400+ nights a year…is Marriott the best option?
Feb 1, 2022, 9:54 pm
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: USA
Programs: American airlines
Posts: 89
Hi bethyy, welcome to flyertalk and a great first question
First: Be aware that Marriott doesn't let you earn points/status on two hotel stays simultaneously, so he should never stay "home and away":
Earning points on two different hotel stays, same night
Benefits and Bonvoy credits if I have Simultaneous Stays at Different Hotels?
Broadly and TL;DR: Your boyfriend would be better earning points with the longer term stay at Marriott, and the "one night" stays could be with a different chain (or vice versa), so in fact you could do Hilton & Marriott
So, here are a few thoughts that occur from your post, for you to consider...
Getting benefits faster
1. There are typically Platinum fast track offers around, so he could get status even faster, not sure if that is active, but doesn't harm to ask
2. You can get a Marriott credit card as well, to get 15 nights (another 15 if you wanted to get a business card)... you don't need to pay to get these
To be honest though with his staying pattern it may not be worth the annual fee for the card and as you say, with the double nights promo it would take only a month to get to the top anyway (make sure that they post his stay/he pays his bill every week or two, to make sure they post regularly and so he gets his status points perks)
Lifetime status
I had a similar staying pattern early in my career, which meant I hit lifetime Platinum (as it was then, now Titanium) in my first five years of work (at the time it was about 1000 nights from memory, now its only 600 nights). Your boyfriend would find it fairly easy to hit that status in perhaps 3 years, which would (should.... it can be devalued of course) give you breakfast benefits and lounge access for life at Marriott chains.
Dollars, points and benefits
Spending about USD120/night isn't going to be a massive amount for Marriott, but they do have long term chains that offer only 5 points per dollar spent, rather than 10 at the full service chains, but as you say I suspect he can get a good deal if he can guarantee a room for hundreds of nights a year. Being Titanium (likely even Ambassador) means you will earn a lot of bonus points (75%) plus the regular promos even for many nice vacations. If he was to put half his rooms (say 200 nights at USD100/room, excluding some taxes) he would spend USD20k, just enough for Ambassador (the top status, more a title but you do get an email address that supposedly gives extra perks), and would have earned a minimum of 350,000points/year (that is just base spend plus the Titaninum bonus, in reality he would get welcome gifts for checking in and occasional promos). Depending on where you want to go that could take you all the way from 3 to 4 nights at one of the top properties (e.g. Maldives) as these are super expensive with points, and likely to get even more so, through to 35 nights in the cheapest properties globally. Two years could get you that dream holiday for a week (** be really aware that the upcoming devaluation means that the top properties are likely to get much more expensive, but a long weekend break in NYC or San Francisco should be well within reach).
But beware...
The only warning sign in your comment is your statement of "it's all on company account" -> This can prevent any and all points earning. If he pays on a company credit card, that is fine, he will earn points, if his stays are centrally billed he won't earn any points, so he should see if he can change that. This is the biggest risk to the entire plan:
Master Billed rooms - General Discussion
Hyatt?
I can't really comment on Hyatt vs Marriott, as outside of the USA there aren't enough Hyatts for it to be worth my while exploring. I know the Marriott program is fairly dull and the market leader, but does reward those with a lot of nights, which meets his stay pattern. Be aware that the Marriott program is devaluing in about a month's time to go to price based redemptions, but most of the other chains have already done this sadly so it isn't a massive differentiator.
What would I do?
Personally I would put my long term hotel to Marriott to clock up the nights/points and not worry about it. The "nights away" I would put to one, or maybe even two, other chains, driven by promos/which hotel I prefer in the city being visited (In my case when I was earning Marriott lifetime at about 200-250nights/year I was Hilton Diamond via stays (no longer an option). I would also get a Marriott personal credit card for normal spend, to boost the points a little, and would target a certain holiday as a reward in say two years time to make it all seem worthwhile that he is away so often (I did a roadtrip in the USA so had a variety of points levels to use, whilst I lived in the UK.... though this was before I realised that sometimes it is better to use cash rather than points for some hotels). Marriott has a reasonable number of aspirational properties, or just a lot of other ones all over the world.
Happy planning
First: Be aware that Marriott doesn't let you earn points/status on two hotel stays simultaneously, so he should never stay "home and away":
Earning points on two different hotel stays, same night
Benefits and Bonvoy credits if I have Simultaneous Stays at Different Hotels?
