The recent posts on View from the Wing and Points, Miles & Martinis focus on hotel stay elite status benefits. My focus is more on the value of points earned from Marriott stays for high value redemption opportunities. My analyses reveal Marriott Rewards has some competitive advantages to other major hotel loyalty programs; particularly for the truly frequent traveler with the ability to amass tens of thousands of points.

Here are six Marriott Rewards program strengths (besides Ritz-Carlton Hotels):

1. More hotels in lower categories than comparable market segment hotels in most other chains. 

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80% of Marriott Rewards hotels are in the bottom four hotel categories. Hilton HHonors distribution is skewed more to higher categories compared to Marriott Rewards.

This is easier to explain with an example.

JW Marriott Los Angeles LA Live is a Marriott Rewards category 6 hotel at 30,000 points per night and a AAA 4-diamond hotel.

Hilton Checkers Los Angeles is a AAA 3-diamond hotel and a Category 6 HHonors reward night at 40,000 points.

Marriott Rewards Silver elite member needs $2,500 in spend to earn 30,000 points. Hilton HHonors Silver elite member earning Points & Points needs $2,424 in spend to earn 40,000 points.

I would consider JW Marriott to be the better quality hotel for Los Angeles and it would certainly be a category 7 HHonors property at 50,000 points per night if it were a Conrad brand hotel.

In city after city a comparison of Marriott brand hotels to Hilton brand hotels will show Marriott has its hotels in lower categories along the scale of its eight reward categories compared to comparable market segment hotels in Hilton HHonors eight reward categories including Waldorf-Astoria. Most places where the Hilton brand hotel is a category 6 or 7 will have Marriott brand hotels of comparable market segment in Marriott Rewards categories 5 or 6.

Hilton HHonors has an advantage to Marriott Rewards for extended stay rewards with 15% to 25% discounts for any length of reward stay from 4 to 14 nights and even bigger discounts on 4-night stays for HHonors American Express card members. Marriott Rewards use to blow away the competition with its extended stay discounts, but dropped a progressively favorable reward chart for a simple 5th night free.

2. High Airline Miles Exchange Rate

Marriott Rewards has the best points-to-miles exchange rate of any hotel loyalty program for US airlines like Delta, United and US Airways. when exchanging 125,000 points into 50,000 miles. Unfortunately Marriott and American no longer partner for points-to-miles exchange.

The Marriott points-to-miles rate far surpasses Hilton HHonors. The value of Double Dip for HHonors Points & Miles earners is certainly a major route to earning airline miles aside from Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites stays and should not be overlooked.

Club Carlson is typically the second best program for points-to-miles exchange rates and perhaps is better for some international airlines than Marriott Rewards where 125,000 miles only earns 35,000 miles. Starwood is also a valuable program for airline miles, but its competitive advantage is predominantly through SPG American Express credit card spend earn rates rather than points earned from hotel stays.

Here is my Loyalty Traveler post for American Airlines point-to-miles exchange rate comparisons between hotel loyalty programs with links to posts for other US airlines.

3. Marriott Rewards Hotel + Airline Packages offer 1 point = 1 mile exchange rate.

Hotel + Air rewards take huge account balances of 200,000 or more points, but also offer the best value for points-to-miles exchange rates when combined with a 7-night hotel stay reward. My post from January 21, 2012 describes the range of hotel discount rewards in Marriott Rewards, Hilton HHonors and IHG Priority Club.

4. Marriott Rewards offers upgrades for 5,000 points per night at participating hotels available to all members. Some hotels also offer cash upgrades. The Marriott upgrade for points is probably a better value than most examples of HHonors Premium Room Rewards that generally have a relatively low redemption value (about $4 to $6 per 1,000 HHonors points).

IHG does not offer upgrades for points.

Hyatt and SPG have confirmed upgrade certificates, but these are limited to top elite members.

5. Marriott Rewards elite benefits often apply even when the hotel stay is booked through a third party site. Hilton HHonors counts reward stays for elite credit and that is generally a more valuable benefit for a loyalty member. But when a $100 Priceline winning bid puts you into a $300 Marriott hotel and you still receive benefits…that is what I call win-win!

6. Elite Nights credit with credit card and elite rollover nights and the ability for annual challenges lower the high bar for Marriott Rewards elite member tiers at 50 nights for Gold and 75 nights for Platinum.

Here is a post I wrote March 15, 2012 on Marriott Rewards Elite Challenge.

January 18, 2012 I wrote a post on Making Elite with Marriott, IHG and Hilton.

Most of my information about Marriott Rewards is based on comparative analysis of program features to other hotel loyalty programs and the experiences I read from high elite members.

I find there is good value for Marriott Rewards members even though I am not personally using Marriott Rewards much in my travels.

Related Post: Weighing in on the value of Marriott Rewards – Part 1 (3-26-12)

Yesterday Gary Leff published his View from the Wing post, “Why I’m Walking Away from the Marriott Platinum Challenge” and The Weekly Flyer responded with the Points, Miles & Martinis post “Why I’m Sticking with My Marriott Gold Status.” I recommend reading the two posts and be sure to read the comments by other Marriott Rewards members to get different viewpoints on Marriott Rewards from some high level members.

