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Whenever there is a merger in the travel industry that allows you to transfer points between two separate rewards programs, it is common to find new sweet spots with one of these programs suddenly. The Marriott-Starwood merger is no exception. If you've been a loyal member of the SPG program, we've identified some of these sweet spots, now that you can access Marriott Rewards.
Marriott Rewards Category 1 Properties
Marriott Rewards Category 1 properties require only 7,500 Marriott Rewards points per night. Since you can now transfer SPG points to Marriott at a ratio of 1:3, you can now book Marriott Category 1 properties by transferring only 2,500 SPG points per night. There are dozens of Protea Marriott Category 1 properties in Africa, among other regions. Since Marriott provides a complimentary fifth night on award bookings, you could book five hotel nights at any Marriott Category 1 property by transferring only 10,000 SPG points, an exceptional deal.
Marriott Category 3 Properties
While a significant number of international Marriott Category 1 properties are located in Africa, when you look at Marriott's Category 3 Properties list, which require 15,000 points per nights, you will find dozens of highly thought of properties located all throughout the world, most notably the JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi, AC Palacio del Carmen, Autograph Collection (Santiago de Compostela, Spain), and the Cairo Marriott Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino. With that 1:3 SPG to Marriott transfer ratio, these properties can be booked by transferring only 5,000 SPG points per night.
Marriott Category 9 Properties
Marriott's highest reward category is Category 9, which require 45,000 Marriott points per night. There are fewer than 100 Marriott Category 9 properties, but most of these are what can be considered crème de la crème of Marriott's portfolio. It is not at all uncommon for many of these properties to go for $500 a night or more. Thanks to the Marriott-Starwood merger and the 1:3 SPG to Marriott transfer ratio, these properties can now, in essence, be booked for only 15,000 points a night. Among the most notable Marriott Category 9 properties are the JW Marriott Essex House New York, the Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel, the Domes of Elounda, Autograph Collection (Crete, Greece) and the Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel. A five-night award stay at any of these properties would require only 60,000 SPG points. At most, you could only book two nights at Starwood's highest rewards category properties for that same rate.
Ritz-Carlton Tier 4 Properties
Requiring 60,000 Marriott points per night, Ritz-Carlton Tier 4 is the second highest award category for Ritz-Carlton properties. Although the number of Tier 4 Ritz-Carlton properties is small, there are some real gems, such as The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua and Hotel Arts Barcelona. While similar Starwood properties could require more than 30,000 SPG points per night, these Ritz-Carlton properties can now, in essence, be booked for only 20,000 SPG points with the 1:3 SPG to Marriott transfer ratio. A five-night stay at any Ritz-Carlton Category 4 property would only require 80,000 SPG points.
Marriott's Hotel + Air Packages
There is perhaps no better use of Marriott Rewards points than Hotel + Air Packages. With these packages, by redeeming a set amount of Marriott points you get seven hotel nights plus a significant number of miles with many of the most popular airline frequent flyer programs. The exact amount of Marriott points required for one of these packages varies by hotel category and by the airline with which you want to receive a miles bonus. Using United as an example, here is Marriott's Hotel + Air Packages award chart for United:
As you can see, among the many options, if you redeem 390,000 Marriott points for a seven-night stay at a Marriott Category 9 property, you will also receive 132,000 United MileagePlus miles. Thanks to the 1:3 SPG to Marriott transfer ratio, this same option would only, in essence, require 130,000 SPG points. Therefore, not only would you be able to practically transfer 130,000 SPG points to United at a 1:1 ratio, something you cannot do by transferring SPG points to United directly, but you would also be able to get seven hotel nights at one of Marriott's best hotel properties. The value here is astonishing.
Bottom Line
If you've got a ton of SPG points, your options for amazing redemption opportunities has just skyrocketed! What sticks out to you?
