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Bits And Pieces from around The Industry
Double Starwood Points at Tribute Hotels So the cool new thing for hotel chains to do these days is to pretend that they aren’t chains. Of course, given the nature of the product, that’s not always an...
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You Can Now Link Your Marriott And Starwood Accounts
With final approval having been granted, Marriott and Starwood have started the integration process. And now, you can link your accounts. Benefits Of Linking It’ll be that much easier to get to the St....
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Everything We Know about Valuing Points Is Wrong
One of my favorite topics is discussing how much individual points are worth. I have X points in program Y and an award costs Z points. Find enough instances of Z and you can come up with a pretty good...
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SPG Cardholders: Take Advantage of Your Friends
Got a Starwood Preferred Guest credit card? Want a friend to get one? Here’s a little chance to pick up something extra. 5,000 SPG Points to Refer A Friend Banks know that their best advocates are...
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American Offers Hotel Point Conversion Bonus
American Airlines is offering you bonus points to convert your hotel points into miles. But is it worth it? 25% Bonus to Convert to American That could be you. You’re sleeping outside because you...
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Starwood Launches Take Three Promo (And It’s Good)
There’s a rule with promotion descriptions: the shorter the description, the better, and this one will be short. I’ve been disappointed in some of Starwood’s previous promotions, but the Take Three...
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Get Extra Hotel Points For Having A Messy Room!
It’s every teenager’s dream: Not only do you get to have a messy room but you also get rewarded for doing so! And now it can be your dream, too. Going Green for Points Photo Credit: Creative Commons...
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Two New Hotel Promos: Marriott And Starwood
Marriott and Starwood have introduced their “not-so-fourth-quarter” promos (for the period September 12-January 15, which is four months). One is good and one is not so good. And personally, I was...
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Increased Airline Elite Status Through The Starwood/Marriott Merger (Or Vice...
Mergers are generally not viewed as favorable for consumers. By concentrating power in fewer, rather than more, suppliers, the merged companies are often able to increase pricing, since there are fewer...
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What We Learned From Marriott
Every quarter, publicly traded companies report earnings to Wall Street and provide commentary on the quarter. Marriott’s turn was last night, and it’s one that I pay particular attention to, since it...
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Marriott Makes Subtle Changes For 2018. One Could Hurt.
We’re getting to the witching hour of hotel programs, that time of year when companies announce changes to their plans for the following year and hope to slip any negatives by you. Here’s what Marriott...
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Update On The Marriott Credit Card
The Marriott/Starwood merger has been in the news recently. Yesterday, it issued a press release regarding the future of its credit card business. Multiple Marriott Credit Card Issuers Marriott’s...
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End Of Year Thoughts And A Good Marriott-Starwood Article
Don’t Let Your Points Expire Your new year won’t be so happy if your points expire. Photo Credit: Creative Commons As you move into the new year, it’s time to make sure that...
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Quarterly Promos: Marriott And SPG
Well, Starwood adopted one policy from Marriott awfully quickly: Lousy quarterly promos. We recently learned what they will be for the first quarter of 2018, and I’m unimpressed. For those of you new...
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Starwood Ending VIP Status? What Are “Secret” Statuses, Anyway?
Virtually every major airline and hotel program offers “elite” status, certain privileges that you can earn by flying a certain amount of miles, staying so many nights or spending a lot of money. What...
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SPG And Marriott: Worst. Promos. Ever.
Well, that was disappointing. Marriott and Starwood have announced their promotions for the next quarter and, well, they aren’t good. (A Few) More Points Per Night 1/3 the points per night, but just as...
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Marriott And Starwood Merge Programs. It’s Not Terrible.
A few days ago, Marriott and Starwood announced what the new combined program will look like and, for the most part, it’s not terrible. I know that’s not a ringing endorsement but, compared to what...
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The New Marriott Elite Status: Where Does It Get Good?
Last year, I wrote about the various hotel elite programs and the benefits that you get with each status. Specifically, I asked the question, “What status level do I need to achieve to get the majority...
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The New Marriott Rewards And The Less Obvious Devaluations
Two weeks ago, Bloomberg put out one of the better articles that I’ve read about the changes that will occur when Marriott merges Starwood into its program. It tends to go on for a while about...
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It’s Time To Merge Your Marriott And Starwood Accounts
The day has come and the systems are working, so it’s time for you to combine your Marriott and Starwood rewards accounts. They’re offering you a choice of which number you want to keep (for now,...
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