Read More…

I feel compelled to issue a reality check based on the overwhelming pitch by bloggers for Starwood Preferred Guest being the primary program to consider when transferring hotel points for the US Airways points-to-miles 50% bonus from March 11-31, 2012.

Several travel blogs over the past 24 hours have discussed the US Airways hotel points transfer bonus promotion and most of the commentary suggests no other hotel program is worth considering besides SPG to get the best miles value from your hotel points. Read More…

The fourth article in this series comparing the “MegaChain” hotel loyalty programs of Hilton HHonors, IHG Priority Club and Marriott Rewards is a look at the hotel reward options for each hotel chain. Reward nights using points are one of the two primary incentives of being a hotel loyalty program member. The other incentive is additional complimentary hotel stay benefits received during hotel stays like free internet, complimentary room upgrades, hotel executive lounge access and free breakfast.

Comparing hotel rewards is one of the most technical aspects of hotel loyalty programs. The rate of earning points is different in each hotel loyalty program with Hilton members earning as many as 15 points per dollar for hotel spend while Marriott and IHG Priority Club earn as few as 5 points per dollar for certain hotel brands. Promotions offering bonus points also affect the rate of earning points in each program.

And even if the hotel loyalty member earns 10 points per dollar in each program, then is a 25,000 point hotel reward comparable in each program? How does one compare a Marriott Rewards category 5 reward night (25,000 points), Priority Club Crowne Plaza reward night (25,000 points) and a Hilton HHonors category 3 reward night (25,000 points)?

The logical way to compare hotel rewards across programs is to compare the published rate for the hotel night to the reward night cost in points. The problem is the reward cost is a fixed cost while the room rate fluctuates and might be $150 tonight and $250 tomorrow night for the same 25,000 points free night. The other variable is a 25,000 points hotel reward might save $100 at one Marriott Rewards category 5 hotel and save $250 at a different Marriott hotel.

The bottom line is hotel reward redemption value is dynamic and fluctuates depending on date and hotel. The best a member can do is try to use points in a way that maximizes their redemption value.

Read More…

The new Ritz-Carlton Rewards Travel Packages have some built-in convenience fees. The Hotel + Air Travel Package has several reward options, each for 7 hotel nights plus 35,000 to 120,000 airline miles, depending on airline and reward level. These Ritz-Carlton Travel Package rewards, often called one of the best value rewards in hotel programs for the similar Marriott Rewards Travel Package, are actually more expensive for hotel nights and miles at the lowest miles level than  redeeming points in separate transactions for a hotel stay and a points-to-miles exchange.

The problem with the Ritz-Carlton Travel Packages is Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 hotels are lumped together in the same reward price. Marriott Rewards does this for category 1-5 hotels, but maintains separate reward levels for category 6, 7, and 8 hotels.

A Tier 1 Ritz-Carlton hotel is only 30,000 points per night or 180,000 points for seven nights. A Tier 3 hotel is 50,000 points per night or 300,000 points for a 7 night reward stay. There is a 120,000 points difference in the cost of a seven night hotel stay at a Tier 1 versus a Tier 3 hotel, yet the 7-night package cost is the same for these two different tier hotels.

The way I view Marriott’s Travel Packages is the full cost of the hotel is charged for the reward, but the air miles are effectively 1 point = 1 mile. The best exchange rate available in a Marriott/Ritz-Carlton Rewards points-to-miles exchange is 2.5 points = 1 mile when redeeming 125,000 points for 50,000 miles.

• Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Tier 1 are 30,000 points per night with the option for a 5^th night free reward.
• 5 nights at a Tier 1 Ritz-Carlton cost 120,000 points. 7 nights are 180,000 points.
• Points-to-Miles Exchange for 50,000 United Airlines Mileage Plus miles = 125,000 points.

In separate transactions a seven night stay at a Tier 1 Ritz-Carlton Hotel and 50,000 United miles only cost 305,000 points, yet the Hotel + Air Travel package for 7 nights + 50,000 miles charges you 350,000 points. This is a 15% higher rate for the same items.

This Marriott deal reminds me of when I went to a bagel bakery and the sandwich on the menu was more expensive than buying the bagel and paying for each item separately as a bagel addition. When I pointed this out to the salesclerk, he said, “But the one on the menu is a sandwich.”

So, I guess Marriott Rewards and Ritz-Carlton Rewards feel there is something about the Travel Package menu that warrants a higher cost for a Tier 1 hotel stay + 50,000 miles.

My advice is just order these rewards separately unless going for a Tier 2 or higher hotel.

Points Saved with a Ritz-Carlton Hotel + Air Travel Package for 50,000 miles

Hotel + Air Travel Packages increase in value for rewards with more miles

There is no savings redeeming a Ritz-Carlton Hotel + Air Travel Package at a Tier 1 hotel for 50,000 miles. There is a slight savings of 15,000 points when redeeming a Ritz-Carlton Travel Package for 50,000 miles at a Tier 2 or Tier 4 hotel. The big savings occur when using the Travel Package at a Tier 3 or Tier 5 hotel.

Savings increase as you go to Travel Packages including more than 50,000 miles. Additional miles above 50,000 miles are given at the rate of 1 point = 1 mile, so the package with 120,000 miles is only 70,000 points more than the points needed for a 50,000 mile Hotel + Air Package.

