ib909account

I was a lifetime Plat member since 2007 (11 years) with Marriott and now with this Bonvoy change they made me a lifetime gold last week....when I looked at the rules they say I should be transferred at Lifetime Titanium....instead as I showed up at my bookings last week i started getting no lounge access nor room upgrades unless the lovcal host was sharp and saw i was a platinum before and met me at check-in.....Has anyone else been downgraded to gold which seems to be nothing more than a standard account ..no upgrades or lounge access ...I just dont get why they would do this to a loyal member for 37 + years ? any others out there having issues ? before the merger they said there would be no disappointments....now i am disappointed.

I have stayed 350+ Paid nights and after lifetime platinum i didn't have to make the min nights...now they say I need 75 nights again ... What is going on ?

here are the rules and what I think ?

Marriott Bonvoy,

It is not achieving the lifetime platinum status I was already Lifetime Platinum status....

My Account has been open almost 35+ years and has been Legacy Lifetime Platinum elite through Marriott rewards since 2007 (11 Years)

"No member will be downgraded/disappointed is the theory".

I am a legacy Lifetime platinum member with no min night requirements since 2007 being a member since 1981 (37 Years).

I gave up my Intercontinental Royal Ambassador status for Marriott....since lifetime platinum Marriott was great until last week....

Here is the rules that you have posted :
4.2.f. Lifetime Elite Status Criteria. Members can earn Lifetime Elite Status through the following criteria:

i. Loyalty Program Lifetime Elite Status Criteria:

● Lifetime Silver Elite: 250 Qualifying Nights + 5 Years as Silver Elite or higher
● Lifetime Gold Elite: 400 Qualifying Nights + 7 Years as Gold Elite or higher
● Lifetime Platinum Elite: 600 Qualifying Nights + 10 Years as Platinum Elite or higher

ii. Achievement of Lifetime Elite Status through Legacy Program Lifetime Elite Status Criteria ended December 31, 2018. This included achievement of Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite (now Lifetime Titanium Elite) Status which also ended December 31, 2018.


It is not achieving the lifetime status I am already Lifetime Platinum status....

Why make me lifetime platinum and then say not lifetime platinum...and people treat me at counter like idiot....Am i wrong here ....?????

hhoope01

350 nights obviously isn't enough on its own to get LT Plat. Were you one of the few that received LTP through being an original Marriott Rewards member? If so, I'm guessing the issue is their system may not be dealing with your account correctly as you don't have the requisite number of nights needed.

I would suggest reaching out to one of the Bonvoy Lurkers to see if they might be able to help you.

ib909account

I was told that i met a $100K USD annual threshold in 2007 and that did it....but its still a LT Plat account.
That said I would not be working on meeting any thresholds so the "gold" downgrade when I start checking in last week is incredible.

ib909account

whats a "Bonvoy Lurkers"

UA-NYC

Can you provide a screenshot of your pre-merger LT Plat status, or a LT Plat card, or any actual proof of your status?

I don't think we've heard of any cases like yours on this site...I can't see why they'd give you LT Plat for one high spend year.

IluvSQ

Yes, 350 nights over 37 years is hardly what we usually think of as a top-tier member. and I can't imagine how that qualified for top-tier lifetime status.
Were you granted this LT Plat for some special circumstances?

hhoope01

Marriott has a few employees that monitor and help FTers with issues. Their FT handles are "Marriott Bonvoy Lurker", "Marriott Bonvoy Lurker II" and "Marriott Bonvoy Lurker III". You can send them a PM (Private Message) with your information and problem. Depending on the issue, they can help you understand why the issue occurred and fix it (if possible.) And if needed, they can point you to the correct department within Marriott that can help.

But as some have already mentioned, based on the information you have provided so far, it doesn't look like you met the normal requirements for LTP before the merger. Your stated number of nights isn't enough and $$$ spend isn't a part of the LT status requirements. So most likely if you did have LTP status, then it must have been through something other than the normal means (i.e. original members were given complementary LTP status 10 years or so ago, something else?) If you reach out to one of the Lurkers, they might be able to help you figure out what happened and if you really should have LTT or LTP status, they can probably help get your account fixed.

bosman

To clarify, to have qualified as a LT Plat (which then translated into LT Tit in 2019) under the old rules (ended 12/31/2018), one needed to have both a) 750 LT nights plus b) either 2 million MR points or 10+ years at Plat. At 350 nights, you clearly did not qualify under the standard rules but cite some special circumstance (that no one here so far has ever heard of). Not sure anyone here will be of help in this unique situation.

