Marriott Rewards and SPG Program Changes Announced 4/16/18 [Threads merged.]

[Fasttr]

I wish Marriott adopt Sheraton's easy to use point system with timeshare booking.

You have certain amounts of points( Starpoints or something like that they call it , always changing), and you use them whenever and wherever you want to.

On the other side , I will try to book our week( actually just 4 days) at Vistana Villages , if there is no available unit , then just go to Vistana Resort. No fee , no II involved....

No , and I will not enroll and pay $195 more , for nothing.

Yet what you tout as easy with Sheraton would be as easy with MVC if you enrolled your enrollable week(s).

 

[sb2313]

Vsn has a fee as well, equal to about $190 if you own 2 weeks, so not really a difference there if you compare apples to apples.

 

[icydog]

So no resale_week can be transfer to Marriot points at all?.. tx How About resale marriott TS points ?

Absolutely. If you buy a Marriott via Resale directly from Marriott you’ll get the same points as the original contract received when they were originally sold by MCVI.

For instance, I bought an Original Platinum Manor Club from Marriott Resales. Every single year I can turn that week in for 110,000 MRP. I bought it specifically to trade for MRP every year

Every resort and season has their own set of rules. The same Platinum week at Manor Club Sequel only allows a deposit into MRP every other year.

 

[BocaBoy]

You have certain amounts of points( Starpoints or something like that they call it , always changing), and you use them whenever and wherever you want to.
For example , I need two one bedroom or 3 bedroom lockoff in Orlando in October , but because they have no available villa in our season at Harbour Lake , we probably will lose this year usage , because I was late with reservation. Probably they have av unit at another Marriott resort in Orlando , but we can't use it , only through II , and for a fee.
On the other side , I will try to book our week( actually just 4 days) at Vistana Villages , if there is no available unit , then just go to Vistana Resort. No fee , no II involved....

Sounds just like the Marriott points system. If enrolled in it, you do NOT have to use II for anything except to trade outside of the Marriott system.

 

[dioxide45]

I own both Marriott and Vistana. I don't really use Marriott's point system but do use StarOptions with Vistana. I must say that I do find Vistana's system much easier to use and decipher. With Vistana there is no convoluted points chart with a thousands of variations of how many points it takes to make a reservation. I do like Marriott's cheaper Thursday and Sunday points reservations where with Vistana those are more expensive than Mon through Wed. There is also no skim with Vistana. You can make reservations across many different resorts and your amount of StarOptions fit another unit at another resort exactly. No leftover StarOptions to figure out what to do with.

Vistana also has a much cheaper entry cost than Marriott's DC program, and for me that is the easiest part of all

 

[icydog]

I'm skeptical that anyone will get the 5 suite night awards without actual nights spent. I hope award stays and MVCI timeshare stays will continue to count for night credit purposes. I don't think Vistana timeshare stays earn SPG night credits (same with HGVC/Hilton Honors and Wyndham/Wyndham Rewards) - this is an area where MVCI is better than the competition.

That’s one of the best reasons to own Marriott vs any other timeshare. I hope that continues in the future

 

[icydog]

Sounds just like the Marriott points system. If enrolled in it, you do NOT have to use II for anything except to trade outside of the Marriott system.

That’s if you don’t own an underlying weekly deed. If you have enrolled weeks in MVCI you can still exchange in II for other Marriotts.

 

[Ewiike]

Vsn has a fee as well, equal to about $190 if you own 2 weeks, so not really a difference there if you compare apples to apples.

I never paid a dime. We were at Harbourside Atlantis three time , Myrtle Beach , and numerous time in Orlando , never , ever had to pay anything....

 

[sb2313]

I never paid a dime. We were at Harbourside Atlantis three time , Myrtle Beach , and numerous time in Orlando , never , ever had to pay anything....

Nothing extra when booking w staroptions, but there is a vsn fee that’s charged as part of your annual fees, same as with marriot if you're enrolled. I own in both systems, so I’m not remotely trying to trash Vistana as I love that system too.

 

[dioxide45]

I never paid a dime. We were at Harbourside Atlantis three time , Myrtle Beach , and numerous time in Orlando , never , ever had to pay anything....

If you own a mandatory or direct week, you pay an annual VSN fee. For us this year it was $145 for our first ownership and $50 for the second. You pay it with your maintenance fees.

 

[Ewiike]

If you own a mandatory or direct week, you pay an annual VSN fee. For us this year it was $145 for our first ownership and $50 for the second. You pay it with your maintenance fees.

You are right. There is a $145 VSN fee..

 

[Ewiike]

If you own a mandatory or direct week, you pay an annual VSN fee. For us this year it was $145 for our first ownership and $50 for the second. You pay it with your maintenance fees.

True.

 

[Pocky87]

This is what we all hope, but without any official communication from MVC we are all left to just speculate.

Learnt that the sales representatives are still selling Select Level with Current MR Gold Elite status. The VC AP customer rep who spoke to me also mentioned that the transition will not affect the benefits provided to current Select and Executive level member such as Lounge Access and Free Breakfast come August Transition since the status VC gave was based on MR and it will follow the MR status transition. I thought the explanation seem quite legit.

 

[BocaBoy]

That’s if you don’t own an underlying weekly deed. If you have enrolled weeks in MVCI you can still exchange in II for other Marriotts.