Again, the best exchange rate available with Marriott/Ritz-Carlton Rewards points-to-miles exchange is 2.5 points = 1 mile when redeeming 125,000 points for 50,000 miles.

The real value behind redeeming points for a Hotel + Air Travel Package reward is the points-to-miles 1:1 exchange rate.

Redeeming points for anything other than a Tier 3 or Tier 5 hotel will give less than 1 point = 1 mile exchange rate in the Ritz-Carlton Travel Package. You might want to look at redeeming for a Marriott Category 7 or Category 8 Travel Package for a better deal.

Many people prefer airline miles over hotel points. I understand the value equation when your air miles are used for Business and First Class travel, but I have a hard time seeing the value in exchanging 20,000 Starpoints for 25,000 miles to redeem a domestic economy class airline ticket.

When grandma wants to see her grandkids for the summer vacation, a handful of airline tickets may have more benefit than a week in a luxury hotel room. Travelers have different needs.

Hotel points to miles exchanges allow a hotel loyalty program member to convert hotel points into frequent flier miles.  Major hotel loyalty programs including Hilton HHonors, Hyatt Gold Passport, InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest offer this option for points-to-miles conversion. In general, you can only transfer hotel points to a frequent flyer account where both accounts are in your same name. You cannot move your points into another person’s frequent flyer account.

Marriott Rewards offers the best exchange ratio for points-to-miles conversion across a broad spectrum of airlines when compared to other hotel loyalty programs, particularly with its Hotel + Air packages where the hotel points-to-miles ratio is an even 1:1 conversion.  Hyatt Gold Passport shows the next best overall points-to-miles exchange program.

Exchange rates differ between hotel loyalty programs for points-to-miles exchanges, although, as seen in the tables there is a cluster of similar exchange rates for Hyatt, IHG, and Starwood. The conversion rates for Hyatt and Starwood remain remarkably close, even up to both programs offering 25% bonus miles when converting large blocks of points-to-miles.

Hotel-points-to-airline-miles is one-way exchange route.

Hotel-points-to-airline-miles is a one-way exchange route. Conversions are not allowed in the reverse direction from airline-miles-to-hotel-points.

Hilton HHonors has the competitive edge of the five hotel loyalty programs compared in these tables in being the only hotel loyalty program to offer a conversion of airline-miles-to-hotel-points with a relatively good rate of exchange for several airline partners; American Airlines being the most prominent transfer partner among the major US airlines.

The international airline tables I have put together for hotel-points-to-airline-miles conversion shows a higher degree of variability than the domestic airlines. Some prominent international airlines do not partner with one or more of the hotel programs. Several international airlines available for points-to-miles conversion with one of more of the major hotel loyalty programs have not been included in the tables for this post.

I have included an explanation regarding Hilton HHonors at the end of this post to address the Points & Miles feature of the HHonors program. The tables below show HHonors at or near the bottom for the poorest exchange ratio in points-to-miles transfers with nearly every airline. Hilton HHonors members have the ability to earn miles through hotel stays in addition to points in real hotel travel, but the strict conversion of points-to-miles is not a favorable rate when compared to the other major hotel loyalty programs.

My Loyalty Traveler advice for Hilton HHonors members is earn your miles from hotel stays and save your HHonors points for better value opportunities.

Hotel Loyalty Program Points-to-Miles Links

Hyatt Gold Passport – Airline Partners. Lufthansa is a Hyatt airline partner for earning miles, however, the Terms & Conditions for Hyatt Gold Passport Points-to-Miles Terms and Conditions specifically excludes Lufthansa and airline partners in Miles & More from points-to-miles participation.

Hilton HHonors – Points for Miles

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club – Points to Miles

Marriott Rewards – Air Mileage Rewards

Starwood Preferred Guest – Transfer Starpoints to Miles

The Loyalty Traveler tables shown are informational only and before conducting a transfer between programs you should contact the programs directly for the most up-to-date guidelines and restrictions, as information is subject to change at any time. 

A great resource for checking conversion rates between more than 70 hotel, airline, credit card and other loyalty programs is through Randy Petersen’s WebFlyer Mileage Converter. I haven’t checked all my tables through the Mileage Converter, but the dozen or so I checked matched up. That is good news for both of us since the results were independently derived. The tables I have made are good for comparative data across hotel chains. The Mileage Converter is better for accurate conversions between any two loyalty programs and also provides the user with several options for points and miles exchange conversion routes.

Domestic Airline Conversion tables are in Part 1 for Alaska, American, Continental, Delta/Northwest Skymiles, Southwest, United Airlines, and US Airways.

