Originally Posted by ftrichard

...The logic fails of course in the long run because the easier you make it to become Platinum the lower quality the guest and the very characteristics that led to the historical data that justified the policy become diluted. Worse, the premium elites who produced that additional revenue become disenfranchised by the crowding of lounges and absence of suite upgrades because of the glut of new Platinums and they abandon Marriott and jump ship to a chain that hasn't overwhelmed the system and gives them the experience they used to get with their Bonvoy elite status. But by then, everyone in Bonvoy marketing who was in that original marketing meeting has moved on to fresh pastures and the new lot wonder why they're in the firing line for losing so many elites and reducing revenue.