I said you do not HAVE to use II to trade to other Marriotts, not that you can't. I own enrolled legacy weeks only and I never use II any more except for occasional Getaways. We travel mostly in off season and shoulder season and I can almost always get way better value by using my DC points.

 

[bazzap]

No , and I will not enroll and pay $195 more , for nothing.

It is all about how you use your ownership.
Many (most) of us here book as soon as inventory is released and almost always get exactly what we want with MVC.
Similarly, many who have enrolled benefit from the greater flexibility in options with DC points for those times we don’t want to use our home weeks and certainly for us we save our DC Club dues several times over by no longer having to pay Interval membership, lock off fees, exchange fees....

 

[quikitikit]

Non-owner, one can redeem MRP for 7 nights hotel stay plus airline miles. Marriott owner has the option to redeem for 5 nights and airline miles. Did you click on the 2 links?

The groupings simply apply to different airline miles programs.

Hmmm. I never knew about partner airlines. Evidently have to earn airlines miles too of which I don’t have those amounts required. So thus only use MR points to trade for 4 to 5 nights only. I was wondering how someone had lots of United points and transferred them to MR points to reach lifetime points.

 

[BocaBoy]

Hmmm. I never knew about partner airlines. Evidently have to earn airlines miles too of which I don’t have those amounts required. So thus only use MR points to trade for 4 to 5 nights only. I was wondering how someone had lots of United points and transferred them to MR points to reach lifetime points.

I think your discussion may involve a misunderstanding of Travel packages (forgive me if I am wrong). In such a package, you use a certain number of MR points and get both a 5-night or 7-night hotel certificate AND a large number of airline miles, which do not have to be used at the same time. This is the way some people accumulate a large number of airline miles.

 

[bazzap]

I think your discussion may involve a misunderstanding of Travel packages (forgive me if I am wrong). In such a package, you use a certain number of MR points and get both a 5-night or 7-night hotel certificate AND a large number of airline miles, which do not have to be used at the same time. This is the way some people accumulate a large number of airline miles.

Absolutely right, we now tend to use the OneWorld airline alliance, but our first use of a Travel Package included getting a large number of United miles which we used with Star Alliance airline partner Thai Airways.
We have never even ever flown with United or had airline miles with them or any other Star Alliance airline partner before.

 

[Goaltender]

Learnt that the sales representatives are still selling Select Level with Current MR Gold Elite status. The VC AP customer rep who spoke to me also mentioned that the transition will not affect the benefits provided to current Select and Executive level member such as Lounge Access and Free Breakfast come August Transition since the status VC gave was based on MR and it will follow the MR status transition. I thought the explanation seem quite legit.

Would like to know how they plan to do this since MVCI gives you Gold Elite @ Select level but the new Gold Elite coming in August says no lounge access and no breakfast and I don't think they plan to bump us all up a level. Wondering if this was just part of the sales pitch?

 

[BocaBoy]

Would like to know how they plan to do this since MVCI gives you Gold Elite @ Select level but the new Gold Elite coming in August says no lounge access and no breakfast and I don't think they plan to bump us all up a level. Wondering if this was just part of the sales pitch?

I would be extremely surprised if all current Gold level MR elites were not "bumped up" to Platinum in August. That would be consistent with everything else they are doing in the new program and I see few if any "gotchas" in the new program. Going from Gold to Platinum would not be a "bump up" for current Marriott Golds except in name.

 

[Pocky87]

Would like to know how they plan to do this since MVCI gives you Gold Elite @ Select level but the new Gold Elite coming in August says no lounge access and no breakfast and I don't think they plan to bump us all up a level. Wondering if this was just part of the sales pitch?

MR Gold Elite will eventually become Platinum come august. I don’t see this as a bump up. If you look at Vistana status match,it’s simply following spg elite status as well.

 

[marijalas]

Not sure what you are referring to so to clarify what I meant... I get 130K MR for my week and I haven't exchanged it for points since 2003. It is not worth it. if there is any value to be found with MRP's anymore, your best shot is with travel packages. If you think there is no value with travel packages or you believe there is great value outside of travel packages .... You have got to be kidding!

Can you tell me what you mean by travel packages? Is that a package with airfare or tours? I can never figure out how to use the hotel aspect with Starwood.

 

[Goaltender]

Can you tell me what you mean by travel packages? Is that a package with airfare or tours? I can never figure out how to use the hotel aspect with Starwood.

Here is a link I saved from 2016 on FrequentMiler that gives a good overview:
https://frequentmiler.boardingarea....-marriott-travel-packages-5-night-vs-7-night/

 

[bazzap]

These are the 7 night Travel Packages, available to all MR members
http://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morepack.mi
There are also 5 night Travel Packages available to MVC owners.

 

[Retired2025 aka AlmostRetired]

I am Lifetime gold that could have made lifetime platinum by year end 2019. I will become platinum elite in the new program that in many ways is very similar to the platinum elite of the old program so this seems fair to me. I am curious. If one is a lifetime platinum today it goes to lifetime platinum premier in 19. What I can't seem to find is the path from lifetime platinum to lifetime platinum premier after 2019. Are the only lifetime platinum premier members the ones grandfathered in?