ib909account

Well thanks for all that feedback....so as far a screenshot I can now say lifetime "gold" because that what it shows...as far as memory for 37 years and room nights I am assuming what they tracked is correct....although sure it could have been much higher because yeah that is only 10 nights a year for 35 years....and well why would anybody make platinum for that. LOL now lets say that I became platinum in 2007 for whatever reason and then for the last 11 years i have been booking and staying as a platinum member and then last week I go to check in and they say sorry you a lifetime 'gold". so for 10 years the burden is on me to provide proof of Plat Status.....??? are you kidding me...ok now that you guys are thinking this way all this proof and how did i do it etc.....i just cant tell you how I got a letter saying I was granted lifetime platinum then it ended "enjoy" I haven't had a Marriott card for 10 years as I use online and app booking and dont need. But what I can say is if thats what you think I need to do what I will do is cancel all upcoming reservations....because what i will get is not what i expected, and i will wait to hear from Marriott. So what i would like from all you tough guys is which chain do you recommend so I can cut over tarting Monday. Because rather than waste time crying for some benefits that are not that great I will try new options with other chains....so 1. Who overall is the best ? and which chain has the best value and service ? As and RA at IHG i remember it was good...but being in HK and not traveling much I thought the LTPlat JW was better ...but gold clearly is useless. So open to suggestions.....on best way to proceed. I did discuss with IHG and they are willling to take me back as RA without 1st year fees ?

ib909account

Ok - so you need proof...that would be my memory that i Got a letter 11 years ago thanking me for my loyalty and making me a platinum for life. Which I threw away.and then as far as Marriott cards I dont have any and always rely on online reservations and booking through Marriott online. so the only proof I guess they would have is as far back as their records go and my platinum booking that ended last week when I went to check in after 11 years. The burden of proof is not on me here fella's I am just surprised they would do it and not resolve except to say the same thing you guy are saying...please provide proof etc and well you dont have enough nights as if I knew the total night for 37 years and if reward nights count or whatever they do to track.....as far as lifetime Marriott points I have spent millions and so I dont know how i can even approach that proof....again I would defer that to Marriott. What I would ask is that without this to bind me to Marriott what chain would you all recommend to me as I will now cancel all my bookings and rebook at other chains to test the waters...can you help ? after 37 years I dont need to beg for benefits. I will just pay for what I want. and since you guys seem to stay a lot what do you think...give me your best chain. Thanks

Dr. HFH

Assuming that you actually were LT PLT, about which there seems to be some question, why would you assume that they did this to you intentionally and that it wasn't some IT programming error or other oversight? I assure you that Bonvoy didn't set out to take any action against you.

hhoope01

As I mentioned earlier, if you really want to get this fixed, reach out to the Marriott Bonvoy Lurker. He is here to help. If you don't really want to get your LTP back, then drop it and move on. Only you know how much that status meant to you. But if I were in your boat, I'd already have PMs to all 3 of the lurkers and would still be beating down Marriott's Customer service line to get this fixed. Given it was around 10-12 years or so ago that Marriott gave LTP status to all their original members from 1981/82 and they sent a letter out to all of them, I'm guessing that is how you received LTP status. I would think any of the Lurkers could help you get that verified and help get your LT status set up to what it should be. But you will need to reach out to them to get them involved to help you.

If you really want to just drop it and move on, there are a number of existing threads comparing Marriott's program with other programs that might give you some insights into strength/weaknesses of each:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marr...vs-hilton.html
World of Hyatt As Alternative To SPG Platinum After Bungled Program Merger?
Marriott vs Hyatt for Long Stays
Newbie seeking help: IHG vs SPG
Switching from IHG to Marriott... does it make sense?

Personally, if IHG will give you RA status and you will be staying exclusively at ICs, then that might be the way to go if you really want elite recognition, but the problem with IHG is outside of ICs and the Ambassador program, you won't get much elite recognition at all. Hyatt may give you the best recognition, but you need to stay enough to get their top status and you need to be staying at places where Hyatt has hotels close by (they are the smallest by far of the bigger programs.) Hilton has a history of big point devaluations and can't match Marriott at the higher-end/luxury hotels, but if you are staying mostly at HGIs, then that might well be an option.

At the end of the day, everyone needs to look at what they want to get out their hotel stays and how can they maximize what their wants are. Each program has its own strengths and weaknesses. In fact, depending on what you really want, maybe dropping program loyalty completely and go with smaller/independent hotels might be your best option.

MSPeconomist

geminidreams

How do you spend millions and only have 350 lifetime nights? Usually you will be emailed some account statement or other business from Marriott with some mention of current status. That would be considered proof.

myperks

I’m sure many members here will direct you to Hyatt... because your case (claim) is probably the most out there one I’ve read so far because let me get this right, you vaguely remember that Marriott told you your membership is lifetime platinum in 2007. You spent millions of points but have not stayed in 11 years. And you can’t even fathom the thought of having any proof because you are above that (and we all know Marriott has its share of IT issues)... Hyatt awaits you with lifetime globalist with $200k spend, which should be easy for you., but do keep record this time.