Broadly and TL;DR: Your boyfriend would be better earning points with the longer term stay at Marriott, and the "one night" stays could be with a different chain (or vice versa), so in fact you could do Hilton & Marriott
So, here are a few thoughts that occur from your post, for you to consider...
Getting benefits faster
1. There are typically Platinum fast track offers around, so he could get status even faster, not sure if that is active, but doesn't harm to ask
2. You can get a Marriott credit card as well, to get 15 nights (another 15 if you wanted to get a business card)... you don't need to pay to get these
To be honest though with his staying pattern it may not be worth the annual fee for the card and as you say, with the double nights promo it would take only a month to get to the top anyway (make sure that they post his stay/he pays his bill every week or two, to make sure they post regularly and so he gets his status points perks)
Lifetime status
I had a similar staying pattern early in my career, which meant I hit lifetime Platinum (as it was then, now Titanium) in my first five years of work (at the time it was about 1000 nights from memory, now its only 600 nights). Your boyfriend would find it fairly easy to hit that status in perhaps 3 years, which would (should.... it can be devalued of course) give you breakfast benefits and lounge access for life at Marriott chains.
Dollars, points and benefits
Spending about USD120/night isn't going to be a massive amount for Marriott, but they do have long term chains that offer only 5 points per dollar spent, rather than 10 at the full service chains, but as you say I suspect he can get a good deal if he can guarantee a room for hundreds of nights a year. Being Titanium (likely even Ambassador) means you will earn a lot of bonus points (75%) plus the regular promos even for many nice vacations. If he was to put half his rooms (say 200 nights at USD100/room, excluding some taxes) he would spend USD20k, just enough for Ambassador (the top status, more a title but you do get an email address that supposedly gives extra perks), and would have earned a minimum of 350,000points/year (that is just base spend plus the Titaninum bonus, in reality he would get welcome gifts for checking in and occasional promos). Depending on where you want to go that could take you all the way from 3 to 4 nights at one of the top properties (e.g. Maldives) as these are super expensive with points, and likely to get even more so, through to 35 nights in the cheapest properties globally. Two years could get you that dream holiday for a week (** be really aware that the upcoming devaluation means that the top properties are likely to get much more expensive, but a long weekend break in NYC or San Francisco should be well within reach).
But beware...
The only warning sign in your comment is your statement of "it's all on company account" -> This can prevent any and all points earning. If he pays on a company credit card, that is fine, he will earn points, if his stays are centrally billed he won't earn any points, so he should see if he can change that. This is the biggest risk to the entire plan:
Master Billed rooms - General Discussion
Hyatt?
I can't really comment on Hyatt vs Marriott, as outside of the USA there aren't enough Hyatts for it to be worth my while exploring. I know the Marriott program is fairly dull and the market leader, but does reward those with a lot of nights, which meets his stay pattern. Be aware that the Marriott program is devaluing in about a month's time to go to price based redemptions, but most of the other chains have already done this sadly so it isn't a massive differentiator.
What would I do?
Personally I would put my long term hotel to Marriott to clock up the nights/points and not worry about it. The "nights away" I would put to one, or maybe even two, other chains, driven by promos/which hotel I prefer in the city being visited (In my case when I was earning Marriott lifetime at about 200-250nights/year I was Hilton Diamond via stays (no longer an option). I would also get a Marriott personal credit card for normal spend, to boost the points a little, and would target a certain holiday as a reward in say two years time to make it all seem worthwhile that he is away so often (I did a roadtrip in the USA so had a variety of points levels to use, whilst I lived in the UK.... though this was before I realised that sometimes it is better to use cash rather than points for some hotels). Marriott has a reasonable number of aspirational properties, or just a lot of other ones all over the world.
Happy planning
I’m bad at quoting specific things to respond to…
But I feel like you literally read my mind and confirmed what I was thinking.
In terms of the work booking thing, he will not be able to use any branded credit cards for anything, but his points do get accredited to his account (for stays, not sure if he were to charge something to the room).
This is sooo annoying as I want to just use my card or get him to get one but the company books it after he tells them the hotels.
Bingo on the .5 point thing. I have at least convinced him not to stay at the half point places for both Marriott and Hilton. I’m not sure he understands what I’m talking about but he will soon enough lol.
