China's Been Holding up the Starwood-Marriott Merger
Arguably one of the biggest pieces of news to rock the points and miles world this year (and the end of last year) has been the Starwood-Marriott merger saga. Last November, Marriott originally announced its intention to acquire Starwood — and who can forget when Chinese insurance company Anbang came out of left field with a bid for Starwood in March 2016? After some back and forth, Marriott eventually outbid Anbang to acquire Starwood and its beloved SPG program toward the end of March for a proposed $13.6 billion.
Since then, there really hasn't been much news regarding the finalization of the deal and when the merger would officially take place. But now we have some clue as to what the hold up has been — China. According to Marriott, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it needs up to 60 more days to review the purchase. The merger already has gotten approval from more than 40 countries, including the US and the European Union.
The merged Starwood and Marriott brand would become the largest hotel group in the world, and take the title of the largest hotel operator in China. According to a Fortune article, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has blocked only two transactions since 2008 as opposed to 1,447 unconditional clearances since the country introduced anti-monopoly laws. While Marriott had expected the Chinese Ministry of Commerce to complete its review by August 9, this delay will end up pushing the decision back by about two months.
No firm reason has been given as to why the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has requested more time to finish its review, but both Starwood and Marriott say that the merger does not pose any threat to China's anti-competitive laws. Right now, there's no reason to believe that China will block the transaction, but we will just have to wait a bit longer to hear the official word and the answer to the question that's on every Starwood loyalist's mind: what will happen to the SPG program?
Stay tuned for more details of the Starwood-Marriott merger as they come in.
H/T: LA Times
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| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
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Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
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Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month