The Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards programs will combine under a new brand from next month. On 13 February 2019, the three programs will merge to become the “Marriott Bonvoy” loyalty program. This will be the final step in the ongoing merger of Starwood and Marriott.
The Starwood Preferred Guest, Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Marriott Rewards programs already merged in August last year. The loyalty programs have since still been operating as independent brands, although program benefits have already been standardised.
The loyalty program covers all of the brands in the Marriott, Starwood and Ritz-Carlton portfolios. These include Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, St Regis and Renaissance Hotels.
From a practical standpoint, not much is actually changing next month. There will be a new loyalty program name and logo, and some of the status tier names will change. The only other noteworthy change is the discontinuation of the Starwood and Ritz-Carlton smartphone apps and websites from 13 February. If you have the Marriott Rewards app, this will automatically convert to the new Marriott Bonvoy app. But if you’re currently using the Starwood or Ritz-Carlton apps, you’ll need to download the new Marriott Bonvoy application.
The new program name and logo was initially leaked back in November last year. At the time, it was ridiculed by AFF members…
Oh no, we cannot have a logical name… we need to call everything a posh new name to give the impression we have a spanking new product, even though it is same old, same old
Revolting name
Well Marriott Bonvoy-age probably sums up quite a few people’s thoughts on the merged product.
Hopefully the new loyalty program will be better than the name they chose for it!
New Marriott Bonvoy status tiers
Marriott has confirmed that its existing Platinum Premier Elite status tier will be renamed to Titanium Elite from 13 February. The Platinum Premier Elite with Ambassador tier will also have a name change, to Ambassador Elite.
This is how the status levels will look in the new, combined loyalty program:
- Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite – earned after staying 10 nights/year
- Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite – earned after staying 25 nights/year
- Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite – earned after staying 50 nights/year
- Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite – earned after staying 75 nights/year
- Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite – earned after staying 100 nights and spending at least USD20,000 per year
Marriott continues to offer lifetime Silver Elite, Gold Elite and Platinum Elite status.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Marriott Bonvoy