International Airlines Hotel-Points-to-Frequent-Flier-Miles Conversion Tables

• Aeromexico

• Air Canada Aeroplan

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue

• Air New Zealand Airpoints

• ANA – All Nippon Airways Mileage Club

• British Airways Executive Club

• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

• Emirates Skywards

• LAN Airlines LanPass

• Miles & More (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, LOT Polish)

• Qantas Airways

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

• South Africa Airways Voyager

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Hotel Loyalty Program Conversion Points-to-Miles with Aeromexico

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

Air Canada Aeroplan

Hotel loyalty program points-to-miles conversion with Air Canada Aeroplan

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

Air New Zealand Airpoints

Hotel loyalty program points-to-miles conversion for Air New Zealand

1. Starwood Preferred Guest

2. IHG Priority Club

3. Hilton HHonors

4. Hyatt Gold Passport and Marriott Rewards are not Air New Zealand points-to-miles airline partners

ANA – Al Nippon Airways Mileage Club

Hotel loyalty program points-to-miles conversion with All Nippon Airways-ANA Mileage Club

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

British Airways Executive Club

Hotle loyalty program points-to-miles conversion with British Airways

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Hotel loyalty program points-to-miles conversion with Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

Emirates Skywards

Hotel loyalty program points-to-miles conversion with Emirates Skywards

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors (Emirates is not an HHonors airline partner)

Hotel loyalty program points-to-miles conversion with LAN LanPass

1. Starwood Preferred Guest
2. Hyatt Gold passport
3. Marriott Rewards
4. Hilton HHonors
5. IHG Priority Club

Hotel loyalty program points-to-miles conversion table for Miles & More (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, and LOT Polish)

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors
5. Hyatt Gold Passport (Miles & More is  hotel stay earning partner, but does not participate in points-to-miles)

Hotel loyalty program points-to-miles conversion with Qantas

1. Hyatt Gold Passport
2. Marriott Rewards
3. Hilton HHonors
4. IHG Priority Club and Starwood Preferred Guest are not partners with Qantas.

Hotel loyalty prgrams points-to-miles conversion with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Starwood Preferred Guest
5. Hilton HHonors

Hotel loyalty program points-to-miles conversion with South African Airways

1. Hyatt Gold Passport
2. IHG Priority Club
3. Hilton HHonors
4. Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest do not partner with South African Airways

Hotel loyalty program points-to-miles conversion with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport
3. Starwood Preferred Guest
4. Hilton HHonors
5. IHG Priority Club does not partner with Virgin Atlantic

The Hilton Conversion Issue in the Loyalty Traveler tables for HHonors members.

Hilton HHonors is problematic in these tables due to the different earning mechanism with HHonors hotel stays. Hilton HHonors has “Double Dip”, their registered term for the member option to earn both hotel points and miles during a single hotel stay.

Hyatt Gold Passport, IHG Priority Club, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) all allow a member to earn miles with hotel stays, however, the member earns airline miles or hotel points. As a general rule a member in programs besides Hilton HHonors cannot earn both miles and points from a hotel stay. Both Hyatt Gold Passport (promotion still ongoing through Jan 31) and Starwood Preferred Guest (ended July 31) had promotional exceptions in 2009 where members earned both airline miles and points, but Hilton HHonors is the only chain offering both miles and points as a standard earning option.

Hilton HHonors ranks at the bottom in nearly all the hotel-points-to-airline-miles conversion tables.  The tables are designed to be an objective look at conversion rates. Hilton HHonors may be a good hotel loyalty program members wanting to earn miles with hotel stays, but has a poor hotel-points-to-airline-miles conversion program for its members.

In real travel a Hilton HHonors member has the ability to earn thousands of airline miles while also earning HHonors points.

1.       The tables do not reflect the added earning potential for a Hilton HHonors member earning 500 miles per hotel stay or 1 mile per $1 in hotel spending.

2.       The hotel point levels used in the tables show Hilton, IHG, and Marriott at 10,000 points while Hyatt is 5,000 points and Starwood 2,000 points as the basis for equivalent quantities of points used for miles conversion comparisons. I could have increased Hilton HHonors by 50% to 15,000 which accounts for Points and Points earning preference with HHonors. Rather than playing with the variables I opted to present Hilton HHonors in a strictly objective conversion table without factoring in the potential for added miles from hotel stays.

3.       For example: Hilton HHonors points-to-miles conversion for 130,000 points with Air France = 13,000 miles. This is less than 50% of the miles for any of the other four hotel loyalty programs.

But consider if the Hilton member spent $13,000 to earn 130,000 points during 40 hotel stays in 2009. This HHonors member with 40 stays and an earning preference of Points & Fixed Miles could have earned 500 Flying Blue miles per stay. The member could have earned 20,000 Flying Blue miles from hotel stays, In addition to 13,000 miles from points.

33,000 miles places Hilton HHonors right back in the pack when it comes to miles earned.

4.       For example: The Hilton HHonors member could have sprung for a four week honeymoon divided between two Hilton resorts and spent $13,000. Earning Points & Fixed miles would only earn 1,000 miles from two Hilton stays. The member with an earning preference of Points & Variable Miles (1 mile per $1) would earn 13,000 miles.

5.       For example: HHonors member could have chosen Points & Points and earned 195,000 points and no miles. (I’m ignoring elite points as these are just more variables to complicate the issue.)

Unfortunately, all this is conjecture and highly variable, dependent on the member’s hotel stay pattern and earning preference.  Therefore, the tables do not necessarily reflect the earning potential of miles with the Hilton HHonors program for a frequent guest of Hilton.

The tables do accurately show the conversion rates for HHonors points-to-miles conversions on a scale aligned with the four other hotel loyalty programs.

