Marriott International plans to unify loyalty programs across brands

Marriott International announced it will introduce one set of unified benefits across Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest for its members starting August 2018.

With a goal to create a rich hospitality loyalty programme, Marriott International has announced its plan of unifying its benefits across brands. The move will give members an opportunity to earn more points faster than under the prior programs – an average of 20% more points for every dollar spent.

“We listened to the travel aspirations of our members and set our sights on unlocking the full potential of our loyalty programs,” said David Flueck, senior vice president of global loyalty, Marriott International.

For the first time, members will have access to book stays and earn or redeem points among 29 participating global brands comprising 6,500 hotels in 127 countries and territories.

“We hope to inspire our members whatever their travel passion”

Starting in August, members will be able to combine their separate Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) accounts into a single account spanning the entire loyalty portfolio.

Adding to this unification, travellers will also have the ability to book stays across the entire portfolio for the first time in Marriott.com, SPG.com and the Marriott and SPG apps, or by contacting customer engagement centres.

Flueck concluded: “We hope to inspire our members whatever their travel passion, whether it is resorts featuring overwater bungalows, peaceful secluded island settings, ski-in / ski-out mountain resorts, towering hotels with picture-worthy views or even former palaces converted into hotels.”

In the coming months, Marriott will provide members with information about how and when in August they can begin combining their loyalty accounts.