Feb 1, 2022, 9:56 pm
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: USA
Programs: American airlines
Posts: 89
Feb 1, 2022, 9:58 pm
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: USA
Programs: American airlines
Posts: 89
i haven’t heard of this before but is good to know! Will probably help with some bonuses too if it’s close. Thanks!
Feb 1, 2022, 10:01 pm
#20
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: USA
Programs: American airlines
Posts: 89
Yes. His company books him into hotels basically every night. When he leaves to go to a different job site or to visit me, they don’t cancel the long term hotel. So he could be staying for a month or two at hotel A and leave to go to hotel B for a week and then leave and visit me in an entirely different city, but the company won’t cancel his reservation at hotel A because he basically lives there. Like it’s his long term stay.
Feb 1, 2022, 10:05 pm
#21
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: USA
Programs: American airlines
Posts: 89
he’s definitely getting the points for the stays. I’ve tried to ask if we could use my card instead of his corporate card but it’s not through his card. Someone else books it. But I know for a fact he gets the points for each stay (obvi I watch these things).
Feb 2, 2022, 1:15 am
#22
Join Date: Nov 2021
Posts: 34
Also as per Bonvoy T&C
2.1.d. Qualifying Stay. A “Stay" or “Qualifying Stay” means all consecutive nights a Member registers for, and personally pays and stays at any Participating Property, for which (i) the room is billed to the Member, or (ii) the guest room is direct billed to the company who has arranged payment for the Member’s stay that is not associated with a convention or group meeting.
Feb 2, 2022, 4:45 am
#23
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Saipan, MP 96950 USA (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands = the CNMI)
Programs: UA Silver, Hilton Silver. Life: UA .57 MM, United & Admirals Clubs (spousal), Marriott Platinum
Posts: 14,996
Like others said. Multiple hotel programs definitely make sense since you generally can't get credit for overlapping stays.
With that many nights 3+ loyalty programs might make sense since you'll be able to get top tier status at Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton. This will allow him to book whatever is most convenient and makes the most sense logistically too. There's no need to be loyal to a single program since there's no real tangible benefit here.
With that many nights 3+ loyalty programs might make sense since you'll be able to get top tier status at Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton. This will allow him to book whatever is most convenient and makes the most sense logistically too. There's no need to be loyal to a single program since there's no real tangible benefit here.
Not only should he be looking at status in two or three programs, but also evaluating lifetime statuses.
Sadly, the highest lifetime status currently offered here is Marriott Bonv°y Platinum Elite, a mid-level status, so I would focus on the other two first.
One of the best things about lifetime Hilton Diamond is that if one can make the 1,000 nights in a short time, even if travel stops one can "cruise" to the lifetime finish with additional years of Diamond status obtained thereafter solely by holding the Hilton Aspire AmEx card.
The lifetime Hyatt Globalist status has high spend & stay requirements, so if he anticipates his travelling career to last a substantial time, maybe it would be best to get started now.
Having status in two or three chains allows one to pick the "best" hotel for a given need, rather than "compromise" due to status qualification considerations.
Feb 2, 2022, 6:39 am
#24
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
There are a few other possibilities that I could think of to get to over 365/366 hotel nights credited to hotel programs in a year, but I've never known anyone to do one of those possibilities, and the others don't seem to be what the OP is referencing anyway.
Feb 2, 2022, 7:09 am
#25
Join Date: Jan 2011
Programs: oneworld, * Alliance, Marriott Bonvoy, HHonors, WoH
Posts: 2,120
I would do the following:
Three programs only needed.
1.Hilton
Do not let him book one single stay that exceeds 59 nights to be on safe side. All stays that are over 60 nights do not qualify in HHonors program.
Let him book 120 nights per calendar year. Not less, only few more when needed. If you do not have HHonors account, open it. He will gift you a Diamond status after he has spent 100 nights per year(70 nights in 2022). After 10 years he will be LT DIamond and you have achieved 10 year LT Diamond requirement.
2. Marriott
Book 60-75 nights per year with Marriott, not more. After 10 years he will be LT Bonvoy Platinum
3. Hyatt
Book all expensive stays on Hyatt if possible, 60-100 nights.
WoH has the best additional benefits for Globalists that you can use together, Cat.1-4, 1-7 vouchers, brand badge free night vouchers etc, 100USD gift card.
When choosing the milestone rewards, choose 100usd gift card after 40 nights and 10000 bonus points from 70 to 100 nights. You do not need moreTSUs because you do not have a time to spend them all!
