jgoodm

I appreciate all the great input, thanks!

My situation is a bit different than most I guess and I didn’t really provide too many details. Suffice to say back in the earlier SPG days I had several years of platinum that didn’t require stays at all.

For the moment it appears I will be getting 30 nights yearly from my credit cards (I understand that may go away). Plus, I usually generate about 30 or so actual in-room nights per year. So in my case I’ll have enough years as a platinum for lifetime status much quicker than I should have it, but for the actual nights stayed requirement.

In the mean time I am still generating a ton of points from business spending even though not much traveling this year. (I already hit plat this year through 2022).

So, I was thinking if I can generate nights at a cost of 4,500 points a night, it makes sense to grab a bunch and speed things up because it’s going to be a long haul to actually hit all of the necessary in room nights to catch up to all of the years of status.

Ever since Bonvoy points stopped transferring to Lufthansa, the points became significantly less valuable to me.

Either way, this seems like a dead end for me based on the answers I’m getting because I’ll be physically nowhere near any hotels that are that cheap that I could actually physically go to.

sethb

If you're going to make Platinum based on credit cards and stays, what benefit is there to Lifetime Platinum?

jgoodm

Platinum for the 30 nights or so a year I normally do seems like it would be a good deal for life of the program. No?

Kacee

Based on where the program is heading, I wouldn't necessarily agree, at least not at the cost you're considering.

quinella66

If you earn platinum every year, it is no different than having it lifetime. Make sure you hit 50 nights each year doing legitimate things (credit card nights or stays you want to do) and in 5-6 years you will have lifetime status.

I can see buying hotel rooms for mattress runs if you are a few nights away from making platinum, but not buying hundreds of throwaway nights to get a lifetime status sooner than you would through normal means.

littlevoices

I agree with others in terms of not hurrying, you may as well just let it happen naturally, or not. Unless you are in a situation where you are close to retirement and about to stay a lot (in which case why bother with buying status), it sounds like eventually you will hit lifetime. Keep the credit cards up, get more credit cards if you're really keen, but otherwise accept that, as it is lifetime, you don't really need to hurry. Particularly next year, as post-COVID travel (hopefully) returns I am sure there will be plenty of promotions that can increase your total naturally.

150-200 nights is not worth artificial stays for an intangible benefit, that in theory could be devalued in the future. It sounds like perhaps there are some benefits to you doing cheap stays to earn points, but that would be limited use overall.

craigthemif

This.

Stay flexible. If Marriott keep cutting benefits, you will regret having wasted money or points on mattress runs in 2020. But in future years you can always mattress run a handful of nights each year to guarantee your renewal, if it makes sense to do so...

SPN Lifer

Lifetime Hilton Honors Diamond is 1,000 nights. Lifetime Marriott Bonv°y Platinum is 600 nights. So @jgoodm will have only 450 nights when reaching 10 years of Platinum. Yet the balance of the analysis is well taken.

There is no need to rush. Yes, Marriott Bonv°y arbitrarily and capriciously terminated new qualifications for Lifetime Titanium Elite at the end of 2018. Yet it is highly unlikely they will do the same for Lifetime Platinum Elite any time soon.

Similarly, the 15 + 15 annual Elite Nights for personal and business Marriott Bonv°y credit card is likely to continue for a good while because of the money Chase and AmEx funnel to Marriott Bonv°y for those co-branded cards.

I currently have 470+ Lifetime Elite Nights. In March 2021, with the 30 credit card nights, I will have 500+ nights and 10 years of Platinum Elite status. I will await the accrual of the remaining 100 nights naturally, in two or three years, without any "mattress runs" or other extraordinary spending.

Jimgotkp

I have similar numbers (years of Plat and nights) and I don't think it's worth mattress running in my situation. With the 30 EQNs from the cobranded CCs and since I average around 40-60 nights a year, I should be able to hit LT Platinum in 4 years or so. Of course, the LT Platinum qualifications could change along with the benefits but I don't think there's any point in rushing for LT Platinum status.

ftrichard

Oh, well spotted. That was an inexplicable error on my part. I know full well it's 600 nights as I'm heading towards it myself and will achieve 10 years in 2021 but won't forcably push for the remaining nights next year as my natural stay patterns will soak them up during 2021 and 2022 hence Lifetime is in the bag. As you point out, it doesn't affect the balance of my analysis but I cannot explain why I typed 850 and not 450. Brain freeze.

makin'miles

I agree. If your travel patterns see you hitting Platinum anyway over the next few years - and to be honest its not that high.a bar to hit - I'd let it happen naturally and drop the $10K+ on something else. Different things motivate different people, but I'd rather buy a high-end watch or cruise to Antarctica or seasons tickets somewhere...

sethb

Are the 10 nights for a meeting still available? It might be worth doing that once a year if you can find cheap meeting space.

joeags

No, that was ended this year.

rbAA

That is so sad. I really liked only having to do 24 nights (after the 15 for the AMEX, 1 for the freebie, and 10 for a 10 minute meeting.) I too am at a strange place, 461 LT nights and 8 years PLT. Definitely no interest in spending the money to get what? Breakfast comp'd. Lounge access (assuming they ever open back up, and upgrade their F+B, as the last few were really substandard.) A room UPG. LT Gold is fine. I'll work on getting the 10 years of PLT, but let nature take it course.

Fluffhead

I could use some advice as well for a similar (but not exact) situation.

Right now I’m sitting at the following:
44 nights for 2020
9 years Platinum
550 lifetime nights
250k points

Due to a change in job duties, my travel is going to decrease pretty significantly in the coming years and I don’t think I will be able to get to the 50-night threshold for Platinum easily.

As of now I’m leaning toward a push to get to 50 nights for this 2020 (to get over the 10-year threshold) then get to the 600 nights for LT Platinum in the next year or so.

A couple of one night work trips are already on the books, and the remainder I’d book a mattress run with points/cert (expiring in January) to get there.

Any thoughts on this one?