FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Gold rewards member and room upgrades! Is it a scam??

Apr 5, 2010 | 7:06 am

#16

ohmark

Join Date: Mar 2001

Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan USA

Programs: Marriott lifetime Titanium, Delta Platinum

Posts: 5,485

Quote:

Originally Posted by melissa87

I appreciate all the responses to my question. I'm new to this Gold member status and never really paid attention to be honest. But I read the following info under the "Gold" membership terms and conditions.

Room Upgrade
When you check in, we’ll upgrade you to our best-available guest room at no additional charge. Not available for suites and Marriott Vacation Club International. For Residence Inn and TownPlace Suites, upgrades from studio to 1- or 2-bedrooms are not guaranteed.

Guaranteed Lounge Access/Free Continental Breakfast
Help yourself to light snacks, beverages and complimentary continental breakfast in our Concierge/Executive Club Lounge at participating Marriott Hotels, JW Marriott Hotels, Renaissance Hotels or Autograph Collection. For Marriott Hotels, JW Marriott Hotels, Renaissance Hotels or Autograph Collection without a Concierge/Executive Club Lounge, we invite you to enjoy a complimentary continental breakfast on your weekday stays, Monday-Friday. Just show your membership card and room key in the hotel restaurant. We guarantee you will always receive access to either the lounge during normal hours of operation or complimentary breakfast, or we will reimburse you $100 USD at full-service hotels. (Not available at resort locations)

So I took the above at face value. What's the point of being loyal if none of these things actually occur?? I certainly wasn't expecting some luxury suite, just what they claim they offer!

If you are gold/plat and have been refused lounge access, then you should claim your $100 guarantee payment before you leave the property. As others have said, upgrades depend on the property. Factors include to what extent the property physically has upgraded rooms, percentage of occupancy, other elites staying at property, and length of your stay. In my experience, the three most important factors are: the length of your stay, the competency of the front desk clerk, and the property's management. Some clerks are ignorant of the program and some could care less. This is usually linked to the competency of the property's management. The shorter your stay, the better the chance of an upgrade.