Marriot to Reform its Current Members Program, Introduces Flexible Redemption Program

Marriott Bonvoy, the customer rewards program from Marriott is going to have major changes starting from the March of next year which will also include the introduction of flexible points redemption program. Marriott made the announcement in which it said that as travel continues to evolve, it’s looking forward to evolving with it as well.

Other Changes in the Loyalty Program

Marriott in their announcement acknowledged the fact that travel around the world looks very different currently and the recovery of the travel industry varies from region to region. It recognized the current situation of its customers as they are looking for more flexibility and reassurance as they begin to travel. Moreover, there are some immediate changes that will impact its existing customers before the flexible points program goes on the floor next year. With the pandemic not completely eradicated, Marriott made an announcement that it’s going to prolong the elite status for its current members who have reached plateau status until February 2023. The usual time frame to capitalize on the feature is 24 months. However, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 has adversely affected the travel industry. Most of the people haven’t been able to travel and many are not willing to travel for a very long period, hence the extension. Marriott made a Twitter post informing that members will continue to receive elite status when they continue to travel. They informed that they have already renewed the 2019 earned status of its members through February 2022 and the status earned in 2020 will be renewed through February 2023. Moreover, the bonus points system will work on the same concept. The usual time period to utilize the bonus points is 24 months with a use or lose the window. However, Marriott has decided to extend the pause on points expiration to the end of 2022. For the changes coming in the March of next year, Marriott will be opting for a dynamic pricing chart which is very commonly used by other major hotel chains in their loyalty programs. Marriott claims that the member will have more flexibility and more options while exploring for the best redemption value. However, the response to these planned changes on Twitter was quite crushingly negative. Most of the members were upset as they think that their points are being devalued. However, Marriott assured that 97% of its rooms will have the same pricing as its current off-peak and peak rates. It said that only around 3% of its members might have a higher range of redemption rates as compared to where they are currently.