was about the overall service. All I could do was what I could for my guests at my properties. When i travel it is all about the experience and how the staff plays a huge role in that. I know how much people make the experience and I never let that slide especially for our frequent loyal guests. They knew their value with us even if they didn’t feel it from Marriott overall. So I will say even though their benefits and rewards have gone down hill, it really comes down to the hotel, the hotel staff, and experience for most. Sure you’ll have those out there who are extremely upset with how the program has become so obsolete and I don’t blame them. We had a great program that i stood by. Having to be on the opposite end telling all of our loyal guests this was changing or that was being thrown out was not fun at all but I’m thankful for all the people out there I made connections with and who were loyal to my properties just because how my staff and I made them feel they were home way from home. I eventually had to leave because I felt my value was never recognized. It was insane the money I was making after 10 years of loyalty. I heard from others working at small luxury properties making at least 30 percent more than me with the same titles so I knew it was time to move on. I definitely don’t decline staying there when I have chances. Their properties are still beautiful and have great staff and of course I still have access to many great discounts from being long term employee.
I’m not sure where this article applies. In the US, there’s dozens of Airmiles programs to use with marriott. You can earn points by eating, car rentals, of course credit cards, and just added…cruise lines. Even Uber can earn bonvoy points. If the flight accumulation seems low, well, how much air traffic has commenced since the covid shut down?? Duh. This article is pure crap.
@ShivaMcLovin- This applies to a redemption within the Marriott Bonvoy program. What you’re referring to are accrual opportunities. This was an option to spend Bonvoy points in a unique way, not earn them.
I know it seems Marriott is going way off the rails, but really, if you know the system, you can still hold ,08 value per point at Marriott. Don’t let the cancellation of all-inclusive packages with airfare persuade you from Marriott. The biggest problem with Marriott is the point devaluation and removal of point charts…period! But all programs are starting to do this and unless everyone bands together, we have little change of changing it. Most elite members that I know track their points more than their 401K’s; take a thousand or two from their 401k’s, they won’t even notice, much less care; take away points redemptions or earnings and they are livid! What Marriott doesn’t understand is that their elite members base their entire trip around earning points, they will change trips, drive extensive miles and pay extra to stay at Marriott just to earn points. When it comes to credit cards, they will pay the extra 3% to pay their kids tuition on the Bonvoy card, even though a $10K charge will result in $300.00 in service fee’s…and only 20,000 points, they will opt for those points. Crazy you say, as they are only getting a $160.00 value at .08 per point for a $300.00 fee…well that depends on who you ask. I know executives, making over $400K who will plan a trip with several extra stops, taking up to 14 hours to cross the country just to earn the extra miles. The rich are the most obsessed with earning points, worse than that gambling addict in Vegas…they won’t let a point go by! But it isn’t just Marriott who is missing this point, Hilton is three time worse, with their point’s worth less than just .04! If you’re an elite, you run a full analyst on your points, you know you net worth in points day and night, update your balance sheet after every point earning, assigning a dollar value to every point. After all, earning points is a business, because point’s have dollar value when they are redeemed, and you must look at them this way or you just don’t value money. Think about it, next time you use points, just pull the equal amount of cash from your safe of which you saved with points, look at it for an hour…I promise you; you have a new outlook on those points! Hopefully Marriott will realize before their members jump ship and eventually, they will do exactly that. But for now, I think Marriott is still the best program for dollar and still make it a point to use only Marriott unless the nearest Marriott is more than an hour away…then I just reconsider the trip! I have to believe Marriott is going to eventually wake up, rethink their program and that name; “Bonvoy”, horrible decision over Marriott rewards.
Wow, interesting posts. I just started traveling a bit more since recently retiring and started using Marriott due to pet friendly policies. I have been very pleased with how I have been treated, condition of hotels, etc. if I represent a good hunk of baby boomers then Marriott may be okay going forward – at least among my crowd. That said, it sucks to lose bennies. Thanks for sharing.
And at the same time Marriott allows their employees to become even Platinum members ( you could not be a member as employee until few years ago at all – it was considered double – dipping) . Which degrades the idea of being an Elite guest even further – there is a bunch of Marriott employees traveling around at $59 rate demanding and sometimes getting upgrades. The whole “Elite “ thing is totally diluted . They are also passing these discounts to their friends and family which earns them even more points and credits for night ladies stayed
No, employees do not earn nights or points when they share their employee discount. I’m not sure how you got this idea.
You know what I see frequently, though? High-status Elite guests using someone else’s employee discount for business travel, which isnt allowed under the employee discount rules.
Not true. I work for a very busy Marriott hotel in NYC and we very often get employees with even Ambassador status (and we have to verify it’s them since they have to use the employee form, called “Explore Form”)
Residence Inns also recently and abruptly ended their Mix. No more dinners.
