escapefromphl

samwise6222

I need a flyertalk for people who don't have OPM

bhrubin

I'd first and foremost look to see if your travel plans for the remainder of 2019 are likely to get you over the $20K threshold before even considering anything else.

Only eligible spending at Bonvoy hotels as per Bonvoy T&C is counted towards the Ambassador $20K. So a gift card isn't going to work.

Spending a little more on your room rates or on additional F&B at the Bonvoy hotels at which you're already planning to stay can help make a big dent to reaching the $20K threshold. If your employer were willing to cover a gift card, perhaps they will be OK for you to spend a bit more per stay to qualify.

But I also agree that just spending an extra $3.5K to reach Ambassador status seems a poor investment for most--unless the bulk of your stays with Bonvoy are with the luxury brands where I believe Ambassador status really shines most brightly.

Good luck!

Gig103

There are dozens of us!

WillBarrett_68

The answer to this should obviously be no, it's clearly double-dipping and would effectively lower the spend requirement for Ambassador to $10k.

unitedhandcuffs

I have EE with National rental car and GS with United Airlines, so this year I'm going for the trifecta with Ambassador for Marriott.

I'm currently at 90 nights and $11k but now that I'm getting closer, (in nights anyway) I'm scrutinizing the numbers more as they come in. Marriott seems to be short changing me (eg. $s post but nights don't, or room cost posts but meeting room cost doesn't, etc.). With united it's all pretty transparent to track to your +$40k for GS (returning GS) but with Marriott I get an uneasy feeling that I need to check everything. Does anyone track their numbers religiously and if you do, do you catch Marriott missing things or are they accurate? I really don't want to spend a lot of timing looking over their shoulder.

would appreciate your experiences.

EuropeanPete

unitedhandcuffs

Thanks Pete, you just confirmed my suspicions. I'll have to pull all the records to check. Thanks again

TommyC80

The way my year is shaping out I’m going to hit 90 nights, but I’m already at like $30,000 in spend. I’ve been weighing whether or not to do one cheap meeting to get to 100 nights, but this thread makes me not want to waste the effort or money.

Most of my upcoming stays next year will be at RC, W and St Regis properties where they already have pretty strong pre-arrival concierge services. I have a few stays at The Cosmopolitan where the ambassadors probably have zero influence.

Based on my travel patterns, and the reports here, my sense is that ambassadors aren’t going to provide much value and striving for 100 nights is a bit of a fool’s errand. Am I missing something?

bhrubin

I would tell you that stays at the luxury brands is where Ambassador status shines the most--because such hotels also are where they already are understanding and experienced to elevate your experience. Your stay patten seems a lot like mine.

If you like to get upgraded to suites, the luxury brands are the ones with the highest proportion of suites--and concomitantly the ones that upgrade Ambassadors the most, sometimes even to specialty suites. From regular entry level or award rooms, no less. I've now been upgraded on award or paid entry level stays to a suite in from summer 2018 to this point in 2019 at the following hotels:

Prince Gallery Tokyo
Suiran Kyoto
RC Kyoto (Kamogawa Suite)
St Regis Florence
Altantis by Giardino Zurich (Design)
SLS Beverly Hills (several times, even to SLS Suite and Courtyard Deluxe Suite)
StR Bal Harbour (Royal Suite)
St Regis San Francisco (several times always to Metropolitan Suite)
RC Coconut Grove
StR Bahia Beach
RC Georgetown (several times, including Ritz-Carlton Suite)
RC Washington (only a premium room, but sold out)
RC Boston (several times)
RC Chicago (Lakeside Suite)
RC Bacara Santa Barbara (Oceanview One Bedroom Suite)
RC Half Moon Bay (Ocean House One Bedroom Suite)

Not only have I been upgraded consistently, but I always am treated like a VIP. I get nice welcome amenities, but this goes well beyond that. I get extra attention and better service recovery on average when things do go awry. I have the attention of the GM or Dir of Operations when I need it because of my status when I need it. Everything is just better.

I wish you well. But I think Ambassador status is especially helpful when we do stay at luxury hotels, in particular.

BillBurn

This is my first year as an Ambassador elite (I have 1000+ nights at Marriott and Lifetime Titanium) and for me the jury is still out. It is safe to say that to a large extent your experience as an Ambassador Elite depends on the luck of the draw in terms of who is assigned to be your Ambassador. That said from what I can tell most Ambassador elites seem to report improving service and recognition vs. this time last year and there is a strong argument the service may improve even more in 2020 as that's the first full year in which everyone has to meet both the nights and revenue cutoffs so theoretically the # of Ambassadors should be decline somewhat. I am going to re-qualify again this year but I am not committed to go for re-qualification in 2021 yet.

If you are going to have 90 nights it might be worth it to use your Annual Choice gifts to get the 10 extra elite nights or get 15 elite nights with a credit card if you don't already have one. That way you can try it out for a year and judge for yourself whether it's worth it or not.

unitedhandcuffs

Does Marriott still offer 10 nights for a meeting room? I booked a $500 meeting room in Singapore and not only did they not give me 10 more nights, they didn't even give me the $s. They are working to add the $s but they claim the 10 nights is not a thing anymore

bhrubin

Yes, assuming there is a proper contract (and only for the first meeting every year). Some hotels are beginning to require booked rooms plus the meeting room to get the meeting 10 nights credit, but I don't know what the status of that is since I always have booked rooms too.

You're best to check out this thread:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marr...18-2018-a.html

unitedhandcuffs

I agree with this approach. I'm run-rating towards 130 nights and $16k for 2019. I always spend about $5-10k over Christmas staying somewhere so this year I'll just make sure it's Marriott to secure Ambassador so I can try it out for a year myself given all the mixed reviews.

SunshineStay

You will get 10 nights credited. Talk to the hotel that they do that and reference the Bonvoy T&Cs 4.2.a.iv:
The spend on meetings however, will not be credited towards your 20k spend threshold according to the the Bonvoy T&Cs 4.2.b.v: