CONFIRMED: Marriott Will Combine Status History With SPG For Lifetime Status
We still seem to be getting bits and pieces of information about the new Marriott Rewards program. Since the announcement just a couple of weeks ago, we’ve already had one clarification. We found out that Marriott intends to award lifetime Platinum Premier to Starwood Preferred Guest members with 10 years of Platinum status and at least 750 nights. I was glad to hear they’d made that decision. It’s goodwill during the merger and it shouldn’t cost them a lot of dough.
As soon as I posted about that change, I got a handful of folks commenting, tweeting, texting and e-mailing me asking about another unique situation. Folks wanted to know if they were lifetime Platinum with SPG and had 750 nights combined between SPG and Marriott, would they qualify for lifetime Platinum Premier. The reason folks want to know is because this is a one-shot deal. After the end of 2018, Marriott has announced they won’t be offering lifetime Platinum Premier status. I’m not entirely sure I understand the rationale there. But, that’s a discussion for another day.
My initial reaction was that Marriott likely wouldn’t go to the trouble to try and compute members’ combined progress. I was wrong. In fact, a Marriott insider confirmed an even more generous lifetime status calculation. If you have:
- 10 combined years of Platinum status between SPG and Marriott by the end of 2018
And
- 750 combined nights between SPG and Marriott by the end of 2018.
My understanding is that Marriott will grant you lifetime Platinum Premier status. This is a one-shot deal, only for 2018.
The Final Two Pennies
I’m happy to see Marriott moving to a calculation that’s most rewarding to the most members. It’s more than I would have expected in this situation. Most of all, it’s fair. If you’ve been loyal to both chains over the years, it makes sense to combine that loyalty to calculate your value in the new program.
Platinum Premier status doesn’t give you a ton more benefits than Platinum:
- 25% more bonus points
- 5 more suite night awards per year
- 48-hour guaranteed rooms
But, it beats a sharp stick in the eye. And, assuming “lifetime” actually means lifetime, then you never know when these extra benefits might come in handy. Chalk this one up as a win for long-time customers of both Marriott and SPG.
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Do you think the required 10 year Platinum requirement has to be 10 unique years or can their be overlap – ie. platinum in both SPG and Marriott in the same year – and that counts towards 2 years of platinum?
I believe it will be fine if they overlap but didn’t ask that question. I’ll try to get further clarification.
I think you have some facts wrong. At the end of the year Platinum Premier Elite will not be offered. Platinum Premier will continue to be offered going forward.
Leesburg, that is my understanding as well and what I believe I indicated in the post. This is a one-time offer this year. Did I misrepresent that somewhere?
Ed,
I have 507 SPG nights life to date. This is my tenth year as SPG Platinum (end of this year).
Do you think that I will get lifetime Platinum Status?
Hal
I am almost exactly the same situation (with more nights but well short of 750). I emailed my SPG Ambassador and they said I would get Lifetime. But I am getting worried and will make sure I keep a hardcopy of that email in case I need to fight.
Just called SPG to verify this, they said no. there’s no such thing as lifetime platinum PREMIER elite, just regular lifetime platinum. I explained that yeah, but I thought this was a one-time accomodation — I have 800+ nights combined and 455 nights SPG alone (and 11 years SPG platinum earned).
They assured me that no, there’s no such thing as lifetime platinum PREMIER elite and there was no grandfather clause. I hope they are incorrect and that y our article is the correct position… so I’m going to try and get something in writing from them, I will let you know what I come up with. Thank you for your post, I’m pretty hoping that what you’re saying is indeed correct.
Jim, I can assure you that there is Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite. I don’t have something in writing from Marriott/SPG but I’m working on it. Marriott elites can DEFINITELY qualify for Plat Premier Elite. And, we believe SPG folks can as well.