oxfordjames

Those HJH rates were great over the pandemic

ElevatorEnthusiast

I hit Ambassador last year by accident but have enjoyed the increased attention at the properties. I find myself getting welcome gifts more often (fruit plates, boxes of chocolate, etc) as well as more true suite upgrades (it's nice to be at the top of the priority list). I even just got a call from a Ritz (Waikiki) I'm staying at in a few weeks thanking me for being an Ambassador and asking if I needed anything special for my stay.
Would I funnel spend to maintain it? Logically, I would say no, but I don't want to lose it. I'll be at around $10K at the half-year mark with my already-booked stays, so I think hitting $20K is possible. It does change my thought process, though - I'm using points at Hyatt more often and spending my cash more often at Marriott.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Also, the Indianapolis Marriott gave me a backpack and water bottle for being an Ambassador, so there's that :-)

littlevoices

It's easy to critique, there is of course value in any status and it is nice that the writer is attempting to put a value and break it down.

Personally I would take the valuations to be tangible things, so that means:
1. Breakfast, seems to be gradually devaluing, but that would be USD20-30 per person per night at a certain status level
2. Lounge access, that would typically be an extra USD50-100 per room... but you'd struggle to eat and drink that much extra food, so the real value is likely to be nearer USD20 per person/night as well.
3. Reward nights/points, that can give you a free room, though these are agnostic of status, just you earn more with status.

But everything else is fairly intangible and hard to value. So for example a 4pm guaranteed check-out is great, but it is unlikely you'd really buy an extra night or pay such a fee if it didn't exist in 90% of cases, so there isn't a real dollar value. And yes you earn extra points, but the alternative would be something basic like the hotels.com reward scheme that gives you about 10% cashback. And if you booked a Marriott indirectly via a online travel agency it is likely our rooms would be 10-20% cheaper, and if being agnostic of brand, potentially you could save 30% or more for a broadly equivalent room if you stayed at any hotel in a city.

Hence I'd say the main methodological flaw is to ignore the opportunity cost.

EuropeanPete

Those valuations are absolutely ridiculous and represent a 3-4x exaggeration in order to try to shift more Marriott credit cards.

travelinmanS

The value assigned by this guy to the status levels is absurd. He has UA 1K being worth something like 7 grand. Yeah right!

Anyway, platinum and above is valuable for me as I mostly travel around Asia and always get access to the lounge. I find value in being able to always get a good breakfast plus get a buzz on in the evening whilst having dinner in the lounge. No difference between platinum and titanium for me, I don’t really care about getting fancier rooms. 4pm checkout is nice too.

BudgetJetsetter

The value of the lounge has diminished as some properties have scaled back on the offerings and we don’t know when they’ll ever come back (if ever).

From my stays in the past few months in the US the lounges (if they’re even open) have been mainly stocked with bottled water and soft drinks. No snacks or evening appetizers.

clarkef

I would say that only you can truly determine what the value of any status is. I enjoyed the ability to offload problems onto the Ambassador and let them do the heavy lifting, whether it's an incorrect bill, a service failure or missing points. It's nice to be able to dash off an e-mail and not spend indeterminable time on the phone. I also have a bad back. When traveling internationally, the ambassadors will reach out to the property and determine the type of mattress. But these are things which are specific to me. The other advantage is that Ambassadors will, with a little (or a lot) of prodding, reach out to the property and attempt to get me a complimentary upgrade prior to my stay.

In general though, It really depends on your stay pattern and do the perks associated with your status elevate your travel enjoyment. For me, some of the best perks are

• Upgrades to suites. I am routinely upgraded to a suite, both domestically and abroad, although I will actually the front desk for a specific suite when I don't get upgraded.
• Free breakfast - Some hotels have scaled back, others are still very respectable. A buddy and I recently stayed at the Marriott on the Champs-Elysees. I believe the buffet costs $29/pp. We ate there every morning for seven days. That was a 400 euro savings. But if you don't eat breakfast...
• Late check-out. When I'm on vacation, not rushing for a noon check-out if fun, although I don't know if I'd put a dollar value on it.
• Enhanced internet is nice as I travel with a Roku for watch television
• And the ability to get rules bent, e.g. cancellation deadlines waived.

