Marriott Unveils Its New Loyalty Program Name – Marriott Bonvoy

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It’s been a poorly kept secret for some time (although a lot of us hoped it wasn’t true) and today Marriott has announced that it will be renaming its new loyalty program “Marriott Bonvoy” from 13 February 2019.

Ok, let’s get the obvious out of the way first….what’s with the name?!

Bonvoy?

Presumably it’s meant to bring to mind “Bon Voyage” but it just looks and sounds like a half-formed word whenever I see it, read it or say it.In fact, with that line under the “o” I just see the word “Oy!” leap out at me off the page and, ironically, I suspect that’s the exact word Jackie Mason would use if he was discussing Marriott’s new loyalty program name (and if he actually cared about miles and points).

I congratulate whoever managed to sell the idea of “Bonvoy” to Marriott because he/she could clearly sell sand to the Berbers of North Africa.

Anyway, the ridiculous name aside, here’s what you need to know.

From 13 February 2013…..

• Marriott Bonvoy will be the new name of the unified loyalty program and will replace Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest.
• Marriott Bonvoy Moments will be replacingMarriott Rewards Moments and SPG Moments
• No benefits of the current Marriott loyalty program will be changing
• Withe the launch of Marriott Bonvoy will come new names for the top two status tiers:
  • Platinum Premier → Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite
  • Platinum Premier with Ambassador → Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite
• The current Marriott mobile app will automatically update to the Marriott Bonvoy app
• The SPG and Ritz-Carlton Rewards apps will be deactivated

Marriott has set up a website to introduce Marriott Bonvoy (meetmarriottbonvoy.marriott.com) but, aside from a video which I’ve embedded below, there isn’t really much to see there at all….

…and the video doesn’t really say much either.

Bottom Line

The big changes took effect last August and the next big change (higher top-tier award costs and the introduction of seasons) are expected to kick in at some point in March – there really isn’t all that much to see here other than the confirmation of a silly name.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. There is one positive change that’s coming on 13 February but it only applies to the top two status tiers.

Since August there have been 3 Marriott status tiers with the word “Platinum” in them and, based on anecdotal evidence, some properties haven’t been doing a very good job of differentiating their guests…this shouldn’t be an issue going forward.

Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador (top-tier elite) and Marriott Bonvoy Titanium (2nd tier elite) will now stand out from regular Platinum Elites and, hopefully, will start to see their benefits offered a little more universally.

But that’s it. That’s just about the only positive news I can see coming from todays “big reveal”, the rest is just marketing nonsense.