topic Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card... in Credit Cards

Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

Anonymous — Wed, 16 May 2018 02:02:44 GMT

So my immediate reaction when I saw that the new SPG Luxury card from Amex would give new Platinum status after $75,000 was to think that such a high level of spend was ridiculous (after all, until now, the RC card from Chase gave you similar benefits to new Platinum for only $10,000 in spend). However, I realized that the old Marriott card used to give you 1 elite night for $3,000 in spend. So I calculated $75,000 divided by 34 (since you already get 15 + 1 nights with the card), and that equals the equivalent of 1 elite night for roughly $2206 in spend. The difference of course is that with the old Marriott card you'd get an actual elite night towards lifetime status each time you spent $3,000. However, now that Marriott has added a requirement for lifetime platinum that you need to have had platinum for 10 years, I suppose this addresses the lifetime requirements in another way...

All this is to say, I guess the $75,000 spending requirement makes more sense than I originally thought. Of course, whether you really want to/can put $75,000 on the card is another question entirely...

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

K-in-Boston — Wed, 16 May 2018 02:14:12 GMT

I’m teetering on the edge of being able to just do a mattress run at the end of the year for the remaining nights to hit Platinum, but it would be nice to be able to do it with the card especially if that means I could get Platinum sooner this year. I would MUCH rather have the Elite night credits.

My big question is whether YTD spending on the SPG will carry over to an upgraded SPG Luxury card. That is one question that I have not seen answered. I am on track to hit that and not lose too much during my downgraded “Gold Elite” period. Of course there isn’t a huge chunk of the population that this matters for, but I know there are a handful of us on this board who may be willing to do it this way. After watching the interview TPG did again, it does make sense why some of the SPG changes were made especially when you take into account that almost all cardholders spend less than $35k on the card. Unfortunately there are again a handful of us here and many more on FT and the like that put a LOT of spend on the SPG as our daily driver.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

Anonymous — Wed, 16 May 2018 02:23:00 GMT

Yeah I hear you. I keep going back and forth in my head on what I think Amex/Marriott will do about the spending requirement on the Luxury card. On the one hand, it seems terribly unfair to only give people 4 months to accomplish something that normally you allow a year for, but, on the other hand, Marriott is already going to be flush with platinum members for a short time. All the SPG people who stay at SPG properties only 25 stays can get Platinum through 2019, and, from what I understand from Frequent Miler and FlyerTalk, if you get the RC now, you can lock in platinum for the rest of this year. So perhaps Marriott isn't too eager to have yet one more way to get platinum status while all of that is going on...

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

K-in-Boston — Wed, 16 May 2018 02:38:33 GMT

Those who stay at SPG properties 25 nights will NOT get Platinum. They will get Gold Elite. Marriott has made it quite clear that SPG members will only get matched to what they have earned in NIGHTS stayed with the new Elite chart. That’s why I’m frustrated that I’ll only have 40-something nights.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

redpat — Wed, 16 May 2018 06:27:46 GMT

Pissst, Hilton Aspire.......

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

Anonymous — Wed, 16 May 2018 10:23:58 GMT

It’s my understanding that if you have 25 stays (not nights necessarily, but it could be if you only stay 1 night each place) by August 1, you will qualify for SPG platinum, which maps to Marriott Platinum. And then, from there, I believe Marriott has also said that you can qualify for platinum next year under any of the old programs, including the SPG 25 stays method.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

Anonymous — Wed, 16 May 2018 11:32:46 GMT

@redpat wrote:
Pissst, Hilton Aspire.......

Haha, this is a valid point. It's just all of the properties that I most want to stay in are in the Marriott/SPG/RC family. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And I find the $300 rebate from the Luxury card to be easier to use than the rebates with the Aspire (assuming Amex doesn't tell us before August 1 that the $300 can't be used on room rates...). While Hilton resorts are nice, I'm not sure that I want to plan all of my future vacations around resorts just to ensure I get the $250 rebate.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

Anonymous — Wed, 16 May 2018 20:02:35 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
It’s my understanding that if you have 25 stays (not nights necessarily, but it could be if you only stay 1 night each place) by August 1, you will qualify for SPG platinum, which maps to Marriott Platinum. And then, from there, I believe Marriott has also said that you can qualify for platinum next year under any of the old programs, including the SPG 25 stays method.

Yeah I believe August 1st is the cut off time. But I'm guessing that will just get you Platinum for the remainder of the year? I'm Platinum now since I hit 50 nights last year, but I only have 15 nights right now (thank you SPG cards lol). Now that I'll be able to use both Marriott and SPG for stays, I should hit 50 easier.

