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The future of Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest is revealed tonight

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At 4.30pm EST (9.30pm in the UK) on Monday, Marriott will be hosting an event to reveal the replacement loyalty scheme for Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest.

It seems that the new scheme will be introduced from August, presumably with some sort of transition period.  Everything needs to be in place for 1st January so that members know what they need to do to earn or retain their status.

There are plenty of rumours swirling around, almost all of which are unsubstantiated so I won’t bother you with them.

We WILL get clarity on the new elite tiers and what will be required to achieve them

We SHOULD get clarity on whether key aspects of the old programmes, such as Marriott Travel Packages, will be retained

We are UNLIKELY to get any clarity on whether, in the UK, American Express will remain a partner – the future of the Starwood American Express credit card, the free Starwood Gold card for Amex Platinum members and the fate of Membership Rewards points transfers to SPG and therefore Marriott Rewards will remain unknown at this stage

More on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how much clarity is available before I go to bed tonight.

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points sign-up bonus and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Category

Marriott Bonvoy

Comments (138)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Clive says:
    16 Apr16 April 08:37

    Seeing as this is bits:

    Had a recent flight to HKG but my bags went to LAS. We were reunited 4 days later. Apart from a refund for necessities any ideas if compensation should be due to the inconvenience ?

    • Nick says:
      16 Apr16 April 12:45

      No. Baggage is covered by the Montreal convention, which stipulates that you shouldn’t be out of pocket (so essential items purchased will be reimbursed). There is NO provision for compensation for inconvenience. Just be grateful that BA is buying you a new wardrobe!

  • rams1981 says:
    16 Apr16 April 08:38

    OT some Amex statement credits have appeared on my now cancelled cards. Worth checking in case you didn’t get ones you thought you had triggered during shop small.

    Luckily I don’t delete cards from my account so can see the credits post.

  • Neil Donoghue says:
    16 Apr16 April 08:45

    OT: I have a 2-4-1 that is due to expire in 3 months! I was looking to use the voucher for a one way flight from London – Moscow. If I use the voucher, will I still be permitted to book another one way trip departing from London before it expires? Essentially creating two one way flights as opposed to a return booking. Cheers

    • Anna says:
      16 Apr16 April 08:52

      No, it’s one way or return only, however could you not use it as a return to Moscow?

      • Neil Donoghue says:
        16 Apr16 April 09:21

        Thanks Anna! I thought that was the case so I will use my Lloyds Avios voucher instead! Sadly we are flying on to Japan and can’t find any BA mental to use the vouchers.

        • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:
          16 Apr16 April 10:47

          I’d look at flying BA to PEK or ICN if you’re trying to use a 241 to get to Japan.

    • S says:
      16 Apr16 April 09:12

      No

    • John says:
      16 Apr16 April 14:25

      You can use 241 for open jaw flights, so you could have London to Moscow as the outbound, and use the return to fly from another airport near to Moscow back to London.

  • Brian says:
    16 Apr16 April 08:56

    Will be interesting to see what comes of the Marriott announcement. I’m not expecting anything of the Amex / SPG benefits to remain. The status match with Marriott has been a massive bonus that I’ve been more than happy to use and benefit from. Will probably go back to primarily using Hilton or IHG.

    • Rob says:
      16 Apr16 April 08:59

      I feel the same to be honest.

      • Henry says:
        16 Apr16 April 09:58

        Will be a shame to lose Marriott gold. I’ve only benefited once but a week of lounge access in new york probably saved half the value of the platinum card.

    • Cate ⛱️ says:
      16 Apr16 April 12:09

      I’m not expecting any of the Amex benefits to survive given Marriott’s preferred credit card provider is Visa.
      If it happens at all the loss of lounge access at gold will sting. But I think Marriott would have to be careful with that as their properties aren’t generally upscale enough to draw in new people who’d pay for rooms with lounge access.

    • Mark Smith says:
      16 Apr16 April 13:58

      My wife renewed her SPG Gold from Amex Plat over the weekend and made sure she was matched to Marriott before this evening in case of any surprises!

  • Chris says:
    16 Apr16 April 08:57

    OT : Tried to book 2 of three reward seats on BA.com today. one of the kids was not added to freinds and family list so i have to do that, this would then not reflect in the live booking page.

