Marriott Puts Some Mega Back in Its MegaBonus Promotion

It’s been awhile since Hyatt’s last systemwide bonus promotion. That will be remedied beginning next month, with a new offer that, at least for high-frequency travelers, will have been well worth the wait.

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.

While the Marriott acquisition of Starwood closed in September, the two companies’ integration is far from complete. In particular, Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest continue to operate independently, although members may now link their accounts, transfer points, and have their status matched.

You may remember the 100,000-mile bonus for new British Airways credit card sign-ups in 2010.

Given the choice, which reward would you choose for your next hotel stay: loyalty points or cash back?

For years, Marriott has been referring to its periodic systemwide promotions as MegaBonuses. Early on, when the offer was a free night after two paid stays, the name was apt. But recently, the offers have been much less generous; they were more mini than mega. The offers also became more complicated over the years, based on a targeting scheme that generated customized bonuses according to members’ stay histories and other factors known only to Marriott.

Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood has left one key group vocally underwhelmed: members of Starwood’s Preferred Guest program, particularly Starwood elites who have become accustomed to perks and services that play no part in Marriott’s Rewards program.

Could Spirit, the airline everybody loves to hate, become a bit less hateful? If the company’s new CEO has his way, it will do just that.

For U.S. News & World Report, the road from weekly news magazine to publisher of company rankings has been a long and winding one. The key, though, to its shift toward data-driven ratings of companies and institutions was its 1983 publication of “America’s Best Colleges.”

Lagging the likes of Hilton, Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, Starwood, Omni, Drury, and Nordic Choice hotels, InterContinental will become the latest and one of the last major hotel groups to eliminate adult content from its in-room on-demand TV offerings.

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.

InterContinental Hotel Group’s next points promotion, Share Forever, begins next month and features bonuses for both the member’s own IHG Rewards account and to share with other program members.