kaykayporty
TF Select
Mate, you may be the exception here. Maybe it's not important for us to have that status in Marriot and we're happy with Accor's offerings.
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Hotel Points I made a mistake by picking AMEX as my main card - Marriot isn't for me
- Thread starter kaykayporty
- Start date
malavkarkar
TF Select
Absolutely, the program is totally fine for limited traveling. I totally agree with that. If I had to do one-two trips a year, I'd even stick to Smartbuy and pick hotels based on price and location instead of brand. Because you want the best value out of your points at this stage. I was giving a frequent traveler's point of view as to why isn't their loyalty program attractive.
malavkarkar
TF Select
It's not a matter of exception or norm mate, just that people aspire to have better things in general. Accor has status too. You might or might not care about it, but you'll end up chasing it one way or another, for whatever mediocre benefit it provides. If you're going to do that, you might as well do it with a better brand. That was the entire point I was trying to make. I don't have a dog in this argument, and I'm neither a shareholder of Marriott, nor Accor. Was just doing some basic comparison about both programs.
kaykayporty
TF Select
Thank you. I think that's what most people don't address which you did.
The value behind such hotels. The reason.
kaykayporty
TF Select
Makes complete sense. I absolutely get you mean. Long term stays should absolutely focus on Marriot but not that Accor doesn't have them. Marriot just has that leg up in that case.
I have usually seen Marriott Platinum / Titanium members coming and defending Marriott. Not just on this thread, but few other threads also.
This is the discussion in futility. Can Platinum / Titanium members elaborate on how much actual money they spent to achieve Platinum status? It is only possible on two occasions
This is the discussion in futility. Can Platinum / Titanium members elaborate on how much actual money they spent to achieve Platinum status? It is only possible on two occasions
- Your profession allows staying in Marriott hotels and company pays for it or you can bill client or your business allows for it
- You are a social media influencer with millions of MR points and do not mind burning them at low value on hotel stays to reach Platinum
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But if you are below platinum and prefer Accor due to that reason, than how will you move to upper tier Platinum or Above?
Well, you should do what is good value for you and not to reach any status. Status is just the outcome.
If you are getting status easily with some shortcuts or via company paid stays, then good and enjoy. But I am not spending my hard earned money at premium just to earn the status
My personal experience aligns with what the OP says, I can't find any property with my 200k points and I travel internationally around 3 times a year.. so whoever loves marriot good for you, for majority of people who can't plan trips based on hotel availability it's not worth it, the redemption rates in general are super low.
Now, just to add a word about accor. Not sure why marriot lovers hate accor soo much, I've used accor for my last 5 trips (dubai, London, swiss, italy and Thailand) and stayed at top tier properties and frankly their service, location and quality were top notch. So stop defending Marriot by saying it's the only great hotel service provider and accor is crap because it also has great properties under its wing and budget properties are same for all hotel chain.
Infact I stayed at Marriot also in between in my italy trip (just cause i was like let's use some points atleast) and man it was horrible, this hotel was not particularly point traveller friendly and charged for my 2 yr olds breakfast... Soo stop peddling your love for marriot to earn more referrals from newbies just getting into the CC points world and give more pragmatic advice.
Fin.
Now, just to add a word about accor. Not sure why marriot lovers hate accor soo much, I've used accor for my last 5 trips (dubai, London, swiss, italy and Thailand) and stayed at top tier properties and frankly their service, location and quality were top notch. So stop defending Marriot by saying it's the only great hotel service provider and accor is crap because it also has great properties under its wing and budget properties are same for all hotel chain.
Infact I stayed at Marriot also in between in my italy trip (just cause i was like let's use some points atleast) and man it was horrible, this hotel was not particularly point traveller friendly and charged for my 2 yr olds breakfast... Soo stop peddling your love for marriot to earn more referrals from newbies just getting into the CC points world and give more pragmatic advice.
Fin.
