Originally Posted by
Small Shiny Objects
I have not been traveling much the last few years and so I do not currently hold status for any hotel chain. Starting in October it looks like I am going to start travelling a lot more than I have been.
I know there are several credit card offers that allow you to gain status for certain hotel chains. I may take Chase up on an email offer they sent me a month ago for Priority Club Rewards if it is still valid, but I really don't need any additional credit cards.
I see I can purchase Gold status for Priority Club directly from them for $50, but would only be good through 12/31/11, so it is not necessarily a good time to make that purchase.
I should be able to earn status fairly quickly if I end up being able to stay at just one or two chains, but I will be jumping around from city to city and may not have the option to try and put all my eggs in one or two baskets.
Are there any other hotel programs besides Priority Club that allow you to simply purchase status?
A status by the same name does not get you the same thing at every hotel program.
IMHO buying Gold for $50 at Priority Club is a waste of money, because (a) you don't get much with Gold, and (b) you have to start over "from scratch" on your progress to Platinum. And even Platinum only gets you perks at some hotels, far from all.
OTOH, HHonors Gold gets you so much you shouldn't have to worry about Diamond there: free breakfast, free internet (at least wired
or wifi, not necessarily always your choice). (HHonors Silver, though, gets you very little.)
SPG Gold gets you very little, and even Platinum doesn't get you free breakfast at hotels without a club level. You do get free internet only as a Platinum, club level only as a Platinum.
Marriott Silver gets you very little. And
no Marriott status gets you free breakfast at Courtyards (at least in the US) any more!
Of course, in most of these hotel families (SPG excepted) there's a simple way to get breafkast and free interent while working your way up to status: Only stay at those brands that give both to everyone (for example, Fairfield Inn at Marriott, Hampton Inn at HHonors, Holiday Inn Express at IHG, etc). In SPG, you can get free internet (but not free breakfast) at Four Points (SPG has no brand that gives free breakfast to everyone).