Hello! I am new to Marriott Platinum.. I stayed 75 Nights in a 100 day period and stay roughly 240 nights per year. Coming from Diamond at Hilton and Platinum at SPG... Here is what I found that is frustrating..

Courtyards
- Minimal Elite recognition,
- No Room upgrades.. 200 bonus points for Platinum is lousy. SPG gives 500 and their points are far more valuable
- No free breakfast - What a joke!! Hilton Garden Inn gives even Golds free breakfast! Courtyards are usually expensive for what they are.. why not give Plats free breakfast
- Worst of all - NO POINTS FOR INCIDENTALS!! I spend a fortune on this stuff even at Courtyards (some have the Bistro)
Marriott Full service
- No free breakfast or Concierge upgrades on weekends at full service properties
- Stayed at Marriott World Center, No upgrade and No free breakfast since they do not have a concierge lounge(surprising for a $289 per night hotel)
Ritz Carlton
- NO POINTS for incidentals. Spend $400 per night at Ritz Ft Lauderdale. Received no room upgrade and no points for the total $750 I spend in massages and food.


I guess I am still new and have no gripes of the other program. I love Marriott's hotels but looks like it is just not a right fit for me. They require 75 nights and restrict you every step of the way... Am I the only one seeing that being Platinum is a VERY minimal benefit if at all??

Clearly at case of DYKWIA?!!!
About half your claim are correct.....

Read this...

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/terms/elite.mi

I have been reading up on it now. Look at the difference between Gold and Platinum, All they give you extra is a few bonus points at check in and a 50% bonus versus 25%. Certainly the most incremental Gold-Platinum upgrade out of the major brands...do you not agree? Why use Marriott when everyone else treats you better? What am I missing?

As a Marriott Platinum and HH Diamond, I can say from experience that each program has its advantages and disadvantages. We could go on forever as to which program does this or that better, but the bottom line is this: what do _you_ want from a hotel loyalty program? Find the program that fits your needs the best and stay there.

In your opinion, what advatage does the Marriott Program have over Hilton?

I'm a Platinum currently staying at a Courtyard and I am upgraded to a very nice room. It's got a separate bedroom and a large sitting room/work area. Certainly much nicer than my usual room at this hotel (first time here as a Platinum). So, upgrades do happen at Courtyards.

Yes, but thank you for your rigorous and dispassionate evaluation of Platinum benefits.

Bingo. We have a winner.

FWIW - I usually disregard threads that are the WORST ever re: of the elite program, whether airline, hotel or car rental. I refer you back to the quote above.

Cheers.

Here is why I'm loyal....In a 100 plus nights I've had three small issuses....very very small, but I noted them in follow up survey I received. Each and every time I've received a email from the GM saying they will correct the issues and give me bonus points to my account. The staff at Marriott as a whole is way better then any other chain I've stayed at and I do like the "Travel Package" award program.

As a GM I've received many upgrades to suites. A lot has to with your attitude when you check-in and also don't be afraid to ask. I always say when i check in i prefer the highest level room you have and fairest from the elevator as I'm a light sleeper. 9 times out of 10 I get a great room. I will give you SPG has a great rewards program and points are more flexible.

The key to earning a fair amount of points is taking advantage of Mega Bonus. Over half my points are earned that way and if it wasn't offered I probably won't be with MR.

Are you taking advantage of Mega Bonus?

You've clearly not reviewed the Priority Club benefits (or lack thereof!). However, I left HH because their properties are shabbier and staff ruder in general. I have always been treated well at MR properties and personally think the properties are more consistent.

HH points are more than worthless and inflated (really - 15K a night for a Hampton Inn in bumf*ck, TN that clearly used to be a motel 6??). A colleague of mine was a HH addict and I MR following a fallout with HH. We both booked a week at a full service hotel on Waikiki beach. Her with HH and me with MR - just for sh!ts and giggles to compare. Hers - literally twice as many points. A Joke.

So I disagree with you on the worst program ever. It's definitely above PC and HH.

Sounds like 90% of your gripes would be resolved if you stopped staying at Cortyards and Ritz's.

Also- Marriott World Center doesn't provide free breakfast or have a CL because it is a resort. The CL benefit has little to do with room rates and everything to do with the resort/non-resort classification in Marriott world- always determine this before staying so you know what to expect.

