It's official: Marriott Bonvoy is launching February 13

Marriott International today (officially!) has unveiled Marriott Bonvoy, the new name of the loyalty programme which will replace the current loyalty brands – Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) – which combined on one single platform last year on August 18, 2018.

BONVOY looks to be a millennial-focused name and a short form of Bon Voyage. While we already had access to the leaked information last year, Marriott would neither confirm it nor deny it at that point in time. I am hard pressed to understand why Marriott Rewards was not a good name in the first place?

Marriott Bonvoy launches February 13, 2019

Marriott Bonvoy launches on February 13 when the logo and branding begin rolling out across all consumer touch-points, including on property, marketing and sales channels, digital, mobile and co-brand credit cards. Here is a look at the new logo.

As per Marriott’s Global Chief Commerical Officer, Stephanie Linnartz,

Marriott Bonvoy marks an evolution in travel because it represents more than a loyalty program. Marriott Bonvoy is a travel program designed to bring to life our extraordinary portfolio of global brands in 129 countries and territories, while also providing endless inspiration for members to keep traveling and pursuing their passions.

Beginning on February 13, Marriott Rewards Moments and SPG Moments will become Marriott Bonvoy Moments, which together with Marriott Moments will feature approximately 120,000 experiences in 1,000 destinations available for purchase or by redeeming points.

The launch of Marriott Bonvoy will introduce two new names for previous Elite status tier names:

Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite will replace Platinum Premier Elite for members who surpass 75 nights.
Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite will replace Platinum Premier Elite with Ambassador. This top Elite status tier recognizes members who surpass 100 nights and more than $20,000 in spend annually. These members enjoy the highest level of personalization with a dedicated ambassador to help plan their travel and cater to their needs one-on-one.

Here is a look at the new tiers from Marriott Bonvoy.

Marriott Bonvoy will usher in a new mobile experience. Members using either the SPG or The Ritz-Carlton Rewards apps are encouraged to download the current Marriott app now which will automatically update to become the Marriott Bonvoy app on February 13. The SPG and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards apps will be deactivated on that date.

Members can learn more about Marriott Bonvoy at MeetMarriottBonvoy.marriott.com.

Bottomline

While I am still struggling with getting all the stays updated on my Marriott Rewards account, I am also wondering why Marriott Rewards was not a good enough name? But then that is just me living in a world taken over by millennial marketers and perhaps I’m a bit old school that ways.

What do you think about the new Marriott Bonvoy brand name?