Marriott Rewards vs. Starwood Preferred Guest

[kermit116]

We'll have a number of upcoming hotel stays this year in cities that have both Marriott hotels and Sheraton hotels. The prices are relatively similar, so I'm trying to determine which of the hotel rewards programs is better - Marriott Rewards or Starwood Preferred Guest? Which will earn free hotel stays more easily/quickly? With all the travel we have for business and family weddings this year, I'm trying to see if we can earn some free hotel nights by accumulating points at one chain over the year.

 

[pumpkinmomma]

Dh has both, I am not sure there is much difference as far as rewards go, but he prefers to stay at Marriotts here lately. He has been able to get better rates lately at the Marriott properties and they usually have free wifi. Sheraton doesn't. Plus, Marriott has more midrange options for hotels. I would personally choose Marriott.

 

[Green Tea]

I would pick Marriott as well. The Starwood properties are not as nice at most levels, I don't think. And I think there are more available as well.

 

[PrincessDadx2]

One advantage of Starwood is that you can use the points at the Swan/Dolphin onsite at Disney

Starwood is easier to redeem. If you can book the night with cash you can use your points.

That said I am Marriott platinum and really like the Marriott program. You can also get a good boost by getting the credit card for either program.

 

[prncess674]

I would pick Marriott as well. The Starwood properties are not as nice at most levels, I don't think. And I think there are more available as well.

Not sure what SPG properties you think are inferior to Marriott, but the sole reason I collect SPG points is because the SPG program has some simply divine resort properties all over the world.

If you are only going to be collecting hotel points from a few sporadic weekend stays over the year then you will be sorely disappointed in either program for points accumulation. The big collect on points is through credit card spend. The amount of points actually accumulated through cheap weekends won't get you far. Personally I would pick the hotels in the cities you will be going to that meet your needs. As others have stated Marriott has more low end properties that meet most budget traveler needs: Fairfield Inn, Courtyard Inn, TownPlace, etc. where SPG tends to run more full service hotels. The con to the SPG program is a lack of low end hotels that meet a budget travelers need and they also tend not to have as many suburban locations.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

We have both and I have by far used the Marriott more than the SPG. I even have a free night waiting to be used, because we have stayed twice in the last month. I find the prices better at Marriott, especially with the Military discounts. We have found more locations in the Marriott family in the places where we like to go and the points are easier to rack up.

Starwood hotels can be at the more pricey end and I wasn't happy with the stay we had at the Westin in Atlanta, the value wasn't great for the price.

We did however like the Sheraton Safari just down from Downtown Disney, and liked it enough.

So far I have been impressed with the 3 Marriott locations we have stayed at and the service was much better. The Starwood places prices were higher and the quality wasn't impressive at a higher end hotel.

Marriott has several promotions going right now.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

[snip]. I even have a free night waiting to be used, because we have stayed twice in the last month. [snip]

Marriott has several promotions going right now.

It heard to earn even a free night from a handful of stays in either program. As a result, you may be better off trying to plan your travel to match promotions offered by all of the hotel frequent stay programs. As Princess suzanne noted, they recieved a free Marriott night after 2 stays due to a recent promotion. Last year, I received a free night at the Westin Kaanapali Maui after staying 3 nights in much less expensive Starwood hotels. The year before, my parents stayed a night in Hyatt Kauai after staying 2 nights in Hyatt Place hotels.

Promotions are announced every 3 months or so. Some are better than others based on the rewards or the way you travel. -- Suzanne

 

[bettymae1121]

I picked Starwood as they have hotels in the places we travel to most. WDW we can stay Swan/Dolphin, DLR we can stay at the Sheraton Anaheim (THE best off site hotel in the area, IMO). When we visit MIL there is a Sheraton in DH's home town as it isn't far from Gettysburgh.

The only down side is that Starwood doesn't have any budget chains and don't seem to have properties outside of major cities and/or tourist attractions, like Hilton has Hampton Inns, for example. That means when we just want a cheap place to stay for the night, we have to look at other chains. We're driving from Chicago to PA in a few weeks and will be stoping outside Toledo (we have a newborn and don't want to spend 12+ hours in the car so we're breaking up the trip), we had to book a Days Inn and pay cash as Starwood's closest hotel was in Detroit!

Nothing against Marriott, I've stayed at a few and always had a good experiance. But Starwood was a better fit for us overall.

 

[cinmouse]

We use Marriott but have the CC & like that is you.redeem 4 nights your 5 is free.
Last year we went to St.Thomas for free & this summer we are hitting Napa. The Promos are really good usually stay 2 times = 1 free night.
Plus you get 1 free night with the CC each year for the annual fee of $69...we have the premier cards, not sure what the basic gives you plus you get either 35k or 50k points when approved..@ a residence inn that could be 3 nights @ Tue one.by my house...which we use all the time when family is visiting.

 

[cinmouse]

We use Marriott but have the CC & like that is you.redeem 4 nights your 5 is free.
Last year we went to St.Thomas for free & this summer we are hitting Napa. The Promos are really good usually stay 2 times = 1 free night.
Plus you get 1 free night with the CC each year for the annual fee of $69...we have the premier cards, not sure what the basic gives you plus you get either 35k or 50k points when approved..@ a residence inn that could be 3 nights @ Tue one.by my house...which we use all the time when family is visiting.