I am also Marriott gold elite and in 2025 I will stay more in Marriott to learn that system but till now all my stays in accor is through reward points and am planning to get more accor reward points. As I said earlier, for those, who are going to stay in budget hotels and that too with rewards, has accor a better option. For revenue bookings Marriott is better. But the real issue is that most of the persons here are looking for redemptions where they can enjoy the best value of reward points and value of reward points is always better in Accor and moreover it is fixed so common people as well as new comers need not think much to use that reward points
kaykayporty
TF Select
Thank you for being the voice of reason.
Status should be based in reality.
Yes, there can be aspirations and saving up points for a special vacation - but those are exceptions.
malavkarkar
TF Select
Love and hate are very strong words mate. I don't think people here, including me, love or hate hotel loyalty programs. Most of us prefer to enroll and stick with programs that benefit us. We're all in it for a better experience after all.
Speaking from personal experience, I do 4-5 international trips in a year, and have redeemed Bonvoy points at the likes of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, Maldives, Kenya, Mauritius, Egypt, and only one of these stays have cost me over 200k points. The rest have been under 200k points. So I'd call this lack of research on your end.
And unfortunately, your referral tokens aren't worth anything to me, because I earn close to 600k Bonvoy points in a year just from my expenses. I genuinely feel sad for you that your thought process took you there, even after having so much travel experience. Traveling is the best education you could possibly have, but for some reason it isn't working for you.
malavkarkar
TF Select
This is what we call Accor rut. Once you get familiar with a loyalty program, it becomes difficult to switch, no matter how bad it is. If you're able to stick to big players like Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, or even Wyndham from the beginning, it will work out in the long run because all of these have far better loyalty programs. Accor is more like a pig that you're feeding only for it to get slaughtered.
malavkarkar
TF Select
This is precisely what I meant. But if you're already doing 100 nights in a year, that's a Titanium elite status that you're throwing away mate. This is worth a lot can elevate your travel experience in so many ways.
Overall, Marriott leads in terms of luxury and loyalty program, whereas Accor leads in terms of budget stays. Accor has quite a few midscale brands including ibis, which is missing in Marriott at the moment. This works out at destinations like Tokyo, where you can easily find stays under $100 a night.
At the same time, the most luxurious brand in Accor's portfolio is Raffles, which is equivalent to JW and W. Marriott has two brands above this, Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis. This unparalleled luxury is missing in Accor.
That's all there it is and you summed it up precisely. I still don't understand why people here had to resort to using words like love, hate, fans, defend, referrals, to understand this much.
I think you should travel to US with your Marriott status and tell us how good it feels.
Also, everyone has different preferences when it comes to travel. You like spending money but some people want to use points to minimize their expenses. So, it is not fair to promote your preferences as the only right way to do things.
I am also talking from experience. Just within this calendar year, my total flight distance (international travel) is nearly 3 times the circumference of Earth.
malavkarkar
TF Select
Most people here know that Marriott status is heavily diluted in North America, so it's irrelevant, especially to this community.
And I am not promoting anything mate, this was supposed to be an informative thread for the newbies and I still think it is, if you read things the way they're written, without blowing things out of proportion.
money'r_dekha_nai
TF Buzz
People here discussing funding their vacations on points.
Meanwhile clueless bachelor me doesn't even understand where they are spending so much to earn those points.
I mean seriously, if you remove travel, where are all of you folks spending the money? A previous post listed down monthly spends to be 30k, no idea how it jumped to 10L/yr.
Meanwhile clueless bachelor me doesn't even understand where they are spending so much to earn those points.
I mean seriously, if you remove travel, where are all of you folks spending the money? A previous post listed down monthly spends to be 30k, no idea how it jumped to 10L/yr.
Now I am understanding that solely using amex platinum just for 48k points a year is a bad trade off if we are getting 4-5 % off on other cards. I will close my card which is due for renewal at end of month. Mariott makes sense only if you are in a good tier. Else Mariott is of no use for a traveller who makes 1-2 trips a year
Why not spend on TAJ?
anyway I use amex for rental/NPS/tax majorly so i am not loosing much