Marriott offers a good Marriott Rewards points-to-airline miles transfer option if you have a boatload of points and want to take to the air in conjunction with a 7-night hotel reward stay. The hotel nights and air miles come together in one award, yet the miles portion is deposited into your frequent flyer account for whatever purpose you choose.

The basic Marriott Rewards Hotel + Air package is a 7-night hotel stay reward at the normal redemption rate for participating Category 1-8 hotels. The deal has lesser value for Category 1-4 hotels since the Hotel + Air Reward tables lump Category 1-5 hotels together in the same points level.  

The high value of Marriott Rewards Hotel + Air packages comes with the airline miles included in the reward. Basically miles are available at an even exchange of 1 Marriott Rewards point = 1 airline mile with 14 airlines if you have a sufficiently high level of points to take advantage of the opportunity.

Participating Airlines at 10 Marriott Rewards points = 10 airline miles:

1.     Aeromexico,

2.     Air Canada,

3.     Alaska Airlines,

4.     American Airlines,

5.     British Airways,

6.     Continental Airlines,

7.     Delta Air Lines,

8.     Frontier Airlines,

9.     Hawaiian Airlines,

10.   Mexicana,

11.   United Airlines,

12.   US Airways,

13.   Varig Brasil,

14.   Virgin Atlantic

The Marriott Rewards Hotel + Air Package reward starts at 200,000 points. You need to be a Marriott Rewards high roller with a large number of points to ante in to this game. 200,000 points can exchange into a 7-night, Category 5 hotel reward (150,000 points value) + 50,000 airline miles. Basically the miles are an even exchange for points with the airlines listed above.

Marriott Rewards Hotel + Air Package for most favorable exchange airlines

This exchange for United Mileage Plus and Continental OnePass members is even better than Starwood Preferred Guest. SPG exchanges at a reduced rate of 2 points = 1 mile for these two airline partners (20,000 Starpoints = 12,500 miles after bonus), whereas most airlines exchange at rate of 1:1 or 25,000 miles for 20,000 Starpoints.

Marriott Rewards has additional international airline partners that exchange at a lower rate for these Hotel + Air package rewards.

Marriott Rewards Hotel + Air Package for international airlines and Southwest

Participating Airlines with exchange rate around 10 Marriott Rewards points = 7 airline miles:

1.     Air Berlin,

2.     Air China,

3.     Air France/KLM,

4.     Alitalia,

5.     ANA,

6.     Asiana Airlines,

7.     Cathay Pacific,

8.     China Southern,

9.     Emirates,

10.   Japan Airlines,

11.   Jet Airways,

12.   LAN,

13.   Lufthansa/Miles & More,

14.   Qantas,

15.   Singapore Airlines,

16.   TAP Air Portugal

Singapore Airlines is another SPG airline partner (SPG link to airline partners list) that has a lower exchange rate of 2 Starpoints per KrisFlyer mile. On the other hand, LAN has a 1 Starpoint = 2 LAN kilometers and SPG offers the better exchange rate for LAN airline.

Southwest Airlines exchange rate is 1,500 Marriott Rewards points = 1 Southwest credit. Southwest in not an SPG airline partner.

Starwood Nights and Flights

SPG offers the Nights and Flights award at 60,000 Starpoints for 5 nights at a Category 3 hotel + 50,000 miles.

70,000 Starpoints will get 5 nights at a Category 4 hotel + 50,000 miles. Only airlines with a 1:1 exchange rate are available.

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Nights and Flights Award table

Normally a SPG member can exchange 20,000 points for 25,000 airline miles. The Nights and Flights award is an even better exchange for points-to-miles.

SPG 5-night award for a Category 3 hotel is regularly 28,000 points using 5^th Night Free award.

SPG 5-night award for a Category 4 hotel is regularly 40,000 points using 5^th Night Free award.

Nights and Flights Category 3 award gives 50,000 miles for an additional 32,000 points over the hotel award component. Regularly a member would only receive 37,000 miles for 32,000 Starpoints.

(20,000 Starpoints = 25,000 airline miles) + (12,000 Starpoints = 12,000 airline miles) = 37,000 miles

50,000 airline miles only costs 32,000 points when using a Category 3 Nights and Flights award rather than the usual 40,000 points when exchanging points-to-miles. Nights and Flights for a Category 3 Hotel award gives the member a 20% savings on points-to-miles exchange in addition to the 5^th night free 20% savings on the hotel award.

The savings are even better with a Category 4 Nights and Flights award at 70,000 points. In this case 50,000 miles are only 30,000 points based on the regular 5^th night free 40,000 points for a Category 4 hotel. 50,000 miles for 30,000 Starpoints is a 25% discount on the regular points-to-miles exchange rate where 40,000 Starpoints = 50,000 miles.

The advantage of SPG Nights and Flights is the lower relative cost in points for these awards. In my opinion, it is easier to accumulate 60,000 Starpoints than 200,000 Marriott Rewards points, but earning potential is relative to elite status, hotel stays, promotion participation, and credit card earnings. A Platinum member in Marriott Rewards can probably earn 200,000 Marriott points more quickly than 60,000 Starpoints as an SPG member with no elite status or Starwood American Express card.

