It is true that Marriott gives you a "soft" landing when you fail to requal. In 2005 I stayed at the Park Ridge, NJ Marriott for about seven months - and the first 80 days I was logged in under my wife's Marriott Rewards account, giving her Platinum status. Then the manager noticed it was under her name and mentioned that I really should be staying under my own account and he set it up for me right there on the spot, and I soon reached Platinum status myself.

2006 comes along and I am not travelling much because I got a client to let me work from home 8 out of the 12 months, and when I did travel I foolishly used Priceline in order to keep my costs down - and there were no Marriotts in the town anyway...

2007 hits and I am back on the road, still Platinum for the first month and then bam - I notice I am only Gold about a week later. I get home that weekend and have a Gold Elite welcome package from Marriott stating that even though I did not qualify, they were comp'ing me Gold level in hopes that I would come back.

A week later my wife's Gold Elite package came - and she has only stayed one night in a Marriott since turning Platinum.

This year I will have my 75th night in sometime around July 1st, and I will enjoy the increased 5% in points - but the hotel I am staying at gives me a Platinum gift on the first night of every stay anyway (Fairfield Inn), and upgrades me to a room with free wired access that is 100 times better than the free wireless.