I see the point the OP is making. as a HH Diamond and MR Platinum (now Premiere...whoop de doooooo), the elite benefits feel minimal. at hilton, i almost always got an upgrade to a suite. at MR, i've gotten it twice in many many years (once last weekend and took about 8 calls to the PP desk).

i agree w/the breakfast issue as well. i knew that whatever HH property i was at, i would get breakfast any day. with MR, i have to do so much research.

when things went wrong at hilton (not often), they WAY made up for it. i'd compare it to UA type compensation. MR is minimal. a thousand points here and there versus hilton would refund my entire room rate, or send me a $150 gift card.

so why do i stay at MR? MMF and lifetime program...but definitely for the other elite beneifts or lack thereof.

I think the OP has summarized the critic that we all have on MR's Elite-recognition in one post. Maybe one topic is more important than another for each of us, but all things mentioned by the OP are around here for ages when it comes to the "shortfalls" of MR.

Especially the non-integration of Courtyards in terms of Elite-benefits bugs me very much as well up to the point I will avoid these unless the specific Courtyard is one of the few that offers the benefits important to me. Especially in Europe where a Courtyard can run over 300� at times (try Munich during Oktoberfest or Hannover during large trade fairs) or can be generally more expensive than the Full-Service properties in the same city, not offering breakfast to Elites and only a usually very dull amenity to Plats seems nuts to me. Also the no points for incidentials clause drives me away from the hotel-restaurant and other services at Courtyards...

Same with the weekend breakfast issue (we have a sticky thread here to dicuss this) and the no breakfast at resort issue: These are frequently discussed here as well. So all in all while the wording of the OP may be a little harsh, hie experiences summarize the consolidated gripes we all have with MR...

Greetings - Dirk

I am both MPlat and HDiamond (though MGold would suffice).

Marriott scores big:

1. Travel Package + All-Inclusive Package + transfer airline points when airline is offering transfer bonus.
2. EEO certificates (especially great for Sat/Sunday combo since Sunday night considered weekday rate)
3. Mega Bonus and Bonus Bucks offers fill-in during non-EEO periods
4. Circumvent no free breakfast issue by booking the S4B rate ($10 more for most Marriotts that I stay at)

Highlight #2 : Atlanta for Monday morning appointment combined with personal trip. I book Saturday $89 S4B at a full service Marriott Sunday night using EEO is free. If I had booked Sunday night only that rate is $199. I saved $110 plus had a full buffet breakfast.

Hilton scores big:
1. For family vacations, especially to Europe. Guaranteed Executive Lounge access whether upgraded to concierge level or not.
2. Free breakfast
3. Very successful with incredible suites
4. Love current bonus program 4x points

Well, I can't speak for HH (I'e had some lower level status on them occasionally, but never the top level), but I am both SPG Plat and Marriott Plat P. My observations:

1) Marriott's are very consistent within brands except for the occasional fairfield inn. I don't stay in hilton properties much, but my experience is that their properties vary considerably within and between brands.

2) SPG's properties vary considerable within brand. No consistency, even on benefits. Upgrades, lounges and breakfast a crap shoot. With Marriott it's all defined, and well understood what you get where and when. And sometimes, the particular hotel goes beyond the corporate standard. That's a nice bonus.

3) MARRIOTT TREATS ME WELL. I say this all the time, but it's true. Whenever I do have an issue or problem (rarely) - it gets resolved in my favor and quickly.

4) Lifetime plat is nice. I don't have to chase nights anymore.

5) Discounts on purchase of gift cards. They are almost always running a 10% discount on gift cards, which I use for all my Marriott expenditures.

6) Great availability of reward nights. I have had little problem getting the free nights I want. But almost always, I find a great rate and pay to stay there; canceling my award reservation and favoring the paid one. But sometimes, I use my points to stay in an expensive hotel for free (Ritz Tokyo, Marriott in San Juan, Marriott in Paris, Marriott in Rome to name a few).

7) TRAVEL PACKAGES. I've amassed MILLIONS of frequent flyer points through the redemption of travel packages. Sure, they've gotten more expensive and less advantageous over the years, but they are a GREAT use of points!

8) Marriott is just about everywhere. Sure, I know HH is almost everywhere too, but compared to SPG or Hyatt - Marriott has many more locations. Still, I'll stay in the best hotel choice in the best location, especially if Marriott does not have a hotel, like the Hyatt in Auckland, for example. Or the few choices of Marriott's in Tokyo (although the Ritz is nice on points!).

Just my observations.

Billy