Credit card earnings probably favor Starwood American Express at 1 point/$1 compared to Marriott Visa 1 point/$1 for most non-travel purchases and 2 points per $1 for dining, airlines, and rental cars.

The main limitation to the SPG Nights and Flights package is availability only for Category 3 and Category 4 hotels. The exclusion of Category 5 hotels for Nights and Flights awards severely restricts hotel choice in locations like Mexico resorts, San Francisco, New York, London, and Paris. Marriott Rewards has a distinct advantage with the inclusion of all hotel categories, including the highest Marriott Rewards level Category 8 for Hotel + Air rewards.

Note to SPG

Starwood Preferred Guest should seriously consider expanding the Nights and Flights offer for higher category hotels to improve the total package options. I think this would be a relatively simple and meaningful program enhancement for SPG to implement.

Starwood Preferred Guest

New Members Offer for Instant SPG Gold Elite through February 2011 (normally requires 10 hotel stays or 25 nights in a calendar year), plus 1,000 bonus points per night through March 31, 2010.

Details:  http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/11/20/my-midas-touch-gives-new-spg-members-starwood-preferred-guest-gold-elite/ 

The beginning of the calendar year is the time to consider your hotel loyalty plan for the year.  All the major hotel programs are currently offering promotions and Marriott Rewards kicked off the 2009 promotions with the start of the 25,000 points Megabonus yesterday.

Marriott Residence Inn, Pleasanton, California

February is here and so is your opportunity to earn 2,500 Marriott Rewards bonus points with every Marriott brand hotel stay, beginning with your second stay.  Promotion dates are February 1 through April 30 and promotion registration is required.

Marriott Rewards – up to 25,000 points

Promotion dates: February 1 – April 30, 2009

Registration required.

https://www.marriott.com/rewards/promotionRegistrationInstructions.mi?promotion=MGS9&psrc=MRTR

Offer: 2,500 points per stay starting with second stay. 

Some Marriott Rewards members may receive a different offer for earning between 15,000 to 50,000 points, and some members have a bonus based on nights stayed.  My wife has no elite status with Marriott Rewards and she received a 25,000 points offer.

Some Marriott Rewards elites have mentioned on FlyerTalk being able to successfully get their promotion changed by a customer service representative to a promotion based on nights stayed.  This can be more lucrative in earning power for members who have longer multi-night stays and will not particularly benefit from 2,500 bonus points per stay.

25,000 bonus points is equivalent to points normally earned with $2,500 spending for a member without elite status.

Toughest Kid on the Hotel Block

Marriott Rewards has the toughest qualification standards for reaching top tier elite membership of the major US upscale hotel loyalty programs.

*60,000 HHonors base points is equivalent to $6,000 in eligible hotel spending; 100,000 HHonors base points = $10,000.

Marriott Rewards has a high threshold for elite qualification at 75 nights for top tier Platinum in contrast to the 28 stays qualification requirement for HHonors Diamond elite in the comparably sized Hilton Hotels chain. 

The recent change in Marriott Rewards with a 50% elite bonus for Platinum members places Marriott Rewards on an equivalent elite bonus earning level to HHonors Diamond. 

Double Dip allows the HHonors Diamond member a Points & Points option to earn 20 points per $1 with the Diamond elite bonus.  Marriott Rewards Platinum members earn 15 points per $1 with the new 50% elite bonus.

A frequent guest can reach top elite in any of the other four hotel loyalty programs for less than half of the 75 night requirement for Marriott Rewards Platinum, depending on your hotel stay pattern. 

Hyatt Gold Passport and Starwood Preferred Guest both ran Double Stay promotions in 2008 allowing a member to reach top elite status in as few as 13 nights.  IHG Priority Club allows multiple points bonuses to be earned for a single stay and it is possible to earn Priority Club Platinum elite in fewer than 10 nights if hotel stays are planned to maximize bonus point opportunities.

Something to Talk About: Marriott v. Hilton

FlyerTalkers sound off on Hilton and Marriott in this thread from October 2008 (before the Marriott rewards 2009 changes were announced.)

Reasons frequently cited for choosing Marriott Rewards:

1.    Number of hotels globally and throughout USA

2.    Quality of Full Service Hotels: Marriott and Renaissance brands

3.    Competitive prices for Fairfield Inn, Courtyard, and Residence Inns compared to other chain hotels.

4.    MegaBonus promotions occur a couple of times annually for bonus points

5.    5^th Night free award redemption.

6. Marriott Hotel and Air Travel Packages

Reasons cited for favoring Hilton HHonors over Marriott included:

1.    Free breakfast on most full-service hotel stays every day of week for HHonors Gold and Diamond elites either at hotel lounge or restaurant.

Marriott Rewards Gold and Platinum members receive hotel lounge access and breakfast, however, at hotels without a lounge the complimentary breakfast in the hotel restaurant is only offered on weekdays. No complimentary breakfast for weekend stays at full service hotels (JW Marriott, Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard) without a lounge or hotels designated as resorts (and Marriott promotes its program stating it has over 225 Resorts). 

2.    Some frequent guests prefer Hilton’s Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn properties over Marriott’s Fairfield Inn and Courtyard.  On the flip side, some guests find upper upscale properties are more consistent with Marriott/Renaissance than Hilton/Doubletree.

