Gold still gets the guaranteed room type. For me Gold is worth it, mainly because of the guaranteed room type and the concierge lounge access. I usually get my preference for room location honored as well. In the last few years, I have been upgraded to a suite twice. The first time was at a CY when the Internet was down in my room and the suite was the only nonsmoking room left with working Internet. The suite at the CY was great! The other time was at a full service MR I had stayed at many times for a project. In the later case, I appreciated the gesture but the desk in the conventional rooms actually worked better for me. Since most of my stays are short, suites usually aren’t a big deal for me. For the occasional longer stay 5+ nights, a suite would be nice. If I am going to have a really long stay, I could bite the bullet and book an RI even though it is only 5points/dollar.


-Jon

P.S. The Suite upgrade benefit has been gone for at least a year. If you do a search you will find zillions of threads on the subject.