So Marriott allows you to change a hotel certificate from my credit card to points?
I never knew this was a thing, and still have no clue. How does one do this?
I believe you can call in to get this conversion done, I am not aware as to whether it can be done online.
I am going to try this.
FlyerTalk is saying “no can do”.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-marriott-bonvoy/2065807-trading-credit-card-fncs-points.html
Pity because this would be a great way to clear out points, by combining them with a certificate (above and beyond the new “add up to 20k” they announced).
“…for those that find themselves traveling to major metro areas like Washington DC, San Francisco, London, Mexico City, Beijing, or similar – it’s likely time to try a new chain.”
Kyle, for those cities you just mentioned and tons of others, it’s a great time to join Marriott Vacation Club – the points you purchase once and recur every year do not inflate or deflate…it’s mostly an inflation-proof currency that you own, and don’t have to earn.
@VacationClubber – You don’t really own it though. If you owned it, you wouldn’t have to pay maintenance fees, and if you didn’t pay maintenance fees it would go away.
As an employee, I glad this is going to be over. The entitlement this program created for elite guests to treat employees like crap because of their status is ridiculous.
@JB – You were treated poorly because of the air and hotel redemption program?
It is situational, when a guest redeems their points for a night and if we, on property don’t offer some of the amenities the guest is used to, pre-COVID, the guest becomes upset and line level employees have to deescalate situations with guests.
Agreed, but this article refers to a redemption program that included airfare.
Ok, so now I am really considering leaving Marriott after 30 years of loyalty after my Father met Mr. Marriott & our whole family has honored the brand. So which is the best brand to switch to???? Hilton….
Hyatt is unquestionably THE brand. But if you need a wider footprint, Hilton has nearly the same number of hotels as Marriott but with lower earning thresholds and less complicated routes to benefits.
My new employer has a relationship with Marriott which sucks as I’ve been focused heavily for 10+ years on Hyatt and am
So close to lifetime globalist too. Not sure how I’m going to handle the switch!
@Ed – Everyone, and I mean everyone is hiring right now. Tell them you want to be able to make your own bookings or book with Hyatt, you might be surprised how flexible employers will be right now.
This article comes off as too angry and presents an air of entitlement. While I agree with the premise of the content, it just comes off as an angry consumer rather than a balanced reporter.
More like a blogger.
I am still loyal, mostly because of the type of travel I do, 225 nights or so a year thru out the US. Marriot always has a good, clean property in the cities I travel to.
Yeah, well, this. The sheer number of properties Marriott has gives them the advantage over the other chains. Because of this, they can drive the Bonvoy program into the ground w/o a huge impact on their revenues. As many corporations have done, Marriott profits are more important than loyal customer satisfaction…
Which is only a problem if your business is in loyalty.
I concur! I’ve been a long-time Marriott loyalist but it’s time to make a transition. Also consider the banking relationship to your credit card. Chase Marriott… No so sure about that anymore either, given Chase’s environmental social responsibility record funding deforestation. So, the question is what else is out there? I think there is a huge void, which translates into a market opportunity for a new type of program altogether and ine that doesn’t resemble anything we’re familiar with.
It seems that every Marriott article the last couple of years is how they continually devalue the Bonvoy program and how apathetic Marriott management is to their loyal customers. With their enormous footprint and revenues coming more from hotel franchise fees, less perks means more money in Marriotts pockets while still maintaining a solid customer base so as Marriott management has said, the hotel relationships are now more important than the guests and it’s really showing these days.
I was an SPG LT Platinum for many years and it was a wonderful program with fantastic customer service. Upgrades were plentiful w/o asking, the Platinum line was excellent for resolving issues and not waiting an hour on hold and I went out of my way to stay at Starwood properties with Marriott #2. Even back then, the Marriott Elite program & property variety was nowhere near as good as Starwood. Now I’m a LT Titanium member and I’ve been Bonvoyed so many times, especially in the US, I look elsewhere unless it’s properties are super convenient or it’s part of a corporate room block (The Asian Marriotts still have relatively good service). I will run down my almost 1 million points this year before their worth nothing and then I’ll be mostly done with Marriott…
@Mike G – I mostly agree with this but wanted to counter one point – footprint. Everyone says “footprint” is the reason they are loyal, but Marriott has 1,500 fewer than Wyndham, just 300 more than Choice, just 1,300 more than Hilton, only 1,500 more than IHG. While Hyatt has a smaller footprint in number of absolute properties, there are some caveats there.
For example,
1) Absolute number of hotels is probably not a good indicator. If there is a Courtyard across from a Fairfield sharing a parking lot with a Residence Inn – is that 3x better than having a single Hyatt Place? You have a brand option from the chain in the area, I’m not sure that quantity then matters.
