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| The email I received from Marriott Rewards |
All hotel programs make annual changes to their category classifications, but this one hits hard in a few important ways:
- Marriott's
dull... I meanboring... I mean predictable MegaBonus promotion is famous for offering free Category 1-4 night certificates as one of the options. As a result of this round of category changes, 370 hotels will no longer be eligible as they are moving up to Category 5. - Chase's Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Signature card (now there's a mouthful) offers a free Category 1-5 night certificate every year after paying the annual fee (currently $85). I've already found it somewhat difficult to find an opportunity to make use of these certificates (they expire in 6mos), and as a result of this round of category changes, 191 hotels will no longer be eligible as they are moving up to Category 6 (1 is actually jumping all the from 5 to 7). Unless they expand eligibility to Category 6 hotels, I see a cancellation in my future when the annual fee comes around again.
There's still time to make new reservations before the changes go into effect. I happen to have an upcoming stay at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas - and I'm relieved that I've already booked it, because it's moving up from Category 7 to Category 8!
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| Looking forward to my stay at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas |
For more information be sure to check out the FAQ, as well as the less-than-thrilled reactions on FlyerTalk.
This just reinforces for me why Marriott will never be my #1 hotel program, and it's instances like these that remind us all that EARNING points / miles is only half the equation... you gotta remember to BURN them regularly too!
Any Marriott loyalists out there? How are you feeling about these changes?
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