Marriott and Starwood Link Loyalty Programs

With the recent merger of Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, loyalty program members can take advantage of significantly expanded benefits.

Members of Marriott Rewards—which included The Ritz-Carlton Rewards—and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), are invited to link their accounts at members.marriott.com to enjoy the benefits of each program.

Members will have their status matched across programs and be able to transfer and redeem points across programs for travel to destinations. Members who link their accounts will be able to transfer points at a three-to-one ratio (three Marriott Rewards points equals one SPG Starpoint) between the programs for redemption stays or on the Marriott Rewards Experiences Marketplace or SPG’s Moments platform.

“Marriott’s and Starwood’s guests have shown tremendous loyalty to our brands and now that we are one company, we are seizing the opportunity to reinforce our loyalty to them,” said Stephanie Linnartz, executive VP and global chief commercial officer. “Beginning now, we’re drawing upon the best of our loyalty programs by enabling members to join or link their accounts and immediately receive reciprocal status and benefits.”

Members of the loyalty programs will immediately be able to take advantage of the following benefits:

Status Match: Receive immediate status match across programs to take advantage of robust member benefits.

Points Transfer & Redemption: Transfer points between programs to access new and exciting redemption opportunities. Redeem points to visit new destinations, indulge interests with exclusive experiences, and purchase merchandise through the loyalty shopping mall.

Moments/Experiences: Gain exclusive access to money-can’t-buy events and experiences powered by our combined portfolio of exciting global partnerships in music, sports (including professional football, baseball, basketball and tennis) and entertainment.

Access to More Destinations: Now Marriott Rewards and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards members can use points to travel to new destinations such as the Maldives; Santorini, Greece; and Bora Bora, while SPG members have access to popular locales such as Aruba; Tuscany’s Serchio Valley; and Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Member Rates: Members of the loyalty programs who link their accounts will be able to take advantage of exclusive Member Rates—the lowest guaranteed rates—when they book direct on the Marriott mobile app or SPG app, on Marriott.com or SPG.com, through a call center or with a hotel.

Mobile:  When members book their stays directly with Marriott, they can use the Marriott mobile app to check in and check out, receive an alert when their room is ready, as well as make service requests directly to participating hotels using Mobile Requests before, during and after their stays. Similarly, SPG’s mobile app allows guests to use SPG Keyless to check in, get their room number and unlock the room door using their smartphone or Apple Watch at participating hotels.

Free Wi-Fi: When loyalty members book direct through the Marriott mobile or SPG apps, on Marriott.com or on SPG.com, they will always receive free in-room Wi-Fi.

Reported by:  Meetingstoday.com