Three programs only needed.
1.Hilton
Do not let him book one single stay that exceeds 59 nights to be on safe side. All stays that are over 60 nights do not qualify in HHonors program.
Let him book 120 nights per calendar year. Not less, only few more when needed. If you do not have HHonors account, open it. He will gift you a Diamond status after he has spent 100 nights per year(70 nights in 2022). After 10 years he will be LT DIamond and you have achieved 10 year LT Diamond requirement.
2. Marriott
Book 60-75 nights per year with Marriott, not more. After 10 years he will be LT Bonvoy Platinum
3. Hyatt
Book all expensive stays on Hyatt if possible, 60-100 nights.
WoH has the best additional benefits for Globalists that you can use together, Cat.1-4, 1-7 vouchers, brand badge free night vouchers etc, 100USD gift card.
When choosing the milestone rewards, choose 100usd gift card after 40 nights and 10000 bonus points from 70 to 100 nights. You do not need moreTSUs because you do not have a time to spend them all!
Feb 2, 2022, 9:31 am
#26
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: DAY
Programs: Rapid Rewards, Skymiles, Hilton HHonors, SPG/Marriott Rewards
Posts: 4,939
Just sign up for them all and let him continue to book whatever works best for his work and earn the points. That way, you will have more options when you go to spend your points.
Feb 2, 2022, 9:41 am
#27
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 815
Lifetime status
I had a similar staying pattern early in my career, which meant I hit lifetime Platinum (as it was then, now Titanium) in my first five years of work (at the time it was about 1000 nights from memory, now its only 600 nights). Your boyfriend would find it fairly easy to hit that status in perhaps 3 years,
I had a similar staying pattern early in my career, which meant I hit lifetime Platinum (as it was then, now Titanium) in my first five years of work (at the time it was about 1000 nights from memory, now its only 600 nights). Your boyfriend would find it fairly easy to hit that status in perhaps 3 years,
Feb 2, 2022, 11:22 am
#29
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Western Europe
Programs: Yeah, well, don’t really care anymore
Posts: 844
If the bloke is clocking 400+ nights a year, I would assume that being home is rare occasions indeed. If that is the case, why would he even contemplate earning points which are redeemable for even more nights in a hotel?
When I travelled heavily I spent around 150 nights in a hotel every year. That was more than enough, and I never spent a single point on hotel nights for my vacation, for the sole reason I didn’t stay in hotels when on vacation. Those 5 weeks were spent at home staying with the family, or in the summer house staying with friends, never ever on another airport-airline-hotel combo. Same with airlines miles; I spent them all on either upgrading myself to First or on tickets for friends and family to come visit me. Again, when it was vacation time about the last thing I wanted to see was another airport or hotel.
Things changed when I stopped travelling heavily for work, and I managed to blow a quarter million Marriott points on 3 trips with the GF. Marriott was far from the only hotel chain I stayed at, but since I couldn’t see why I should collect points I’d never use, I didn’t bother signing up for any other program.
These days I travel very little, on average around one trip per month, and am utterly disinterested in earning or maintaining status with any airline or hotel program. I’m a free agent and book what suits me and the agenda best. It’s exceedingly liberating, having spent years chasing miles and points.
When I travelled heavily I spent around 150 nights in a hotel every year. That was more than enough, and I never spent a single point on hotel nights for my vacation, for the sole reason I didn’t stay in hotels when on vacation. Those 5 weeks were spent at home staying with the family, or in the summer house staying with friends, never ever on another airport-airline-hotel combo. Same with airlines miles; I spent them all on either upgrading myself to First or on tickets for friends and family to come visit me. Again, when it was vacation time about the last thing I wanted to see was another airport or hotel.
Things changed when I stopped travelling heavily for work, and I managed to blow a quarter million Marriott points on 3 trips with the GF. Marriott was far from the only hotel chain I stayed at, but since I couldn’t see why I should collect points I’d never use, I didn’t bother signing up for any other program.
These days I travel very little, on average around one trip per month, and am utterly disinterested in earning or maintaining status with any airline or hotel program. I’m a free agent and book what suits me and the agenda best. It’s exceedingly liberating, having spent years chasing miles and points.
Feb 2, 2022, 4:06 pm
#30
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,712
This scenario currently applies to me and I am always very interested in which hotel I am going spend my nights at when the client isn't paying because otherwise I am going to be sleeping on the street.