Assimilated Cajun

This. I am also frustrated with many aspects of Bonvoy, starting with "Bonvoy". But I'm thrilled to receive a 38 night credit, especially combined with the upcoming promotion that will give even more elite nights. And I'm pretty sure I would have been thrilled if I had received a 25 night credit.

While I agree that the reduction of the Ambassador spending requirement to "only" $14K is one of the weaker points of this announcement, I suspect I am like the vast majority of Marriott elite members in having already accepted that Ambassador is permanently out of reach.

And it's true that Hyatt's 2021 adjustments are even more generous. But this means we now have a choice between trying to achieve status in a generous program, an ultra-generous program, or (my personal favorite) both.

anteater

In the current state of the AMB tier, even $10k minimum spend is a generous appraisal of its value.

mileageking

Yes that's how they have designed and shows what they expect out of Ambassadors. Like escape4, I'll probably reach the spend naturally if I choose to give them 65-75 revenue nights (before the double ENCs) and give the remaining 60 to 70 nights to Hyatt where I'm starting from scratch towards full Globalist (not Lite at 30). Generally I like to give all 120-140 loyalty nights to one but with all that's going on and my own learnings, it makes sense to split between two for top-tiers this year.

However I wouldn't recommend someone to go out of their way to try and push to get to $14k AMB spend in 2021. It's clear reading all the comments from multiple threads that Marriott has a lot of work to do to increase the value proposition offered to Ambassador members. There needs to be tangible differentiation between Ambassador and Titanium status if you are going to stipulate $20k requirement in a normal year. Just offering personal ambassadors (non-existent for most of last year and this year so far) and Your24 (some may have been rejected multiple times or even never used it, although I have used it plenty of times with my crazy international flight schedules and do see value), just doesn't cut it for many.

If Marriott makes a real effort to fix the Ambassador status program then I'm sure will see many Titanium members go out of their way to achieve the next level which is really what Marriott wants. They can start by sending a survey to existing Ambassadors and then send one to Titanium members. In any business, first it's important to understand your end-user customer (not hotels) and design a status program from there. Nuff said.

escape4

And yet $14k could still be fine if they could convince members that benefits at AMB level will be strong in 2022. However this is what I am seeing recently:

My experience from 2019 and prior = personal dedicated ambassador, proactively contacting me about upcoming reservations, organizing special occasions in collaboration with hotels, etc.

2020-2021 = no more dedicated ambassador (so now similar to Hyatt), ambassador simply forwarding my e-mail to hotel (so why does the ambassador exist?), only answering half of my requests (are they sloppy in reading skills?), no response after my e-mail and subsequently they claim IT issue caused email not to reach the hotel, special occasion not recognized and unclear if hotel goofed or if ambassador never sent message despite me asking twice in advance to make sure, etc. etc. etc.

It's just night and day from the past, now it's mistake after mistake. So unless they fix ambassador service, why pay for this? It leaves room upgrades which might be better than Titanium in 2022. But they are asking members to make a leap of faith that they will be, by spending now.

So yes, it makes the $14k the weak point of this announcement, no doubt about it. If people think I am complaining because I do not appreciate that with this announcement I only need 10 nights to renew AMB, then so be it. The night credit is irrelevant for many AMB, so they could have credited 1000 nights instead of 50 nights and it would not change anything. So I am not complaining about the night credit, I am simply ignoring it, many people will face the same hurdle to qualify for AMB with or without the credit so it does not matter. It only matters for people who intend a single stay in a very expensive hotel and will not be able to stay more than a handful of nights during 2021. For those folks, the announcement is great and the value of 50 night credit is significant.

SEA777GUY

It sounds like most of you consider achieving Titanium the holy Grail. That you will receive the best Suites in all properties, and with VIP service, that includes a pony to boot.
Rest assured it's not! Besides a few additional benefits I have seen no disconcernable difference between Platinum.
Judging from this promotion a lot of Gold and Platinum will now become Titanium further flooding the market.
YMMV
​​​​​

Keyser

i agree....with the elite bonus nights, credit card nights & a single upcoming stay that will last almost a month, i will easily cross 100 nights....but i'm still not sure if i want to spend $14k to renew ambassador status....

alaskaforlife

Does anyone know if I have a stay from Feb 1 to April 30, will it automatically count for double points and elite nights?

typical

FAQ suggests only if you register for the offer before the stay.

vishalgupta22

In the Marriott model, a platinum will need 50 nights this year to get to Titanium, if Marriott was to reduce the night requirements in half like Hyatt / Hilton, the same person would need only 38. I guess Marriott model is better in that it reduces elite night requirements only for reaching current level and if a person wants to get to the next level, they have to earn the delta night credits.

Keyser

was checking my list of reward stays over the next few months....i have 5 booked between march - june....none of the properties are available at off-peak rates yet....is anyone seeing reduced rates or has this not gone into effect at the moment????

maisondubonheur

So this means don't bother to stay with Marriott till the 16th February. Interesting...I'm going to be Platinum with Accor fast in 2021...and than catch up slowly with Bonvoy. If you are LTP, 25 nights in by February....you just need 13 nights (with 2 nights minimum per stay) from 16th Feb till 27th April to re-qualify...not bad on this one! Let see if Titanium is in reach....I'm one more here to find it doesn't really worth it compare to Platinum.

margarita girl

It’s in effect, at least at Hawaii properties.

Keyser

got it....i see no change for my travel dates in dc, nyc, orlando & boston....maybe its being rolled out slowly....

Oxon Flyer

We now have the customary Master Thread created ready for detailed discussion of this promo :

2021 Q1/2 Global Promo 'Better Two-gether' 2x points/nights credit, Feb 16 - Apr 27 - FlyerTalk Forums

yyznomad

Yeah, Marriott Titanium is the former SPG Plat in many ways, but still nowhere near as good.