In days gone by, I used to be a regular Black level member, and now am a humble Silver. Now that retirement is looming, it will no longer be possible to 'move up the ladder' so to speak. The plan is to take my wife on a few long haul trips, and probably closer to home as well, but I was thinking that it would be nice if I could somehow gain Platinum...just for a year... and give my wife some of the perks that I used to enjoy ... concierge level etc. Is there a relativly easy way to acheive this do you think ? Or would a note to Marriott be worth while or a waste of time ? It's a shame really, as it's when you retire that you would really like the perks to kick in for a while longer. Thanks for any input.