I haven't made up my mind on whether to keep the SPG/Biz SPG or upgrade to the the Luxury Card. Besides the better 'annual free room', I can't piece together any real additional benefits that would be helpful.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

K-in-Boston — Wed, 16 May 2018 20:22:53 GMT

Yes, the 50 nights currently needed for SPG Platinum is the same as the new Platinum Elite. The 25 STAYS for SPG Platinum (if completed by July 31st) will convert to the new Platinum Elite. But if SPG Platinum has not been achieved before August 1st, it’s the 50 nights requirement. Status earned between now and December 31st would be good until February 2020. Unfortunately, for those who only have one SPG card, we only get 5 Elite night credits for 2018 and not the 15 credits for having any Marriott/SPG card.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

iced — Wed, 16 May 2018 20:52:06 GMT

Has there been any word from Marriott about how nights accumulated this year are going to combine after August 1? Will my nights to attain status next year be based on combined SPG/Marriott nights, including those from Jan to Aug, or will my pre-August SPG nights go poof?

How about lifetime nights? Will the SPG nights I have get added to my current lifetime totals with Marriott?

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

Saleen099 — Wed, 16 May 2018 21:15:57 GMT

NOTE: Members that reach 750 nights and 10 years at Platinum by December 31, 2018 will be grandfathered into Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite status (notified January 2019). In addition, members that achieve Marriott Rewards Lifetime Platinum under the legacy requirements by year end will also be grandfathered into Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite status. And, don’t forget that we’ll combine Lifetime activity across both Rewards and SPG toward qualification when members combine accounts in August. Beginning in 2019, qualification into Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite status will not be available. See FAQs for details.

🤔🤔🤔🤔

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

iced — Wed, 16 May 2018 21:26:57 GMT

@Saleen099 wrote:
NOTE: Members that reach 750 nights and 10 years at Platinum by December 31, 2018 will be grandfathered into Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite status (notified January 2019). In addition, members that achieve Marriott Rewards Lifetime Platinum under the legacy requirements by year end will also be grandfathered into Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite status. And, don’t forget that we’ll combine Lifetime activity across both Rewards and SPG toward qualification when members combine accounts in August. Beginning in 2019, qualification into Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite status will not be available. See FAQs for details.

🤔🤔🤔🤔

Unfortunately, none of those nifty screenshots clear up how nights will be combined for nights between January and August, nor how pre-August SPG nights will count toward lifetime status.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

Saleen099 — Wed, 16 May 2018 21:37:45 GMT

Unfortunately, none of those nifty screenshots clear up how nights will be combined for nights between January and August, nor how pre-August SPG nights will count toward lifetime status.

To be quite honest with you they have no idea themselves they are not giving any information out other than what’s already been printed or posted on the website they made up.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

K-in-Boston — Wed, 16 May 2018 21:41:56 GMT

It’s in there for lifetime and both situations have been addressed.

All nights stayed at SPG, Marriott and Ritz-Carlton will be pooled together for lifetime nights in August. All YTD nights at the three will be combined in August. So for instance if you have 25 nights at Starwood, 20 at Marriott and 5 at Ritz-Carlton by August 1st and are Gold now, you would have Platinum Elite from August until Feb 2020 due to satisfying the 50 night requirement. Otherwise, if you had less, you would remain Gold but be promoted to Platinum if you stayed the additional nights prior to December 31st at any location(s).

An issue for Marriott lifetime hopefuls is that all of those points that used to combine with nights to qualify are going away. It’ll now be based on nights and # of years at particular elite levels.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

Anonymous — Wed, 16 May 2018 23:56:18 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
Yes, the 50 nights currently needed for SPG Platinum is the same as the new Platinum Elite. The 25 STAYS for SPG Platinum (if completed by July 31st) will convert to the new Platinum Elite. But if SPG Platinum has not been achieved before August 1st, it’s the 50 nights requirement. Status earned between now and December 31st would be good until February 2020. Unfortunately, for those who only have one SPG card, we only get 5 Elite night credits for 2018 and not the 15 credits for having any Marriott/SPG card.

According to the Marriott FAQ:

HOW WILL MY STAYS WITH REWARDS AND SPG BE COUNTED TOWARD MY ELITE STATUS STARTING IN AUGUST?