 

[crazyme5kids]

We have Marriott, Starwood, Priority, Hilton, and there might be one or two others too. You might want to look into Priority as well, one of their hotels is Holiday Inn, which have really improved over the years.

Another hint, if you stay at a hotel that you aren't a member of, or doesn't have a rewards program, see if you can flip the credit card points to airline points.

 

[Green Tea]

Not sure what SPG properties you think are inferior to Marriott, but the sole reason I collect SPG points is because the SPG program has some simply divine resort properties all over the world.

In smaller markets there are fewer Starwood properties than there are Marriott ones....think Courtyard, Springhill Suites. Those compared to a 4 Points......I've had some nasty 4 Points but Courtyards are pretty standard. I had a similar experience with a Sheraton vs. a Marriott. The Sheratons always leave me a little skeeved. That said, in the upper markets, I have never had a disappointing stay at a Ritz-Carlton. But a recent stay at a St. Regis left me wishing I had chosen the RC instead. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't as good as I expected.

I belong to all the loyalty clubs and pick among the resorts or hotels at my destination on case by case basis. But Starwood would rank behind Marriott, Hilton, Omni and Hyatt for me. Just not my pick but to each their own, princss674

 

[DebMcDonald]

When my husband traveled for business (50-75 stays a year) he used both hotel chains, but we seemed to do much better with Marriott. We tended to get a free week every other year. We're using one of our free weeks in Myrtle Beach in April and it's costing us about 150,000 points. The nicer the hotel's the more points you earn, so Marriott Hotels would get you more than staying at Courtyard, fairfield Inn, Etc. Also works the same on the other end, the nicer hotels you want to stay at the more points it will cost you. We also have the credit card.

 

[prncess674]

In smaller markets there are fewer Starwood properties

and if you read my original post I agree with you that SPG is not in smaller down market towns and rural areas. I am not very versed in down market properties such as 4 points. The majority of my stays are at upmarket properties such as W, Westin, St. Regis, etc.

I had a similar experience with a Sheraton vs. a Marriott. The Sheratons always leave me a little skeeved. That said, in the upper markets, I have never had a disappointing stay at a Ritz-Carlton. But a recent stay at a St. Regis left me wishing I had chosen the RC instead. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't as good as I expected.

While Ritz-Carlton is distantly associated with Marriott there is no official affiliation between Marriott and RC with honoring elite benefits. St Regis is a full fledged SPG brand and all rights and privilieges of SPG are fully transferable to St. Regis properties. As with any program there are black eyes in any program.

I would be interested to know what St. Regis property you found so disgusting that it was vastly superior to the Marriott in the SAME city.

Every program has jewels and trash and you would be better served to do your research rather than blindly making a choice based on chain. For instance, my company has a deal with the Four Seasons Houston. I stayed there one weekend giddy with excitement to stay at a FR. Needless to say I was disappointed beyond belief and settled on a the more seemingly blah Hilton. By all accounts the FS should be "better" but the brand new Hilton a few blocks away by far and away in Houston was better for my needs. Perhaps the STR that you stayed at just didn't meet your needs.

 

[uk_wildcat]

My dh travels for work and prefers Marriott mainly because he has many more options. Most of the places he travels have plenty of Marriott hotels, but not Starwood brand hotels. I tried to get him to stay Starwood because I wanted to get points for Dolphin/Swan, but he just didn't have options in many of the cities he visits. We don't have the credit card, but he already has 2 free night certificates just from promotions and almost 50,000 points (2-3 nights depending on the chain used on). We use them for our vacations each year and it is nice.

 

[Judique]

We'll have a number of upcoming hotel stays this year in cities that have both Marriott hotels and Sheraton hotels. The prices are relatively similar, so I'm trying to determine which of the hotel rewards programs is better - Marriott Rewards or Starwood Preferred Guest? Which will earn free hotel stays more easily/quickly? With all the travel we have for business and family weddings this year, I'm trying to see if we can earn some free hotel nights by accumulating points at one chain over the year.

After reading through all the replies, I wanted to comment.

First of all, I have SPG, Marriott, Hilton, PCR, Carleton, and probably more rewards cards if I check.

I travel a lot and have been known to hit up to 50 nights a year.

I will never tie myself to one brand just to get points.

That said I do have an SPG Amex. There was a time when SPG points accumulated very quickly - now not so much. Not as many promos for bonus points. Still the quality is there in the accomodations for the most part and they have 4 will get you 5 nights in a couple of categories. I've seen value class hotels hit certain areas and just not last in smaller markets with SPG - I often wondered if the rewards program put them out of business, because I definitely used my points there with no cash.

There are ways to maximize any program, but it usually takes a bit of time, and the corresponding credit card helps. They all have one.

Pick the places you want to stay that appeal to you and that are in your budget. Then, join each program. The winner for your needs will become evident.

I once stayed at Sheraton Safari because I had points. I hated the place. But now I see they've done a renovation. I may still have to do a walk through and ask to see a room before I'll chance it again. Sometimes free doesn't always work. I've done free at the Sheraton at MCO and it was acceptable.