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Marriott should poach Hyatt Elites with a Status Match
Just throwing it out there. The merger has changed the game. Marriott is the largest hotel group in the world with over 5500 properties and 30 brands. After hearing execs speak at BACON3 it’s clear that loyalty and emotional connection are paramount to the newly formed company. Recently we heard Hyatt stripped their program for mid tiers and made top tier only available by nights, not stays. I think Marriott has a TON of competitive advantage and when I was writing the MMMondayMemo it got me thinking….Marriott should poach Hyatt Elites with a Status Match.
Marriott has some SICK properties.
I’ve stayed in a load of Marriott properties and recently just reviewd two in London: Edition and Park Lane. Both were OUTSTANDING. Additionally, Marriott absolutely murders Mid-Tier and without the ability to earn Hyatt through stays…I think they could absorb some of that consumer base.
Recently, I had a stay at a Grand Hyatt and then a Marriott Marquis in D.C. – The Marquis MURDERED the Grand Hyatt
I just stayed at the Marriott Marquis as a Gold member. Now granted, I was there with the Boarding Area Conference BACon3 so I may have gotten some suite hookups, but I would have gotten club anyways. Compared to the Grand Hyatt Washington D.C. it was newer, offered more food and free booze in the club ( which Golds have access to), and had one of the sickest hotel gyms I’ve ever seen.
Grand Hyatt
Marriott Marquis
I’ve been upgraded in the past to Suites with Gold status…as I did at the Grosvenor House in the beginning of 2015.
Hyatt Diamonds could see what it’s like to be SPG Platinum and maybe check out what the St Regis brand has to offer. Like the St. Regis New York
Hyatt members that fall between Plat and Diamond and get Explorist should get Gold
I think Marriott Gold rewards their members with far more benefits than the current Hyatt Platinum ( which isn’t fair cause Gold requires 50 nights and Hyatt Platinum just 5 stays), but more importantly going forward, with the newly formed Explorist. I argued in a recent post that it will be easier for people to stay 50 nights in Marriott hotels than 30 nights in Hyatt. This is a great opportunity to show those mid tiers what Marriott can offer with mid tier as well.
I loved my stay at the Marriott Park Lane where I enjoyed the club immensely.
Marriott has great timeshare properties where owners can earn Marriott Rewards, and Marriott Rewards members can redeem as well.
I enjoyed my time at the Marriott Grande Lakes immensely. There are over 50 Marriott Vacation Club resorts around the world and are excellent if you have a family. Some, like the Marriott Grand Lakes, share property benefits with Marriott hotels like the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton.
I think the newly formed Marriott, chalked full of aspirational properties, has a huge opportunity to accumulate more loyalty customers given the devaluation of Hyatt Gold Passport
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based.
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
80k offer in branch currently – I think this should be online soon
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Super solid welcome offer.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash , Ink Business Unlimited you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
- 3x on dining
- including eligible delivery services for takeout
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards – Chase Travel Portal
- $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel Portal and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including primary rental car insurance, purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in the Chase Travel center for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Primary rental car coverage is my favorite
There is currently an 80k offer after $4k spend in 3 months available in branch, and up to 90k after $6k spend in 6 months. I suspect some version of this will be online soon if you don’t want the hassle of going into a branch.
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 60k is a very, very good offer. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back. .
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
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