End of Year Advice
 

Seeking some advice for the end of year. I will be staying in hotels long-term for the foreseeable future (2+ months at a minimum). I know Lifetime Silver means nothing. I know Lifetime Gold means almost nothing (since Plat is the one I care about for lounge access). With that being said, should I stop staying at Marriott Hotels once I hit my 75 nights and try to obtain status with another chain such as Hyatt? Or should I continue chugging away with Marriott to get Lifetime Gold and hopefully maybe Lifetime Plat within the next couple years as well as accruing points. I am 90% sure I will most likely NOT hit 20K in spending for ambassador status (nor do I think it would benefit me much as I book all my hotels myself). What would you do?

I have no other hotel statuses. I fly primarily on United Airlines (1K so I know I get Marriott Gold anyway...sigh). I'm sort of young (in my early 20s) so I can see a benefit for Lifetime Statuses. But I do know terms and conditions change and I understand what I earn could be absolutely meaning-less (and lounge-less) 20 years from now.

Current Status: Plat Premier at 60 nights (and accruing daily)
Current Lifetime: Silver (100 nights away from Lifetime Gold...300 nights from Lifetime Platinum)

I assume from your email that this means you do not believe you will stay in a hotel long enough to reach 300 nights. If Marriott continued to offer rollover nights for 2018-19, it would likely help you, but that is gone.

Obviously, everything depends on preference - are Marriotts more convenient for you, do you like the Marriott properties better, what do you value, etc. - but since it sounds like the lounge is one of the most important things to you and investing in LT gold does not mean much to you, I would probably move over to Hilton after the 75 nights. You can earn diamond in 30 stays, 60 nights, or 120K points. Unfortunately, though, the benefit really is only for the year since it will take many years of elite status with Hilton to amount to lifetime status.

You didn't mention your number of years as Plat - doesn't that metric count going forward?

It does. I'm at 8 years. 10 are required. (Not sure how I'm at 8 years but I'll take it)

I think the main thing I'm wondering is...should I push toward achieving lifetime or should I diversify?

Marriott's are only convenient due to the widespread availability and in the beginning, due to United. I stay in major cities so there's almost always a Hilton/Hyatt close by as well. I've only stayed at a non-Marriott / non-spg property for a handful of nights, probably around 10-15 my entire career. It will probably take me 2-4 years to reach 300 nights. Yep, with rollover nights not being offered, I'm kind of at a dilemma whether I should push toward lifetime or just diversify and test out other chains. I value Plat (or higher) status in Marriott due to the lounges/upgrades/SNAs. Gold seems to be the new 'low' status with not so many great benefits.

How often are you planning to stay at marriott in the future and do you like them? I would say do what's convenient for you after hitting your yearly metric.

Right now, I have lifetime plat, but keep a Hyatt CC to get upgraded status there (not worth that much but a guaranteed 2pm checkout) and get Hilton Gold with the AMEX Plat (also can get that with the AMEX ascend card). I am considering going to the AMEX Aspire card for Diamond. Both the Hyatt and Aspire have yearly benefits to offset the annual fee. Basically you can easily 'buy' meaningful status with other brands, but Marriott Gold is not that great. Getting status above what you can simply get with a co-brand credit card will be tough if you still put in nights to get to your yearly Marriott requal.

Expect Marriott to eventually clean up unearned years of LT status, very likely by Jan '19. Of course it's possible their IT are simply too incompetent to sort it all out, but I'll be very surprised to see Marriott leave what anecdotally appears to be millenniums of unearned years on the table. I fully expect thread after thread to be kicking off around these parts any day now when Marriott begins to crush the LT dreams of those whose balances have been artificially inflated (possibly including yours truly since I'm sitting on 12 years, probably of which at least 10 are legit but it's impossible to know without meticulous record keeping on my part).

I would absolutely consider diversifying. Marriott status probably has nowhere to go but down over the long haul, so you'll want a balanced portfolio of status cards in your wallet. You may only stay in major cities right now, but careers have a way of taking unexpected twists and turns. Besides, the more places you have status at, the more options you have when it comes time to cash in those hard-earned points. A nice status-based upgrade can really make all the difference during a romantic vacation or whatever, and Marriott isn't always going to come through with a nice property with points availability during your exact dates of vaca.

Having said all of that, if you prefer the Marriotts where you're currently traveling for work, I don't know how far out of my way I'd go just for the sake of diversification alone. I tend to find my sweet spots and return to them often so long as they have availability at a reasonable cost.

I don't think you really have enough time left in the year to get any meaningful status with any other group, I would stick with Marriott this year for the Lifetime nights and then consider diversification in the new year. That is, unless you already have 20 or so nights with Hyatt or some other group already this year. Next year, achieve your 50 nights with Marriott and consider adding another. (Get a credit card for status with Hilton, I think even Platinum Amex gives you comp Gold status with Hilton, otherwise their own Amex cards will give you top status with them just for having it).

Why go to another program once you have earned your status? Don't you want to enjoy the benefits of your status once you have earned it? I would stick with Marriott, and if some future point you need to diversify, get a Hilton CC with instant "elite" status.