Originally Posted by
Doors Closing
Within the US/Canada Gold (and Silver by extension; necver understood why those two would not be merged......) would be nearly meaningless (except the bonus points and the slight better feel...). If you travel globally, especially in Asia, it might get you a bit of a top-up yet cannot recall a suite upgrade for example. As Platinum it does feel very different, yet again, if in NA even this is a hit/miss situation.
I'm sure the silver/gold split is to give people at the low end of tiers a sense of progress, so they have something to "aspire" to and stay an extra night or two with Marriott to reach whatever they can. But you're right, no real benefits at those levels except a few extra points per stay.