3.    HHonors award stays count towards elite qualification.

4.    Discount on awards for 6 or more consecutive nights.

5.    Earn Points and Miles for hotel stays. Points are earned at faster rate with Points & Points preference (15 points per $1, plus elite bonus with HHonors.  Marriott is 10 points/$1, plus elite bonus.)

Related Loyalty traveler posts:

Analysis of 2009 Marriott Rewards changes – http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2008/10/22/marriott-rewards-analysis-of-2009-program-changes/

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2008/12/17/marriott-rewards-2009-changes-hastens-elite-hopper-redemptions/

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2008/05/15/marriott-rewards-hotel-and-air-vacation-packages/

Here is my Loyalty traveler analysis of Marriott and Hilton hotel categories and my argument for why I think Marriott will see a major hotel category shift for free night redemption.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2008/10/31/my-prediction-is-major-marriott-category-shift-in-2009/

Marriott Rewards has hotel redemption offers exclusively for elite members.  The changes to Marriott Rewards is prompting many elite members with 150,000 points or more to take advantage of high value elite redemptions with regional hotel sampler rewards before the 2009 calendar date change.

Marriott Rewards elite members (Silver, Gold, Platinum) have the option to purchase 7-night multiple hotel stay Sampler rewards called Hawaii Hopper or Europe Hopper for 150,000 points.  These Marriott Rewards hotel redemption certificates are issued as three paper certificates for 2-night, 2-night, and 3-night combination of hotels and are valid for 12-months from issue date for any participating Marriott hotel within the Marriott-defined region of Europe or Hawaii.  There are also Sampler Rewards for Florida and UK/Ireland. 

Marriott Rewards elite members have the opportunity to redeem Europe or Hawaii Hopper awards under the 2008 award rules and benefit from the “No Blackouts” rules changes in effect January 15, 2009.  The Hopper does not require advance reservations and is valid for any Marriott Rewards category of hotel redemption, including the soon to be Category 8 hotels. 

The Marriott Rewards member can order these certificates (Europe Hopper must be ordered by December 31; Hawaii by January 14, 2009) before the 2009 change at the low rate of 21,429 points per night.  2009 per night redemption rates will be 30,000 for a Category 6 hotel; 35,000 points for Category 7; and 40,000 points for Category 8 hotels with a 5^th night free on longer hotel stays.

There are 14 Marriott Hotels listed for the new Category 8 redemption level beginning January 15, 2009.  Nine of these hotels are in Europe (none in Hawaii):

List of Category 8 Hotels: http://www.marriott.com/rewards/lra-faq.mi#question16

Category 8 Hotels in Europe

• Paris Marriott Hotel Champs Elysees
• Renaissance Paris Vendome
• JW Marriott Capri Tiberio Palace Resort & Spa
• Rome Marriott Grand Hotel Flora
• London Marriott Hotel County Hall
• London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square
• London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch
• London Marriott Hotel Park Lane
• Renaissance Chancery Court London

Marriott Rewards Elite:  Europe Hopper 7-Night Reward  

Elite members of Marriott Rewards can redeem 150,000 points for a Europe Hopper 7-night award with three paper certificates issued for 2-, 2-, and 3-night hotel stays at any participating Marriott in Europe.  (Russia and Turkey are not participating hotels for this award.)  The value of this redemption is the savings in Marriott Rewards points for hotels in 2009 by having Europe Hopper certificates once the hotels in London, Paris, and Rome are established in a new redemption Category 8 hotel for 40,000 points per night. 

The Europe Hopper award must be ordered by December 31, 2008 and the award will be valid for 12 months for any European participating hotel, according to posts by Marriott Concierge (Marriott Rewards representative) on FlyerTalk.  Current Category 7 hotels joining the new Category 8 will still be available for new reservations after January 15, 2009, if using the Europe Hopper certificates.  Beginning January 15, when the new Marriott Rewards rules take effect, the cost for a Category 8 hotel night using points will be 40,000 points.  The new 5^th night free option will mean 7 nights at category 8 hotels will cost 240,000 points. 

Redeeming 150,000 points now for 2009 Europe hotel stays can potentially save 90,000 Marriott Rewards points on a trip including Marriott Hotels in London, Paris, or Rome.  Any combination of Category 6, 7, or 8 hotel redemptions using the Europe Hopper certificates will save points compared to the upcoming 2009 redemption changes for standard awards and 5^th night free.

A shout-out to FlyerTalk member GrizShel who put together a detailed FlyerTalk thread to assist Marriott Rewards members with consolidated information from a Marriott Hotels representative and included analysis on the Marriott Rewards changes that will impact members hotel redemptions in 2009.  This thread also contains useful information about redeeming for Marriott Rewards Air and Hotel Packages before January 15, 2009.

Credit Card Fast-Track to Marriott Rewards Status

Marriott low level elite starts at Silver based on 10 nights of Marriott hotel brand stays in a calendar year.  The Marriott Rewards Visa Signature credit card gives Silver Elite membership through an annual 10 nights credit towards Marriott Rewards elite status as long as you maintain card membership in good standing.

