Marriott has long allowed members to merge accounts. Especially after acquiring SPG, it further encouraged people to combine their Marriott/SPG/Ritz accounts. However, some people have taken advantage of this generous policy to carry out the “Fliggy/Taobao 88vip” Platinum challenge. On a certain platform, there are quite a few people using a “big account swallows small accounts” approach: they complete the Platinum challenge with smaller accounts, then instantly turn a main account into Platinum after merging. Even worse:
- Open multiple small accounts, and on each one register for the new-member “stay 2, get 1 free” offer
- Use one of the small accounts to register for the “Fliggy/Taobao 88vip” Platinum challenge
- Complete the stay-2-get-1 rewards on each small account
- Then merge all of the small accounts into the main account to complete the Platinum challenge
Some even mattress run at a convenient hotel specifically for this purpose. After this was done repeatedly, Marriott noticed and began reviewing these kinds of account merges. If similar behavior is found, Marriott may directly shut down all related accounts.
If you often stay in China, even a normal merge of your own older accounts may get caught up in these reviews. That said, if your merge is legitimate, you should ultimately be fine. If you need to merge accounts soon, it may be better to wait a bit. Having an extra Marriott account can actually be useful, since you may receive targeted promotions on it. I have kept my old SPG account unmerged for exactly that reason, because Marriott keeps sending me stay 2, get 22,500 points offers, and it almost feels wasteful to close or merge it.
Honestly, if you want Marriott Platinum, there is no need to go this far. You can simply apply for the AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card from us: