Using Marriott card to get Gold Elite Status?

[sillykitty1]

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@nitrov wrote:
Hmmm, now you're making me reconsider!

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Will you use the other Ritz benefits? Airline credit, primary rental coverage, Lounge Club, Premuim Concierge?  What is your travel style, on your personal time?  Are you willing to pay a premium for superior service and accomodations, or is a room mostly a place to lay your head and night?

[nitrov]

I think I would use the airline credit, I use Prestige my USAA member coverage for rental cars, I don't have platinum concierge anymore so I'd like to try and use premium concierge. I like staying in nice hotels occasionally, and if I have a free certificate for it I would definitely use it. When I do travel personally, I probably stay 65% in just logical, affordable places (I always find a deal), and the other 35% I sometimes splurge (usually a combination of points and cash, certificates, etc.).

[sillykitty1]

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@nitrov wrote:
I think I would use the airline credit, I use Prestige my USAA member coverage for rental cars, I don't have platinum concierge anymore so I'd like to try and use premium concierge. I like staying in nice hotels occasionally, and if I have a free certificate for it I would definitely use it. When I do travel personally, I probably stay 65% in just logical, affordable places (I always find a deal), and the other 35% I sometimes splurge (usually a combination of points and cash, certificates, etc.).

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Well primary coverage for rental cars is superior to the Prestige's secondary coverage.  You won't have to involve your personal auto insurance if you have a rental car claim, and risk your insurance rates.  I rent all the time, so this is valuable to me, but may not be to you.

We are probably on the same page with hotels for personal stays.  I like something nice usually, but don't need it to be the height of luxury.  The Renaissance is my favorite of the Marriott brands for example.  The Ritz certs aren't free nights, they are upgrades to the Club Level.  So you'd have to book a Ritz room at a nondiscounted rate (no corporate codes, or AA discounts etc.) and then use the Upgrade Certs to get to the Club Level, which gives access to the Club Lounge, and perhaps an upgraded room (?).  Without the cert the Club lounge is usually a $100+ per night upgrade.  But for me, I'm more likely to choose a Ren or JW and use points or $200/nightish or even a well located Courtyard, vs. a Ritz which is usually $300+ per night, at least when and where I'm looking.  But if you'd be willing to pay the Ritz price anyway, then the Club certs are a big benefit.

[nitrov]

Oh wow! See that's stuff they don't readily include in even the fine print. With IHG, I'm able to get upgrades and stuff on rooms I pay for with my corporate rate, so I'm already getting a pretty decent base rate deal. I'm not a fan of paying full price for much of anything, especially not for a Ritz just so I can have access to club level rooms. VERY interesting. Seems like Marriott treats their clients pretty differently from IHG. I figured by this point that they'd be more competitive with one another in terms of benefits for various loyalty levels. I know I'm a zero with SPG being Gold with them, but even there they're at least nice and get me an upgraded room. Doesn't sound like that'd even happen too often at Ritz/Marriott even if I did get gold with them. Hmm, maybe I will just stick to the Marriott card then, even though that rental coverage is a very good perk. I've honestly (thankfully, knock on wood) never had a problem in a rental so I'm not even 100% sure if any of my cards would 100% cover me without involving my own insurance. I find it hard to believe neither Prestige or one of the Amex cards do for the high AF :\

[ibmrad7]

I am Platinum Elite with Marriott with over 100 nights a year and even that doesn't help me score upgrades that often. It's less than a 50% when it comes to scoring a Suite upgrades with Marriott.

[nitrov]

Wow, I can't believe with how many properties they have, and how many rooms they have, that they can't upgrade you guys more often! Every single time I stay in an Intercontinental I get at least a junior suite, even if it's a reward night (free) stay. At any of their other properties I ALWAYS get a suite if that property literally has any, I guess I really am spoiled by them

That's so unfortunate. It's sounding more and more like I should just stick with the Marriott card then. Ritz seems like it has a lot of benefits that make the AF doable, but if the certs/points are gonna serve me better on Marriott then I just wanna make the most of whatever I get.

[red259]

I had plat status in the past and now doing some stays to get gold back via a challenge. I have had reasonable luck getting upgrades although many times i had to ask. Keep in mind at some properties there are no suites to upgrade to.

[sillykitty1]

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@nitrov wrote:
Oh wow! See that's stuff they don't readily include in even the fine print. With IHG, I'm able to get upgrades and stuff on rooms I pay for with my corporate rate, so I'm already getting a pretty decent base rate deal. I'm not a fan of paying full price for much of anything, especially not for a Ritz just so I can have access to club level rooms. VERY interesting. Seems like Marriott treats their clients pretty differently from IHG. I figured by this point that they'd be more competitive with one another in terms of benefits for various loyalty levels. I know I'm a zero with SPG being Gold with them, but even there they're at least nice and get me an upgraded room. Doesn't sound like that'd even happen too often at Ritz/Marriott even if I did get gold with them. Hmm, maybe I will just stick to the Marriott card then, even though that rental coverage is a very good perk. I've honestly (thankfully, knock on wood) never had a problem in a rental so I'm not even 100% sure if any of my cards would 100% cover me without involving my own insurance. I find it hard to believe neither Prestige or one of the Amex cards do for the high AF :\

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I think the difference in IHG vs. Marriott customers.  Marriott caterers heavily to business travelers, while IHG is more geared towards leisure travel.  So I would guess that in most Marriott properties that aren't near a tourist attraction, greater then 50% are going to have Gold status or higher.  I would guess that a much smaller percentage of IHG guests have any status at all.  So it's not about how Marriott treats their elites, it's just there are so many of them, there aren't enough upgraded rooms to go around.

As far as rental coverage, Amex Plat offers primary as an add on of about $20 per rental.  Good is you rarely rent, but not great if you're renting frequently.  But only Diners Club and Chase's Premium Travel Cards cover primary.  Except, I think USAA cards offer primary as well ....hmmm ... I can't be a member, so I'm not sure

[taxi818]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@nitrov wrote:

So, I just got approved for the Chase Marriott card, and I'm hoping due to the SPG merger it'll come in even more handy. I'm new to Marriott's loyalty program, so I could use some advice on how people may have maximized the card's benefits to translate into status with Marriott Elite. 

So, I know the card states it gives you 15 elite credits per year, which gets you past the min. threshhold of 10 for Silver, but Gold Elite requires 50 nights. So, at $3000 of spend per 1 elite credit, by my math, I'd have to spend $105k in a year to secure Gold Elite status assuming I didn't stay in any Marriots that year. YIKES! So, that's not going to happen for me. Has anyone had any luck with any tricks or tips for how to get to a more elevated status with them? I'm spoiled now because I have Platinum Elite status free from my IHG card, so I want to make my way up the Marriott ladder to make it more attractive for me to stay there. Staying at a Marriott 35 nights in a year, or even half that and spending $50k on the card seems unlikely for me, so I'm hoping there's a loophole somewhere. Can you use points to upgrade status?

Can anyone share their experiences with the Silver Elite or Gold Elite status in Marriott hotels?

Any help would be much appreciated!

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The way to get Gold status with Marriott using the Marriott card is to cancel the Marriott card and apply for the Ritz Carlton card and spend $10K per year on that card.  Problem solved.

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So just of it then? That sounds sweet.  I don't know why I am a silver elite. But it's ok. Just paid for 3 nights at the JW Marriott in hong kong. Sweet. 15k points per night.  Love it. If the ritz can earn more. I will switch. But iirc there is a hefty AF. Over $400. No thanks. 

[Anonymous]

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@nitrov wrote:

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@pakprotector wrote:

There are a lot of people on the forums like that... unfortunate. 

thanks,

BLH

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I'm pretty sure almost every single person on these forums has made a mistake at least once in their lives. No need to judge.

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couldn't have said it better myself!