In August, we’ll notify you when you can combine your accounts. We’ll combine your Rewards and SPG Elite Night Credits from this year and count them toward a singular Elite status recognized equally across all hotels. Elite tiers will be achieved through qualifying nights. However, throughout 2018 we will continue to honor Elite achievement via stays at SPG hotels that occur in 2018. Learn more about Elite status qualification and benefits at our Member Benefits page.

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I take this to mean that the ability to qualify for 2019 Platinum Elite via 25 SPG-only stays remains throughout 2018. I don't think they're saying that if you qualify for platinum through SPG on December 30, 2018, through 25 stays you lose it in 2019.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

K-in-Boston — Wed, 16 May 2018 23:52:45 GMT

Wow. That’s in print so anyone completing that should be able to hold them to it. Qualifying for this year would be good for 2019 as well. Unfortunately there’s no way I can do 25 SPG stays between now and the end of the year. Crazy how all of this info is out in dribs and drabs and even interviews with their own VPs contradict other releases.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

Saleen099 — Thu, 17 May 2018 00:59:38 GMT

More answers for the Marriott SPG transition

https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/2018/05/13/more-answers-for-the-marriott-spg-transition/

In the recent post “Marriott SPG transition: More answers & more questions I presented answers from Marriott about a few key questions, and I listed many more questions that I had submitted to them. Some of the answers are presented below. If you have other questions about the Marriott / SPG / Ritz merger, please see our guide: Marriott SPG Ritz Transition Guide. If the answer isn’t there, please ask your question in the comments of that post. Thanks!

And now for the new answers…

I understand that elite nights granted by holding a credit card will add together in 2018 but not in 2019. Does that hold true after August? e.g. if someone gets 5 nights from their SPG card, and then in October is awarded 15 nights from their Marriott card, will they then have 20 nights this year?

Correct. You will have a total of 20 nights credited for this year if you combine your accounts.

The Marriott Rewards Premier Business card application no longer mentions giving 15 elite nights credit, but it does say that it offers Silver status. Can you confirm that the card still offers 15 elite night credits each year?

The card still offers 15 Elite Night Credits.

Ritz-Carlton card: What happens if someone completes $75K spend in July for Rewards Platinum status, but it takes up to 8 weeks to get that status, so it’s not actually conveyed until sometime in August or September. Will they have Platinum or Platinum Premier status?

If you meet the spend requirements of the card program in advance of the change in August, your new status will be Platinum Premier Elite

I understand that the SPG cards earn base 1X Starpoints / 3X points until August. Then they will earn 2X points. A number of readers have asked what happens if their statement end date is mid-August? What happens with their spend that is dated July 31? What happens with their spend that is dated August 1? My assumption is that their statement date doesn’t matter, but I’d like confirmation.

All eligible transactions made through July 31 will earn points on the SPG Amex Card’s current earn structure (2X on Marriott/Starwood, 1X on all other eligible purchases). Eligible transactions made on or after August 1 will earn points on the SPG Amex Card’s updated earn structure (6X on Marriott/Starwood, 2X on all other eligible purchases). Additionally, on August 1, all previously earned points in a Card Members’ SPG account will be multiplied by three in line with the broader updates to the Marriott International loyalty program changes.

Are choice benefits awarded once per year based on your status level, or awarded at the time you reach 50 or 75 nights? This question is particularly important to lifetime Platinum elites: will they get Choice Benefits each year even if they don’t earn 50 nights?

Choice Benefits are awarded annually once a member stays 50 nights and again at 75 nights, and this includes Lifetime members.

I found the last answer a bit vague, so I asked for confirmation of my understanding:

When a member completes 50 nights during a calendar year, they will be awarded a choice benefit at that time. (CORRECT)
When a member completes 75 nights during a calendar year, they will be awarded a second choice benefit at that time. (CORRECT)
Lifetime Platinum and Platinum Premier members won’t automatically get choice benefits at all. They must complete 50 / 75 nights to get them. (CORRECT)

And I asked this follow-up question:

What happens to SPG elites who earn choice benefits this year? In other words, could someone get to 50 SPG nights before August to get 10 SNAs, then in August they’ll get 5 more under the combined program, then 5 more again at 75 nights?

If an SPG member has 50 nights before July 27, 2018 and chooses Suite Night Awards as one of their Choice benefits, they will receive 10 Suite Night Awards. The member will have the option to choose an additional choice benefit when they achieve 75 nights, and at that time, if they choose Suite Night Awards – they will receive an additional 5 Suite Night Awards.

