Originally Posted by travelinfoo

Free breakfast is NOT part of the elite benefits. It is included ONLY if the hotel has a Club lounge AND you are Plt. OTW as Gold, you only get breakfast IF you are upgraded to the Club level.

You can only qualify for SPG Gold with Amex Plt. Gold IMO is not worth much. Upgrades are rare (don't even get them all the time as Plt).

You will NOT qualify for Plt by this wknd.

You get to Plt ONLY via hotel time OR a one-time status match with the highest level of another hotel chain. However, the matched status usually takes up to a month since they have to verify your stays/status with the other chain.