“All travel is good travel enriching the individual and connecting the world; offering members a global footprint of extraordinary hotel brands, experiences for every passion, and the richest rewards and benefits”.
That’s the press release literature for Marriott Bonvoy, directly from Marriott. Not bad, not bad at all. Though the name is a bit “Marmite”, in the “love it or loathe it” sense, having one program was inevitable, and it’s not every day that two of the world’s biggest and best hotel groups in SPG and Marriott are combined into one portfolio. Say bon voyage to Marriott Rewards and bonjour to the new Marriott Bonvoy. Here’s what you need to know, today, about the new program and when and where you’ll see the new changes…
February 13th, 2019
On February 13th, your Marriott, SPG or Ritz app and all relevant customer “touch points” will reflect the new Marriott Bonvoy brand. Until then, it’s pretty much business as usual. Even on the 13th, not much will change – at least for now. Marriott suggests downloading the Marriott app, which will automatically update to Bonvoy.
Benefits Remain The Same
Naturally, all travel loyalty news sends people into a state of panic. Marriott Bonvoy has pledged not to make any program benefit changes from the August 18′ update, but does promise to bring new innovation and benefits as the year progresses. The only immediately felt change will be in the form of names. Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite replaces Platinum Premier Elite and Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite will replace Platinum Premier Elite with Ambassador.
Somehow, Marriott’s current “Moments” remain underrated. Leveraging the brands extreme reach, the program creates opportunities for members to use points for experiences unavailable for purchase, such as traveling with the Bayern Munich team on the plane to catch a game, taking a cooking class from Daniel Boulud or attending the Oscars. The program will rename to Marriott Bonvoy Moments, and now is a good time to check out the opportunities before more people catch on.
For Now It’s Almost Purely Cosmetic
There’s a new video replete with drone footage and a new logo, but the program remains largely unchanged. By most accounts, that’s great news. Anything you could possibly want to know from the most recent round of changes in August can be found here, but if you’re up to date from there, just love or loathe the new name at your convenience. The rest will take care of itself.
I don’t see what was wrong with just calling it Marriott Rewards. Bonvoy just sounds dorky, but I guess it’s really not that big of a deal.
Agreed. Bonvoy does not sound exclusive or mature or elite