It's great to have you here on the Clark Howard Show. You know, our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you to make better financial decisions in your life.

In today's episode, I'm going to start with a warning

about hotel frequent stay programs. I talked recently about airline

frequent flyer programs and how they become such a rip-off. I want to tell you

the hotels have actually become worse than the

airlines. Is that possible? Yeah. Also I have an update about something I was so

excited about on the podcast, laundry detergent sheets.

Instead of detergent, I got new data for you on whether or not they are worth your money.

So right now, I want to talk about the hotel programs.

I kind of turn sour on Bonvoy, which is Marriott's program, probably two years ago when it became

clear that Marriott was just pulling a fake on you. It was a bait and switch. Marriott, the world's largest

hotel brand, when they took over Starwood, they immediately started a process of devaluing the hotel program, and now it's a joke.

And now hotels in Mass in the Marriott program are no longer honoring virtually any of the

privileges that various levels of elite status are supposed to mean in Bonvoy.

People who live on the road,

staying in hotels night after night after night,

and you hit a level and you're supposed to get room upgrades and maybe free breakfast and this that or the other

and Marriott Hotels and Marriott Affiliate all the different brands that basically said forget it we're not doing anything for you

and if you thought we were going to do any of those things is not happening and Marriott's doing nothing about it nothing.

They are the worst offender but the devaluing of the benefits of the points.

I mean, it's a joke.

When you look at any of these programs,

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