A new era is beginning for the more than 110 million members of Marriott International’s loyalty programs – Marriott Rewards, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG).

For the first time since Marriott acquired Starwood Hotels and Resorts in 2016, the programs now operate under one set of unified benefits and one currency spanning the entire loyalty portfolio of 29 brands and more than 6,700 hotels in 130 countries and territories.

Members are able to seamlessly earn and redeem across the entire loyalty portfolio and achieve Elite status faster with new Elite tiers. Members can now combine their separate program accounts into one at Marriott.com or SPG.com.

Together, the unified programs are richer. Members now earn on average 20 percent more points per dollar spent and have their Elite status recognized consistently at every hotel.

As a result of the unified, single-currency programs, when members combine their accounts, their points balances will also combine, ending the need to transfer points between programs.

Under the unified programs, members now earn Silver Elite status after just 10 nights annually, Gold Elite status after just 25 nights, Platinum Elite status after 50 nights and Platinum Premier Elite status after 75 nights.

The unified programs introduce a new Free Night Award chart for redemptions across the entire loyalty portfolio. Nearly 70% of hotels now require the same or fewer points for a free stay.

With the new programs comes an array of refreshed benefits for co-branded credit cardholders that provide members with more benefits across the entire loyalty portfolio.

Marriott's loyalty programs offer members a holistic travel experience encompassing more than hotel stays. Members have access to wide collection of nearly 120,000 irresistible experiences in 1,000 global destinations.