Marriott’s Unified Loyalty Program to Debut This Summer

Marriott International will introduce a unified set of benefits across its loyalty programs —Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) — the company announced on Monday.

Beginning in August, points accrued through these three loyalty programs will be combined into a single account. Members will be able to book stays, as well as earn and redeem points, across Marriott’s entire portfolio without having to convert points between accounts.

Elite tiers will also become easier to attain for members of all three programs. Gold elite status will be awarded after 25 nights, down from 50; while Platinum elite status will be earned after 50 nights, instead of 75. Platinum Premier elite status will be designated after 75 nights; and members surpassing 100 nights and $20,000 will join the Ambassador program.

The breakfast offering for Platinum and Platinum Premier members will be expanded to 23 participating brands, including Courtyard, AC Hotels by Marriott, Protea and Moxy, as well as resorts. For certain brands, members will receive free breakfast or an on-property food and beverage credit for breakfast or other dining options.

When Marriott rolls out the single-point currency, SPG members will see their points balance triple. SPG, Marriott Rewards and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards members will all earn ten points for every dollar spent at all brands — on average 20 percent more points for every dollar spent — with the exception of Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites and Element brands,  which will be five points per every dollar spent.

Under the unified benefits, a Free Night Award chart with peak, standard and off-peak pricing will be adopted for all hotels. The chart, which will launch with standard pricing in August, will add off-peak and peak in 2019. In addition, all hotels throughout the loyalty portfolio will have no blackout dates for points redemptions.

The Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) names will continue to live on under the new set of unified benefits, until a new program name is introduced in 2019.