LOYALTY
Reward and redemption news
Rewards programmes Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) will be changing the redemption categories of some of their properties as part of their annual redemption category review, effective March 6 onward.
The number of points Marriott Rewards and SPG members need to spend in order to redeem a per-night stay at a hotel is based on each hotel’s category, which is determined by factors such as its location, average room rate, renovations and amenities, among others. The higher the category, the more points it costs to redeem a stay.
For Marriott Rewards, the changes will affect about 26 per cent of the properties within the programme, with 21 per cent increasing in category (and cost) and 5 per cent decreasing.
Marriott Rewards has nine property categories, which range from 7,500 points per night for a standard room to 45,000 points. The categories and their respective rates are as follows:
• Category 1 – 7,500 points per night
• Category 2 – 10,000 points per night
• Category 3 – 15,000 points per night
• Category 4 – 20,000 points per night
• Category 5 – 25,000 points per night
• Category 6 – 30,000 points per night
• Category 7 – 35,000 points per night
• Category 8 – 40,000 points per night
• Category 9 – 45,000 points per night
SPG, meanwhile, has a total of seven categories, which range from 2,000 points per night for a standard room to 35,000 points. The categories and their respective rates are as follows:
• Category 1 – 2,000-3,000 Starpoints per night
• Category 2 – 3,000-4,000 Starpoints per night
• Category 3 – 7,000 Starpoints per night
• Category 4 – 10,000 Starpoints per night
• Category 5 – 12,000-16,000 Starpoints per night
• Category 6 – 20,000-25,000 Starpoints per night
• Category 7 – 30,000-35,000 Starpoints per night Marriott Rewards and SPG members can still redeem at the current rates until March 6, so it may be worth timing your redemption either before or after the changes take effect depending on the hotel you wish to book.