rewardsplus: united and marriott announce reciprocal travel benefits

found on flyertalk initially, i saw that united announced rewardsplus: an extension of its existing partnership with the marriott group of hotels. this is very similar to the delta / starwood partnership that was announced months ago, whereby elite status on one program would provide benefits to non-elite members of the other. unlike the delta / starwood partnership, you actually get a full status level and all of its privileges.

the details of the partnership in a nutshell:

• united premier gold (50k), platinum (75k) and 1k (100k) members can sign up to get complimentary marriott gold elite status
• marriott gold status is normally earned after 50 nights per year
• marriott gold status gives you: free internet, complimentary room upgrade, continental breakfast, hotel lounge access, late check-out, 25% bonus points on hotel stays
• therefore, this is only a benefit if you're currently a marriott silver or basic member.
• marriott platinum elite members (top tier, 75 nights/year) will get complimentary united premier silver statu
• united premier silver status is normally earned after 25k premier qualifying miles and $2,500 annual spend for those with american addresses
• united premier silver status gives you: waived checked baggage fees for first or second bags on star alliance carriers, priority check-in/screening/boarding on united airline flights, complimentary economy plus seats, 500 mile minimums, and 25% bonus miles on united and certain partner flights. 
• this is probably one of the most generous star alliance silver programs in terms of benefits there are.
• this is only of benefit if you're not already a premier silver/gold/platinum/1k member.

in the future, the program will allow united mileage plus members to transfer miles at a 1:1 ratio to marriott points, which is probably a bad deal. asides from the starwood program, airline points are always more valuable than hotel points, provided you can redeem them. they will also offer a 20% discount when converting marriott points to united miles. i am not familiar enough with marriott points to say whether this is a good deal or not.

overall, i like deals and partnerships between programs. i feel like they open up opportunities for people who don't normally travel enough in order to earn status in all the various programs. i'm sure that the true frequent flyers and road warriors aren't pleased as it reduces the exclusivity of the club and dilutes the benefits. but as for my own habits, i think it's just another reason to pick united to credit miles to over aeroplan in the future.