@red259 wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:
@Anonymousexactly. I think my moaning about these rumors is spread out through at least 3 threads at this point, but a devaluation of Marriott Gold and revenue based redemptions has me really concerned. I mean the entire way I pay for everything is based on this gravy train of Marriott Gold and 3:1 transfers. And free breakfast alone has more than made up for my Platinum + AU fees the past couple of years.
Family getaways and vacations have to revolve around school schedules. We can’t just take a vacation in the middle of October. It’s February vacation week, Passover/Spring Break, Summer or the holidays. Period. Those are the times when I have been getting insane 7-8 cents per point hotel rooms. If this gets tied to a 0.7 to 1.0 cent revenue base, this completely changes everything and while I can still get great value for airfare from rewards there isn’t much of an option for hotels other than going the “whoever gives me the best value” route through a traveler portal like Amex or hotels.com. And with the abysmal earning rate that the Chase Marriott cards have, there’s not even much room to rack up points - really the only reason I don’t have the R-C card.yea if the points are based strictly on revenue I don't see the point anymore. I had a good run with marriott over the last 4 or 5 years, but maybe its time to move on.
But to where? That’s the thing that is worrying me. Almost certainly not Hilton. Hyatt is with Chase and I don’t see me getting anything great with them. IHG same scenario, plus not a lot of good options where I travel. Best Western is a joke in the US/Canada (but great in Europe). Wyndham has a good program but my profile and that of DW’s don’t jive with Barclaycard.
@K-in-Boston wrote:
@red259 wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:
@Anonymousexactly. I think my moaning about these rumors is spread out through at least 3 threads at this point, but a devaluation of Marriott Gold and revenue based redemptions has me really concerned. I mean the entire way I pay for everything is based on this gravy train of Marriott Gold and 3:1 transfers. And free breakfast alone has more than made up for my Platinum + AU fees the past couple of years.
Family getaways and vacations have to revolve around school schedules. We can’t just take a vacation in the middle of October. It’s February vacation week, Passover/Spring Break, Summer or the holidays. Period. Those are the times when I have been getting insane 7-8 cents per point hotel rooms. If this gets tied to a 0.7 to 1.0 cent revenue base, this completely changes everything and while I can still get great value for airfare from rewards there isn’t much of an option for hotels other than going the “whoever gives me the best value” route through a traveler portal like Amex or hotels.com. And with the abysmal earning rate that the Chase Marriott cards have, there’s not even much room to rack up points - really the only reason I don’t have the R-C card.yea if the points are based strictly on revenue I don't see the point anymore. I had a good run with marriott over the last 4 or 5 years, but maybe its time to move on.
But to where? That’s the thing that is worrying me. Almost certainly not Hilton. Hyatt is with Chase and I don’t see me getting anything great with them. IHG same scenario, plus not a lot of good options where I travel. Best Western is a joke in the US/Canada (but great in Europe). Wyndham has a good program but my profile and that of DW’s don’t jive with Barclaycard.
Depends on your needs. Most of my status going forward is going to be credit card based. I will go to the properties that give me a chance at upgrades and/or lounge access. If there is no chance of those things I am going to go with the best value I can find. I tend to have a lot of hyatt stays because I use the vast majority of my Chase URs to redeem hyatt stays, because I usually have airfare covered by other point programs. If I was paying like 50-60 stays a year then it becomes a real question. The point value with hilton isn't very good. Marriott may be gutting their program for people at that level. If I had that number of stays I probably would opt for hyatt if it was feasible, but it would work a lot better if you had access to chase cards.
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I'm curious to know the breakdown of the people in the overcrowded lounges (I've actually rarely encountered this the past 2 years or so). While certainly there are people like me who would normally only stay enough to qualify for Silver (or Gold on a status challenge) getting the same benefits as the constant traveler (in fairness, I not only have gold through Amex Plat but also through SPG spend and could easily get it with a status challenge from # of nights without them albeit only for a year or so), keep in mind that almost every Marriott booking I've done at a location with a lounge has had options (a few times they have actually been cheaper than the regular room rates) for Concierge Level or "includes free breakfast buffet" that show to the general public. I've seen a lot of people entering the lounges without the grey "Welcome Elite Member" room keys, so the overcrowding seems to be at least partially to blame for including elite perks with the room rate.
@adelphi_sky wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:I'm curious to know the breakdown of the people in the overcrowded lounges (I've actually rarely encountered this the past 2 years or so). While certainly there are people like me who would normally only stay enough to qualify for Silver (or Gold on a status challenge) getting the same benefits as the constant traveler (in fairness, I not only have gold through Amex Plat but also through SPG spend and could easily get it with a status challenge from # of nights without them albeit only for a year or so), keep in mind that almost every Marriott booking I've done at a location with a lounge has had options (a few times they have actually been cheaper than the regular room rates) for Concierge Level or "includes free breakfast buffet" that show to the general public. I've seen a lot of people entering the lounges without the grey "Welcome Elite Member" room keys, so the overcrowding seems to be at least partially to blame for including elite perks with the room rate.
Yes. Some hotels offer Club-Level packages to non-members. That's how a lounge can get crowded. And sometimes the package is only $25 more per night. So, I can see how some people can go for the club-level and not really be Elite members.
As for myself, I have the Marriott card for the annual free night. But any devaluation of Gold status will push the value of holding the card even further. I'm hoping Marriott makes a new deal with Amex that will give Amex Platinum cardholders Platinum-level status. I mean, after all, the AF for the Amex Platinum went up $100. With all these changes, the consumer keeps getting the losing end - save for the awesome 100k points from Chase Sapphire Reserve almost two years ago.
I love IHG. THey added Kimpton Hotels to their portfolio. So, if you don't have a standard IHG hotel in the area, check for Kimptons. They are NICE hotels with impeccable customer service. Call them the poor man's Ritz Carlton. A few are hit-or-miss, but they have good consistency across the brand. As an IHG cardholder, you get Platinum level status. That adds up to some nice perks for Kimpton.
Not really holding my breath for this, but Amex did offer that with the plat I would keep the card.
Don’t open. Dead inside.