We don’t yet know how Marriott will price individual properties under their new program. However, these are my new Marriott Rewards award chart predictions.
Monday gave us our first glimpse into the structure of the new Marriott Rewards program. And, there is a lot of information to digest, touching almost every aspect of the program. However, what we don’t know yet is how award stays will change. Yes, we’ve been provided a new award chart, but we don’t know how the hotels will be ranked.
In case you’ve forgotten how the award chart is changing, here’s my award chart comparison table.
And, yes, I know Ritz-Carlton Rewards awards are missing. However, that program has five tiers ranging in price from 30,000 to 70,000 points per night.
Predictions
When looking at the different programs, there are man similarities across the three different programs. As a result, this is what I think will happen:
- Category 8 will include properties that currently fall under Ritz-Carlton Rewards Tier 5 and SPG Category 7. However, some more expensive SPG Category 6 properties may appear in Category 8 too
- The new Category 7 will include Ritz-Carlton Tier 4 properties and SPG Category 6 properties on the lower to mid-level of the award pricing structure.
- Marriott Rewards Category 8 and 9 will likely make their first appearance in the new chart under Category 6. Ritz-Carlton Tier 3 properties will also fall under Category 6, as will high-priced SPG Category 5 properties
- New Category 5 will probably include Marriott Rewards Category 7 and 6 properties, Ritz-Carlton Rewards Tier 2 properties, and lower-priced SPG Category 5 and Category 4 properties.
- Category 4 will have Ritz-Carlton Category 1 properties, Marriott Rewards Category 4, and more popular SPG Category 3 properties.
- Like Category 4, Category 3 will be a straight across comparison for Marriott Rewards Category 3. However, less popular SPG category 3 properties will likely appear here too.
- The remaining two categories will are easy, with Marriott Rewards and SPG Category 1 and 2 properties falling under their respective new categories.
New Marriott Rewards Award Chart Predictions, Final Thoughts
Are my predictions what Marriott will really do? Who knows. But it makes sense when you really look at it. We see some awards on the top of the range getting cheaper or remaining the same. This is especially true for SPG members. However, as is the case with the rest of this merger, Marriott members will see an overall devaluation with my proposed changes. But if Marriott does do something similar to my suggestion, and leaves each property more or less where they are today, I think it would be an easier to swallow devaluation. And this scenario is plausible, as Category 8 won’t launch until 2019.
I’m thinking, we may even see all top-end properties shoved into Category 7 for now, with the elite of elite moved into Category 8 next year. But, my guess is as good as anyone else’s so we’ll just have to wait and see, though. Hopefully, we find out sooner than later.
Oh, and, you know how the new Marriott Rewards Premier Plus and Starwood AMEX cards give you a “better certificate? I think that’s false. As you can see in new rewards chart, 35,000 points are what it costs for a Category 5 award night. So, essentially, the new certificate is still a Category 1-5 certificate. However, it could be better if current Marriott Rewards Category 6 and 7 properties do move into the new Category 5.