This week, two main loyalty applications made updates that weren’t favorable for purchasers. On Tuesday, Marriott Bonvoy up to date its phrases and situations to point that members will earn factors at a diminished price and earn no elite evening credit at StudioRes properties. Then, on Wednesday, Southwest Fast Rewards drastically diminished factors earnings for choose fares.
As I thought of these updates, I thought-about how they might have an effect on my interactions with these applications. I already take incomes charges for factors and elite evening credit into consideration when reserving inns, however it’s a foul signal that Marriott Bonvoy now has a model that awards no elite bonus factors or elite evening credit on stays. And though I hardly ever e book paid Southwest Airways flights, I am going to now be even much less seemingly to take action.
Loyalty applications exist to incentivize engagement and spending with a program. So, one simple technique to protest adverse loyalty program updates is along with your pockets. Listed below are some methods I am going to shield myself from these adverse updates and how one can, too.
Keep away from affected lodge manufacturers
For years, a number of main lodge loyalty applications have singled out some manufacturers as incomes at decrease charges. However Marriott Bonvoy has by far the very best variety of manufacturers with decrease incomes charges. Marriott Bonvoy can be the one main lodge loyalty program that does not give an elite evening credit score per evening stayed in any respect its manufacturers.
You may earn 10 Marriott base factors per greenback spent on qualifying expenses at most manufacturers. Nonetheless, you may solely earn 5 base factors per greenback spent at 9 Marriott Bonvoy manufacturers, 4 factors per greenback spent at StudioRes and a couple of.5 factors per greenback spent at Marriott Govt Flats. So as to add insult to damage, you may solely earn one elite evening credit score per two nights stayed at Protea Accommodations, Metropolis Specific and 4 Factors Flex by Sheraton, one elite evening credit score per three nights stayed at Marriott Govt Flats and no elite evening credit score for stays of any size at StudioRes.
In consequence, I keep away from reserving paid charges at Marriott manufacturers that earn lower than 10 base factors per greenback. I additionally keep away from staying at Protea Accommodations, Metropolis Specific, 4 Factors Flex by Sheraton and Marriott Govt Flats — and now StudioRes — since stays at these manufacturers earn fewer factors and elite evening credit. My husband and I try to keep up lodge elite standing with a number of applications, so each evening counts. Plus, out of precept, I do not need to frequent these manufacturers if Marriott Bonvoy will give me fewer earnings for doing so.
On a current journey to Turkey, the 4 Factors Flex by Sheraton Istanbul Taksim Sq. regarded interesting due to its location and worth. However then I remembered I might earn factors and elite evening credit at a diminished price, so I stayed at a equally priced Vacation Inn as an alternative. Even when I might wished to remain at a Marriott Bonvoy property in Istanbul, I may have booked the equally handy DeCamondo Galata, a Tribute Portfolio Resort for the same price and higher earnings.
Likewise, though I loved staying at a number of Protea Accommodations properties in South Africa after I bought full elite evening credit and factors earnings for these stays, I now keep away from Protea Accommodations. As a substitute, I now select Hyatt or IHG properties in Cape City and Johannesburg. You possibly can’t go incorrect with these cities’ nice Class 1 Hyatt properties.
As a traveler, it is annoying that $1,000 in qualifying expenses on a six-night keep at a 4 Factors Flex would get me 5,000 base factors and three elite nights whereas the identical expenses at a 4 Factors would earn me 10,000 base factors and 6 elite nights. However it might be actually irritating for this to occur to a member who did not learn about it — particularly in the event that they’re relying on a keep to succeed in the following standing qualification threshold.
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It is price noting that Marriott Bonvoy is way from the one lodge loyalty program with manufacturers that earn factors and elite nights at decrease charges. For instance, you may earn World of Hyatt factors at a decrease price when staying at Hyatt Studios and IHG One Rewards factors at a decrease price when staying at IHG Military Accommodations, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites and Residences. In the meantime, Alternative Privileges has a model — WoodSpring Suites — that does not take part in its loyalty program in any respect.
