Marriott And Starwood Loyalty Members Caught off Guard by Integration After Merger
Photo Credit: Marriott and Starwood's loyalty programs aren't combined yet, but members can exchange points between the programs. Skift
Skift Take
Marriott and Starwood jolted their loyalty program members awake on Friday by allowing them to link award accounts.
After a long summer in which progress on the Marriott and Starwood merger seemed glacial, the transaction kicked into high gear late last week after approval from the Chinese government unexpectedly cleared.
And to the surprise of many, one of the first steps that the new venture took was to enable linking between loyalty program accounts, effectively allowing Marriott Rewards or Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) members to use points interchangeably.
Part of the surprise comes from the fact that earlier this year Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott, suggested that Marrio