Questions Not Yet Answered

I’ve submitted quite a few questions to Marriott reps. Here are the questions that I’ve asked, but that haven’t yet been answered. Note that in some cases we think we know the answer, but we don’t yet have official confirmation…

Marriott Vacation Club questions:
- Marriott Vacation Club owners currently get elite status based (I think) on how many club points they have. What will be the mapping of vacation club destination points to elite status in the new program?
- Will 5 night travel packages still be available to vacation club owners?
Points to miles:
- I see that the minimum transfer amount will be 3,000 rewards points to 1,000 airline miles. SPG Platinum elites have been able to transfer as few as 1 point to 1 airline mile. Will there be anything similar in the new program?
RewardsPlus:
- How will United Premier status levels map to Marriott status in the new program?
- How will new program Marriott status map to United Premier status in the new program? [Note: We know that Platinum Premier members will get United Silver, but what about Premier 100 elites? Will they get United Gold?]
Credit card spend cut-off dates
- Ritz-Carlton card: What happens if someone begins their $75K spend before August, but completes it after August 1? Will they get Platinum or Platinum Premier status?

Readers have posted a number of additional questions which I plan to pass along to Marriott, but I haven’t yet had a chance to compile them.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

iced — Thu, 17 May 2018 10:30:48 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
It’s in there for lifetime and both situations have been addressed.

All nights stayed at SPG, Marriott and Ritz-Carlton will be pooled together for lifetime nights in August. All YTD nights at the three will be combined in August. So for instance if you have 25 nights at Starwood, 20 at Marriott and 5 at Ritz-Carlton by August 1st and are Gold now, you would have Platinum Elite from August until Feb 2020 due to satisfying the 50 night requirement. Otherwise, if you had less, you would remain Gold but be promoted to Platinum if you stayed the additional nights prior to December 31st at any location(s).

An issue for Marriott lifetime hopefuls is that all of those points that used to combine with nights to qualify are going away. It’ll now be based on nights and # of years at particular elite levels.

This was a good change as it brought lifetime earning back to favoring those who stay at the hotel rather than the CC crowd. The old way to lifetime with the points requirement was more difficult to achieve without having a CC to supplement points. To reach lifetime platinum at 750 nights, one would need to earn 2,666 points per night, which would mean someone who was Platinum the entire time (unlikely for the first 10% of that journey at least) would need to stay only at properties with a room rate above $200/night AND always take the point option instead of gifts. MegaBonus would help with that somewhat, but you can see that made it an uphill journey and I knew people who had the nights but not the points. A CC sign-up bonus alone would have cut a significant chunk out of that, never mind the acceleration through spend and night credits.

The new way now means those legions of Marriott elites who log a bulk of their time on business trips at the mid-tier places (Fairfield, Courtyard, etc) will have lifetime at the night levels without being pushed into getting a CC to close the point gap, even with the Platinum/75 tier gone.

Re: Just had a thought about the SPG Luxury Card...

Kree — Thu, 17 May 2018 13:31:27 GMT

@Saleen099 wrote:

Are choice benefits awarded once per year based on your status level, or awarded at the time you reach 50 or 75 nights? This question is particularly important to lifetime Platinum elites: will they get Choice Benefits each year even if they don’t earn 50 nights?
Choice Benefits are awarded annually once a member stays 50 nights and again at 75 nights, and this includes Lifetime members.
I found the last answer a bit vague, so I asked for confirmation of my understanding:
When a member completes 50 nights during a calendar year, they will be awarded a choice benefit at that time. (CORRECT)
When a member completes 75 nights during a calendar year, they will be awarded a second choice benefit at that time. (CORRECT)
Lifetime Platinum and Platinum Premier members won’t automatically get choice benefits at all. They must complete 50 / 75 nights to get them. (CORRECT)
And I asked this follow-up question:
What happens to SPG elites who earn choice benefits this year? In other words, could someone get to 50 SPG nights before August to get 10 SNAs, then in August they’ll get 5 more under the combined program, then 5 more again at 75 nights?
If an SPG member has 50 nights before July 27, 2018 and chooses Suite Night Awards as one of their Choice benefits, they will receive 10 Suite Night Awards. The member will have the option to choose an additional choice benefit when they achieve 75 nights, and at that time, if they choose Suite Night Awards – they will receive an additional 5 Suite Night Awards.

Does anyone know if I hit 50 nights with Marriott before Aug 1 will I lose out on the 50 night choice, or will I get it when the program rolls over?