Marriott has just published its list of award-price changes for 2016. As Marriott Rewards members have come to expect from these annual pronouncements, the news amounts to yet another decrease in the value of their points.
Around 18 percent of Marriott’s properties will be reassigned to higher or lower award categories, with 560 hotels requiring more points for a free-night stay versus 237 hotels requiring fewer points. So, of the affected hotels, 70 percent will be more expensive, and 30 percent will be less expensive.
By any measure, that’s a significant devaluation. For U.S.-based members who tend to redeem their points for domestic award stays, the picture is even grimmer. Of the hotels increasing in price, 94 percent are in the U.S.; of the hotels decreasing in price, only 64 percent are in the U.S.
RELATED: Hilton’s New Direct-Booking Discount Comes with Caveats
The new prices take effect for bookings made after March 24. As always with imminent price changes, program members should consult the list and book upcoming award stays at properties increasing in price before the category changes take effect, and defer booking stays at properties that will decrease in price until the lower prices become available.
Longer term, such devaluations should always trigger a reassessment of one’s loyalty. Marriott is hardly alone in chipping away at the value of its frequent-stay program. But for Marriott loyalists, the timing might be right to wonder whether Marriott Rewards is still the most rewarding program for them.
Reader Reality Check
How will these pending changes affect your loyalty to Marriott?
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After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.
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With no published award-price charts to refer to, members of Delta’s SkyMiles program don’t know when award prices are higher or lower than normal. That’s because there is no baseline to use as a reference point; there is no normal. Or rather, normal is whatever Delta chooses to publish as the price for an award ticket on a particular flight.
It’s a fact of loyalty-program life: Airline and hotel programs periodically adjust their award prices. Of course, those adjustments amount to price hikes more often than not. And, all things being equal, higher award prices amount to an overall devaluation of the program.
As changes to hotel-program award prices go, the latest for InterContinental’s IHG Rewards are decidedly modest: Prices for award nights at 400 hotels will change by either 5,000 or 10,000 points, half moving up, half moving down. If it were just that 50-50 split, Rewards members might dismiss it as a wash and count their blessings. After all, “It could have been worse.”
A key selling point of rideshare services like Uber and Lyft is their transparency. Users know where their ride is, how soon it will arrive to pick them up, and how much the fare will be to their destination.
I’m not a fan of flash sales. If a company discounts its product or otherwise adds value to a purchase, then it should allow sufficient time for the offer to be widely communicated, considered, and acted on. “Snooze you lose” has always struck me as disrespectful and a bit nasty.
Overall, Delta’s SkyMiles program has established itself as one of the industry’s least generous loyalty schemes. To play, you’ll pay. But with this limited-time award sale, you can at least pay less.
Update from IHG, including effect date for new prices: “All reservations booked beginning Jan. 16, 2018, will use the new Reward Nights point prices. This is part of an annual review into the number of points needed for a Reward Night, and we’ll communicate to members through our regular channels, including email and our website.”
Hilton this week posted upcoming changes to HHonors award prices. While such announcements are almost never good news—and are sometimes positively gut-wrenching—this round of changes is so modest in scope that it’s practically a non-event.
I’m not a fan of flash sales. If a company discounts its product or otherwise adds value to a purchase, then it should allow sufficient time for the offer to be widely communicated, thoughtfully considered, and calmly acted on. “Snooze you lose” has always struck me as disrespectful and a bit nasty.