I just signed up, and immediately sent an email to ask about the Gold challenge. Took about 36 hours to get a response with an offer of Gold for 12 stays. As I looked at my schedule, I will have 17 nights in the next 90 days. I could add another night pretty easily. I already responded to the email offer (abouut 30 minutes ago!), should I write back and ask for the Platinum challenge instead? It seems like the major benefits are more points, and the mysterious "free gift."