Nitehawk

It really depends on the breakfast offering, the lounge, the upgrades, and the 4pm late check-out. The breakfast can be worthless (here's a coffee and a muffin), or it can be worth 60USD+ if you have double occupancy and get a nice breakfast. It's almost worth calling the property before booking to find out what the breakfast offering is.

Lounge access value can vary greatly as well. In the US it's mostly worthless and almost guarantees a crappy breakfast. Overseas it might be worth up to $100 a night if they offer cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and made to order eggs Benedict in the morning.

My SNAs almost always expire, I consider them to be basically worthless (I have 13 in my account now, and I've stayed 33 nights this year)...comp u/g is likely available if SNAs are. The best upgrades tend to happen when properties are empty, why use SNAs at an empty property?

I'm expecting bonvoy points to be basically worthless next year. So 2x points vs 3x points, who cares?

I'm glad I'm LT plat so I don't need to think about Bonvoy status anymore. I wish being LT plat and current titanium would get you more recognition, but nobody has ever said thanks for being Lifetime platinum to me.

This thread is really making me miss SPG. I had some truely memorable trips with SPG. Bonvoy makes me feel a lot less important. It was SPG that would upgrade me from a $200 a night basic room to a $2000 a night suite. Since it's been Bonvoy I've had properties say "we don't upgrade past x room type." Even when the same property had upgraded me to their best suite back in the SPG days.

​​​​I've never been ambassador, but I get the impression that using the in app chat function is probably equal to or greater than the ambassador status. Assuming the property actually replies. If you don't ask, you unfortunately don't always receive.

TLDR: If you stay at the right property, get a nice upgrade, and good lounge perks like unlimited cocktails, it's not a stretch to say you could get $300 a night in benefits. Unfortunately most stays are probably closer to $10 a night in benefits.

​​​​

MrM2016

I would strongly argue that your value will still vary depending on whether you stay at a former SPG or former Marriott properties.

I find former SPG properties are still generally more likely to recognise elites and upgrade generously to suites. Former Marriott properties still often default me to the 'one category upgrade' unless I ask for a better upgrade as a Titanium.

Thankfully most of the aspirational properties are former SPG, where your chances are better.

Duck1981

LT Play here.

I still get very good upgrades at European and Asian/ ME properties, never in the US though.

The US properties always feel that they’ve practically downgraded/ eliminated everything which was for free/ providing customer loyalty.

Hipplewm

If you are US traveler - ambassador provide very little benefits

SNA - I have gotten 10 every year since the merger and used 10 every year so far (I may lose 1 before 6/23) but they have all been at fabulous places - upgrade from a normal 2 queen bed to a 2 bedroom suite with kitchen and washer/dryer in the room at Westin in Vail. Upgrade to 1 BR suite in JW Marriott Country club/golf resort in San Antonio - both were in the summer - those upgrades if paid for were a massive savings (Both stays were on award points as well)
OF COURSE YMMV

Outside of continental US - ambassador matters - I rarely do not get a suite (for stays <3 days) if I am staying for 3 weeks, I don't expect a suite per se, but always have gotten a nicer or larger room with a great view. Typicallky always a note from the hotel manager and a cheese/fruit tray and the places I frequent know I don't drink, so a bunch of water or pepsi - it is a different experience out of the US for sure.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Oh, good, another thread descending into the "US never provides upgrades and hotels in the US suck" narrative. My experience begs to differ - honestly, I find that my suite upgrade rate at Marriott is a lot better than mine at Hyatt (and this is ONLY in the US so far). I'm sure that upgrades are, in fact, better in other countries, but travelers who might come to the most popular destinations in the US and get angry that they don't get an upgrade to the Presidential Suite should really have a bit more perspective.

Hipplewm

I quoted 2 AWESOME SNA events in the US - but the question was more about the benefits of Ambassador over Titanium or Platinum and in the US - there isn't much

FlyingFromNY

That exactly was the question. What is the value of their top tier Ambassador status vs Titanium, and if there is no real added value, then articles like TPG's should be more honest about informing customers about the true value of these statuses so people can make an informed ROI decision with their time and resources. As a person inexperienced with loyalty programs, I focused my business with Marriott because of articles like TPG's and the Freddie Award which ranks Marriott's loyalty program as the best, if I could start the year over, I probably wouldn't have. In my opinion, Ambassador is seeming like a dead end with almost no payoff and Marriott executives should be shamed for how they reward loyalty.