JW Marriott, Camelback Inn, Phoenix, Arizona

Marriott Rewards Hotel and Air Vacation Packages favored by Freddies travelers.

I wrote a blog post March 13, 2008, Diners Club, American Express or Hotel Corporate Affinity Credit Card?

I discounted the benefits of the Marriott Rewards Visa card when compared to Diners Club and American Express Membership Rewards travel points.

Marriott won big at the 2008 Freddies for best loyalty program award with their vacation package for 7 free nights at any Marriott hotel + airline miles. I decided this Loyalty Traveler needed to take a closer look at these awards.

The Marriott Rewards hotel and airline miles packages start at 165,000 points for a 7-night stay at a Category 1 to 5 hotel and either 50,000 airline miles for most domestic airlines and a few international airlines or 35,000 airline miles (most international airline partners) and the award cost goes up to 270,000 points for a 7-night stay at a Category 7 hotel and up to 120,000 airline miles with selected partners.

By the Numbers:

A Marriott Category 7 hotel normally will cost 150,000 points for a 7-night reward stay. The single night stay is 40,000 points. The Marriott Rewards chart offers the largest per night discount using hotel points for longer stays at high category hotels, and approaches a 50% per night discount on a 7-night stay at a Category 7 hotel (think NYC, Paris, London, Rome).

The 7-night Category 7 hotel stay + 120,000 airline miles are essentially an exchange of 120,000 Marriott Rewards point for 120,000 airline miles. There are 13 airline partners participating in this travel package exchange that allows a Marriott Rewards members to exchange their hotel points for airline miles. This is the best exchange rate available for airline miles, next to Starwood Preferred Guest, however, Marriott Rewards are earned at a better rate per $1 spending with hotels and credit card purchases than SPG members earn.

Domestic Airlines:
Alaska, American Airlines, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Northwest, United, and US Airways

International Airlines:
Air Canada, British Airways, Mexicana, Varig Brasilia, Virgin Atlantic

There are a variety of other international airlines for the Marriott Rewards package award, however, fewer airline miles are exchanged with these airlines at amounts from 35,000 miles up to 85,000 airline miles.

International airlines for hotel and miles packages up to 85,000 airline miles:

Air China, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Emirates, Jet Airways, LAN, Lufthansa Miles & More (SWISS, LOT Polish, Austrian), Qantas, Singapore Airlines, SN Brussels, and TAP Portugal. (Emirates has some incredible cash and miles deals for highly discounted premium cabin flight awards).

Southwest is also an airline partner offering up to 80 credits with a 7-night award for 235,000 to 270,000 Marriott Rewards points.

The easy part of the Marriott Rewards Vacation Package is figuring out where to go stay with the hotel award. The challenge is transferring points to the right airline partner for a comparably valuable airline award to accompany the hotel stay.

I could go into the best value airline mileage awards, but I won’t delve into that angle that deeply in this post.

I want to look at this package from the point of view of a big spender who can potentially earn 270,000 Marriott Rewards points per year, primarily through credit card activity.

A person who spends lavishly and accumulates Marriott Rewards points can easily attain a First Class award ticket (value $10,000) from US to Europe and get a 7-night award stay ($4,000 value) by earning 270,000 points.

How to earn the big awards:

Marriott Rewards VISA card: Say $10,000/year spent with Marriott (5 points/$1 = 50,000 points); $30,000 spent on dining and airlines (2 points/$1 = 60,000 points); $60,000 spent on other = 60,000 points for 170,000 Marriott Rewards points on $100,000 annual VISA spending.

Hotel stays earn 10 points/$ + 20% bonus for silver status (up to 30% bonus if platinum) on $10,000 annual Marriott brands hotel spending = 120,000 points for Marriott hotels.

This Marriott Rewards member earns 290,000 points a year for $100,000 in travel and other purchases. The Marriott Rewards Vacation Package at 270,000 points can be a $14,000 rebate value on $100,000 annual spending ($10,000 with Marriott).

Sample Travel Package:

Marriott Rewards Vacation Package with Virgin Atlantic 100,000 miles and 7-night stay at Category 7 hotel will cost 250,000 Marriott Rewards points.

Virgin Atlantic roundtrip award ticket using 100,000 miles
San Francisco – London
Upper Class cabin (comparable to First Class with airlines like United and American)
July 1-15, 2008
Paid Ticket fare: $10,026 (fare check 5-15-08).
(Award ticket will likely cost around $400 altogether, after taxes and fuel fees)

7 nights at Renaissance Chancery Court, London (Marriott Rewards Category 7) starts at 305 GBP ($600+USD) per night. A 7-night stay July 1-July 8, 2008 using Marriott Rewards points is a $4,000 value.

Summary: 250,000 Marriott Rewards points can be exchanged for 100,000 Virgin Atlantic miles and a 7-night Marriott Hotel stay in a Category 7 hotel. An Upper Class ticket on Virgin Atlantic from San Francisco to London and 7 nights at the Renaissance Chancery Court, London will have a vacation package value of $14,000.

And with all the airline partners available for Rewards points redemption, the traveler can travel most anywhere in the world and have a Marriott hotel waiting for you at your destination.

Marriott Rewards Vacation Packages are a damn good travel reward for the rich.