My # starts with 078 and dates back to the 80s I think.
Originally Posted by
TravellingMan
Here is my recent experience of being a Platinum Elite (7+ years) with Marriott:
1. Unable to use points when I really want to use them. Either the hotel is on a blackout week or there are no rooms available using points.
2. Never get upgraded unless I am enroute someplace and staying for one night in an "out of the way" property.
3. Have not stayed in a full service Marriott for a while so cannot comment on the state of the lounge facilities for the past 6 months.
4. Finally the platinum arrival gift - stayed at a Residence Inn in Bloomington MN last month and they gave me a bag of peanuts as the arrival gift.
Not even a market item nor offer of points - just a bag of peanuts.
5. When I call the elite line to book a property, I am told the property is full so the platinum override of rack rate applies and not the corporate rate. When I call the property directly, they offer me the corporate rate. Not sure if this is similar to the airline charging more for Elite members?
Maybe it is just my experiences, has anyone had an experience where you can say being a Platinum Elite made a difference to being Joe Public?
Although I have had no trouble using my points, I question the value as well. Yes, I appreciate the bonus points and free wifi (though the latter is of limited value as I would generally bill it back to my employer). I also appreciate the noticeably better service that I receive at the front desk and on the phone.
That being said, MR gets a big fail on the upgrade front, at least by comparison to what I read in the SPG and Hyatt forums. I mostly stay at FS Marriotts and haven't seen any suites - or even a nice view.
Hyatts generally have much better lounge food and usually weekend hours.
Should I start taking a DYKWIA attitude at the front desk when the initial room assignment is not a suite? That's not really my style, but the lack of upgrades is definitely not incentivizing me to choose Marriott.
Originally Posted by
sdsearch
You're confusing Platinum Elite with elite status overall.
Yes, I can point to countless times when I've gotten free breakfast and free internet as a Gold. But being Platinum would get me nothing more of those, and as you said, there's a question in many people's minds whether there's that much value for everyone in Platinum over Gold.
Agreed. It is hard to see the value of Plat v. Gold.
Like you I keep points in every program and will choose properties depending on the options and prevailing rates. I recently choose a Courtyard @ $180/nt because I could use a Cat 1-5 visa cert for 1 night, rather than going with the HIX @ 25k Priority Club points, because I'd prefer to getter value when I use points. But I also used 40k HH points for 1 night at HGI Napa because I absolutely refuse to pay $300-400 per night for a room.
Next to SPG, I find Marriott points are generally the easiest to use, so 'nice to have a supply.