Redefined Rewards for Marriott and Starwood Members

Simplified and clarified the loyalty program experience for over 110M+ members worldwide.

The Scale Behind the Merge

  • 30 Brands

  • 3 Loyalty Programs

  • 110 Million Members

  • 7,000 Properties

The Challenge

Marriott and Starwood each had distinct loyalty programs with different tier names, benefit structures, and qualification rules. Members expected a smooth transition, but behind the scenes the systems, terminology, and benefit eligibility were all different.


The challenge was to merge two global reward ecosystems into one unified experience where members could clearly recognize their tier, understand their benefits, and continue to feel valued without confusion or loss of trust.

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Marriott Bonvoy Member Benefits

Cross-Collaboration

I partnered with 14 departments, including Reservations, Rewards, Branding, and Legal, to align membership data, benefit eligibility, and tier communication. Our goal was to simplify how members understood their benefits while preserving the integrity of both legacy programs. We mapped every tier and benefit, identified overlaps and conflicts, and created a unified benefit model. Design explorations focused on clear terminology, visual consistency, and helping members recognize their status and rewards with confidence.

14-Department Collaboration

To meet a strict legal deadline, hotel ballrooms were rented to host company-wide collaboration workshops.

  • Digital Loyalty UX

  • Reservations

  • Hotel Websites

  • Marketing

  • Branding

  • Promotions

  • Rewards

  • User Researcher

  • Product Owners

  • Developers

  • Quality Assurance

  • Customer Care

  • Operations

  • Legal

Key UX Decisions

To merge Marriott and Starwood loyalty programs successfully, I focused on clarity, consistency, and usability. Key design decisions included consolidating tier structures, unifying points displays, and standardizing navigation patterns. Each decision was made to reduce confusion, improve member confidence, and support seamless interactions for millions of users.

CASE STUDY: Free Night Rewards

Under the merged program, the Rewards Team changed how free night rewards could be redeemed. However, the update resulted in $500,000 in losses within a month, triggering an all-hands effort to resolve the issue. As part of the solution, clear communication of redemption rules across properties and dates was needed. Ultimately, we implemented a three-phase solution that fully addressed the problem.

Solving the $500,000 Free Night reward dilemma required a three-phase, multipronged, omnichannel approach.

Taxonomy Rollout for Phase 1

  • Taxonomy Rollout

    In Marriott Rewards, the term to redeem a free night remained Free Night Award.

  • SPG Branded Site

    For those who chose to keep their SPG account number, the term Free Night Certificate was used.

  • Booking Path

    In the booking path “Use Award / Certificate” was used while other channels transitioned to “Award”. In the next two phases, the taxonomy would change two more times.

  • Reward Onboarding

    Members were educated on the new, more complex redemption rules and how to use their rewards effectively.

Member Experience Flow

To ensure members could easily manage their rewards, I designed a clear, end-to-end experience that spans signup, tier management, and redemption. The new flow reduces friction, prevents confusion, and provides a consistent journey.

CASE STUDY: Account Merging

Merging accounts from two loyalty systems was the most important aspect of merging the programs. We simplified it into a five-step guided process to make progress clear and reduce cognitive load. Critical “unhappy paths,” such as forgotten member IDs or passwords, were handled directly in the flow, while less common issues were routed to external help to maintain focus and momentum.

Designing Simplicity in Merging Accounts

  • Member Onboarding

    Before the account merge went live, a campaign was launched to educate members on what to expect, helping them feel comfortable and confident.

  • Stepper Limited to Five Bullets

    The number of stepper bullets was limited to five to make the process feel straightforward. Bullets were grouped by high-level logical steps, not screens.

  • A "Simple" Account Merge Process

    To create a simple five-step experience, some steps were purposefully left out of the stepper. The tone was informal and value-focused.

  • Common Unhappy Paths

    Common unhappy paths, such as “Forgot User Number,” were complex but still integrated into the merge flow for an uninterrupted experience.

”The [account linking] process is very simple”
- The Points Guy, 1.8M followers

Impact & Results

Merging two global loyalty programs required balancing user needs, business goals, and technical constraints. The project reinforced the importance of clear communication, iterative design, and designing for scale. The unified experience simplified member journeys, maintained trust, and delivered a consistent interface.

Today, Marriott Bonvoy is thriving as the largest hospitality loyal program and supports over 200 millions of members, 40 brands, over 9,000 properties across 14 countries & territories, and generates over $25B in annual revenue.

I am honored to have played such an important part of what is likely to remain the world’s largest loyalty program merge in hospitality.