Associated: Find it irresistible or depart it: My airline and lodge elite standing plans for 2025
Redeem rewards
For Southwest Fast Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy, you’ll be able to keep away from the decrease incomes charges led to by this week’s adjustments by redeeming factors. Sadly, redeeming factors nonetheless will not provide you with elite evening credit on stays at StudioRes properties. But when your main concern is the slashed incomes price, redeeming factors is an efficient answer.
I really like a superb extended-stay lodge with a kitchen, however these properties usually earn factors at decrease charges. So, I often redeem factors for these stays and save my money for stays that earn at the next price. Better of all, I usually get a fourth or fifth evening free when redeeming factors with choose lodge loyalty applications.
For instance, I usually redeem IHG One Rewards factors for stays at Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites, which earn at a decreased price of 5 factors per greenback as an alternative of the usual 10 factors per greenback. If I redeem factors for a four-night or longer keep, I can benefit from the IHG fourth-night-free reward profit, a perk of my IHG One Rewards Premier Credit score Card.
Within the case of Southwest, I’ve already been redeeming factors for flights after I determine a Southwest flight is my most suitable choice. In any case, Southwest may lower the redemption worth of its factors at any time — comparable to the way it decreased the worth of Southwest factors at first of 2024 — whereas journey funds do not expire and may preserve their face worth.
My husband and I sometimes alternate incomes a Southwest Companion Go each different 12 months, and we often accrue a large stability of Southwest factors by means of bank card welcome affords whereas doing so. Then, we use these factors to e book as lots of our Southwest flights as attainable. We aren’t planning to earn a Companion Go this 12 months, however I nonetheless have numerous Southwest factors in my account from after I earned a Companion Go in 2021, so I am going to use these as wanted to e book Southwest flights.
Associated: The right way to earn and use the Southwest Companion Go
Use a distinct program
Lastly, it is price contemplating whether or not adverse loyalty program adjustments are sufficient to vary your loyalty or encourage you to make use of a distinct program. In fact, even should you determine you are accomplished with Southwest Fast Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy or one other program, switching will take time as you end touring on current reservations and burn up your remaining factors. Or, you might not need to utterly break with this system however as an alternative proceed utilizing it when it is sensible.
For instance, I am not flying Southwest a lot this 12 months since my husband and I haven’t got a Companion Go. But when Southwest has a modestly priced nonstop flight on a route I have to fly, I am going to seemingly redeem Southwest factors to e book the flight.
It is easy to maintain utilizing the applications you’ve got all the time used. You know the way they work, and also you may need elite standing (and even lifetime standing). I am going to admit that the Marriott lifetime elite standing program compels me to maintain incomes at the least Platinum Elite standing. In any case, I at present have lifetime Marriott Gold Elite standing, and — assuming Marriott does not change its program — will earn lifetime Platinum Elite standing after incomes Platinum Elite standing (and the required elite evening credit for this standing) for 4 extra years.
However, particularly with standing matches and the flexibility to robotically obtain or earn elite standing by means of choose bank cards, just like the Marriott Bonvoy Sensible® American Specific® Card, it might be comparatively painless to start out utilizing a new-to-you loyalty program.
Associated: How and why you need to maximize your lodge stays by utilizing a number of loyalty applications
Backside line
Loyalty must be a two-way road. So, should you aren’t comfortable along with your loyalty applications, it might be time to turn into a free agent or extra concerned with one other loyalty program. I love sure elite standing advantages, comparable to assured 4 p.m. late checkout, confirmed suite improve awards and Oneworld Emerald standing, so I give attention to applications that present these advantages.
I am nonetheless giving Marriott Bonvoy some nights every year, as I am solely 4 years away from incomes lifetime Platinum Elite standing. Nonetheless, I’ve grown pissed off with the loyalty program’s many exclusions and the way its advantages and incomes charges usually range by model. Plus, now that Marriott Bonvoy has began providing no elite evening credit or elite bonus earnings at one model, I count on extra manufacturers will comply with.