2) The Hyatt hotels number (now over 1,000) does not factor in SLH (which more than doubles the presence) whereby guests can continue to earn Hyatt points and redeem them – if we are talking about true footprint, this would have to be a factor. In London, Hyatt has just six branded hotels but 19 total properties available as part of that program. Marriott, for example, has 58 in London, Hilton lists 66. Looking at those properties, I don’t see a massive difference between Hilton and Marriott, but I am also not left out in the cold by Hyatt.
3) There’s necessary footprint and unnecessary footprint. For decades, Hyatt had zero hotels in Rome, none in Madrid, just one in Bangkok. Those are places where you just have to have a greater presence (and they now do.) But that said, driving the many highways of the US, every other exit seems to have a Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, or a Courtyard – is that the kind of footprint that’s needed? I’d rather have fewer properties (with coverage in every major market) at a higher quality level than just having a hotel to ensure no one has to get off a roadway exit alone.
@Kyle – you mention near the end of the article that one of the remaining values is the ability to convert FNA certs into points. As an ambassador elite, I was able to do this pre-COVID, when I had my own dedicated ambassador.
I’ve asked twice since Covid and been told no both times, including today after reading this. Almost immediately got a reply stating “while you may have been able to do this in the past, we are not able to do that now”. I miss being able to do this since it allowed for far more flexibility.
Where are you seeing that this is a benefit?
@Andrew – This has been honored in the past but if they are no longer honoring this… add it to the list. Dare I say, another blog post with yet another Bonovy program loss?
I always wanted to take advantage of the Air/Hotel benefit but never have because we typically use a consolidator for Biz class airline tickets.
I do recall reading about a great time to convert Marriott points to SWA (travel/hotel) because you could get almost 2 years of A-List by doing this (although I vaguely recall another article saying this was no longer an option with SWA).
I have 750k points, would love to go to Greece but not quite ready to book with covid restrictions. I’m Lifetine Plat….any advice for me before Jan 19th?
Thank you!
@Dawn Darling – I would cash them in for a package you like right now, and then if you have to move them due to COVID restrictions or something else, I would deal with that then.
Something else that hasn’t been announced is that Marriott does not appear to be giving credit any longer for packages booked through Vacations By Marriott. In the terms and conditions it says that travelers are entitled to points and elite night credits but I never received them. When I emails for them I was told it would take 4 to 6 months for them to be applied which I thought was ridiculous but ok. A year later and they still haven’t been applied. I wrote to all email addresses and was told 4-6 months. When I say it has been 10 months, no response. Truly sad how they feel about loyal customers.
THIS IS COMPLETELY MY OPINION – The latest Bonvoy point devaluation to line up point with price of room as opposed to the level of category of hotel starting 4/1/2022 is meant to incentivize Bonvoy members to use all of their points as quickly as possible so that the company does not have to hold high levels of reserves against their points program. With more regulation against cryptocurrencies coming – rewards programs fall into the same category. For most loyal Bonvoy members (including myself) we don’t use points unless there is a great point to dollar redemption which can be particularly valuable in busy weekends or luxury international hotels. The problem with hoarding points, which became worse during the pandemic due to limited travel and redemptions, is that this reserve account on their balance sheet for redemptions has ballooned affecting their bottom line and EPS (earnings per share). More incoming regulations on cryptos will force these rewards programs to hold higher account balances for redemptions (for commercial banks this is around 8-1 not sure what historic rewards programs redemption account balances are but would assume it was closer to 25-1 or greater). I’m not familiar with what Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, etc. are doing with their rewards programs – but for Marriott to do this alone and risk losing high value loyal customers (reciprocal status agreements) they must have a higher reserve account on their balance sheet than other hotel rewards programs otherwise we would see other chains following suit.
IN MY OPINION, this is a temporary action that will encourage Bonvoy members with high point balances to redeem points in their accounts to allow Marriott to lower their reserve balance to a more manageable level (This reversion may take 1-2 years depending on the amount of revenue/loyal customers lost as a result of this change). Once a desired reserve account level has been attained, the rewards program will revert back to be in line with their competitors. Therefore, I will probably not zero out my points balance and wait for the reversion. That being said – Bonvoy members can likely leverage what is happening with the Bonvoy rewards program for reciprocal status requests (especially if they are lifetime gold or platinum) to lock in status with that hotel. If the above is not the reason for what Marriott is doing and their competitors don’t follow Marriott’s lead – then I agree there is no reason to remain loyal to Marriott as you can get better value elsewhere.
I cut up my Marriott credit card today. How can one company own over half of the hotels. They keep getting worse with one person working for the whole hotel.