Originally Posted by
FlyerBeek
^ Definitely my plan as well. My only other consideration is trying to build credit for lifetime Plat. Still about 4-5 years away at my current rate of Starwood stays, but just something else that'll probably make me focus back on Starwood properties towards the end of the year once I've achieved top-tier with another program (promotions depending).
-FlyerBeek
Of the 3 major hotel loyalty programs with lifetime status, SPG is the most attainable.
Hyatt - only lifetime level is Diamond. Requires 10 years as a Diamond and 1 million
base points. That's a $200K spend.
Marriott - requires:
1) 12 years as a Marriott Rewards member
2) 600/600/1000 nights for lifetime silver/gold/platinum
3) 1.6/1.8/2.0 million points for lifetime silver/gold/platinum
4) attaining the lifetime level (silver/gold/platinum) at least once on an annual basis.
... Marriott silver has very little benefits so I'd consider lifetime silver to be worthless; the lowest level worth shooting for is gold.
Depending on what your objective is, either program would be an acceptable second to SPG. Personally, I'd lean toward Hyatt due to lifetime status being more easily achievable AND that they have a high number of aspirational properties. If you want to have broad worldwide coverage, Marriott is the way to go. However, I've come to realize that lifetime Marriott Gold is almost as valuable as lifetime Platinum.
From my personal experiences as of late, Marriott is very stingy on the more desirable room upgrades (there are some properties that are exceptions). If I were to rank order those hotel programs with lifetime status, I'd go with:
1) SPG
2) Hyatt
3) Marriott
We road warriors have a finite amount of working years to accumulate lifetime status. The major reason I see to achieve lifetime status is to be able to use the perks in retirement when I'm only taking a couple of vacations a year, unable to achieve elite status with any hotel chain.
Again, your mileage may vary.