    We i did a new search all three seats have gone.

    Have they gone back into the system or am i just unlucky?

    • Rob says:
      16 Apr16 April 08:58

      Were the seats still in your original basket? Check back in an hour or so.

      • Chris says:
        16 Apr16 April 09:42

        Yes, I go to the point of adding the passenger names and couldn’t as said child was not in my F&f list.

        • Chris says:
          16 Apr16 April 10:46

          I should I that i booked 3 rewards seats on Avios.com minutes before. Do the 2 systems share the same setas?

        • Chris says:
          16 Apr16 April 15:42

          Thanks Rob,

          I did manage to get the 3 seast from Avios.com then

          7500 Avios + £174 from TOU-MAN flybe direct

          instead of £789 for 3 cash tickets. I make that around 8p per Avios

          Keep up the good work!

  • Anna says:
    16 Apr16 April 09:12

    I mentioned this yesterday but in case anyone else finds it useful – some schools begin their Easter holidays next year on March 30th, however this whole week is classed as off-peak for BA redemptions. Worth knowing as avios flights are now available.

    I have taken advantage of this and booked 2 CE MAN – ROM using a soon to expire 2 4 1, and a flight and hotel package for myself as the 3rd traveller. I have paid to upgrade to a Junior King Suite at the Hilton Garden Inn – will 3 of us turning up be an issue as the BA holiday booking says one person? Also, I am HH gold, but having booked through BA holidays, does that mean I forfeit all my HH perks? (Not massively bothered though, as the suite price via HH was £1200 for 4 nights, whereas for the same price I got the suite and CE flights with BA). If I send my HH number in advance might they offer me anything?

    • Tom Cook says:
      16 Apr16 April 10:40

      Sorry to raise a question and not an answer, Anna, but your MAN – ROM trip, I presume this is routing through T5?!

      • Anna says:
        16 Apr16 April 11:12

        Yes, only other option from MAN is Ryanair to Ciampino at an unearthly hour and the LHR connections are good so not too bothered at having to go indirect.

        • Mr(s) Entitled says:
          16 Apr16 April 12:09

          Not sure where you are in relation to MAN (I’m Prestbury) but we recently did LPL-MAN with good flight times. Always worth checking because from Cheshire at least, LPL is an easy drive.

    • KevMc says:
      16 Apr16 April 14:31

      Are you sure that is definitely the case? Easter Sunday is 21st April next year, so 30th March would be a very early finish. My wife is a teacher, and she finishes on Friday 11th April…

      • Anna says:
        16 Apr16 April 21:08

        That’s what the school website says and I’m holding them to it! Catholic school in this neck of the woods always have different holidays for some reason.

  • Devin says:
    16 Apr16 April 09:20

    OT

    Anyone know if it’s possible to collect flying club miles if using Virgin Media?

    • Rob says:
      16 Apr16 April 10:21

      Unfortunately not, given my big monthly broadband bill.

    • Alan says:
      16 Apr16 April 10:25

      You can certainly collect them, but I don’t think you get any extra miles for being a Virgin Media customer

  • Umba says:
    16 Apr16 April 09:22

    Did I miss the winner of the PE seat to NYC competition?

    • Matt says:
      16 Apr16 April 10:10

      +1

    • Rob says:
      16 Apr16 April 10:21

      No. It got a bit messy as we ended up disqualifying the first choice due to multiple entries, and then the 2nd winner was slow in confirming. We now have contact with them but the airline is being slow in speaking to them! I think we will publish the name tomorrow even if the airline hasn’t yet been in touch as the winner knows they won.

      • Umba says:
        16 Apr16 April 10:25

        Thanks Rob.

      • JamesB says:
        16 Apr16 April 10:40

        Presumably multiple entries from a single device in different names/emails is ok? When entering HFPB competitions I udually submit two entries, one for me and the other on behalf of my partner.

        • Rob says:
          16 Apr16 April 11:37

          That is totally fine. This person had entered more than once using the same email and the same name. No problem using the same email address to enter your partner, and indeed most people did.

      • Bill says:
        16 Apr16 April 11:48

        Name and shame the person with the multiple entries Rob!

    • Peter K says:
      16 Apr16 April 10:39

      Not been announced yet apart from they have been contacted and are in the 65+ category IIRC.

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