I got a Gold membership in the mail a few months back, it lasts through February. I didn't ask for it or do anything remotely to earn it, in fact, I'd only had 2 stays all of last year for a whopping total of 3 nights. I figured it was because I'm an American Bar Association member which gives me Prefered Plus status, so the only real cost to *wood of making me gold is the extra points earned. And it's definitely driven my business to *wood (1 night since becoming gold, and 5 more nights planned for this fall) so I think it's a net gain for them. I also got targeted for that "stay 3, earn a free weekend night" promo, so I must be on some list somewhere as someone they want to do more business with. I know it drives other folks crazy, but for me it's pretty neato to be getting anything for free.