BuyBack status is back
 

http://www.marriott.com/marriott/elitebuyback.mi

Hoorah but just for points it seems no cash this time, fine by me.

You could buy the points for cash, then use the points for the status upgrade. So, I guess you could buy status for cash. I am a gold with 7 nights for last year. According to the Marriott website I could buy the 25K points that I need to keep my Gold year for $312.50. I could spend the $312.50 for 3 meetings to get 30 night credit, I could spend 50 nights at an average of $90 per night, ($4500 per year - I spend a lot of nights in secondary markets where there are no FS hotels) to maintain my status, or I can buy the points to maintain my Gold status just in case my travel pattern takes me to more Marriott properties. Even for spending 7-10 nights a year at a FS Marriott, buying Gold that cheap is a good deal.

This is a relatively good value in my opinion. On the other side, what for is Marriott status if you don't stay at Marriott or Renaissance? For nada :td:

I wanted to book the Courtyard by Marriott in Basel. When I asked about the gold perks I was told "absolutely nothing at all" :eek:

Well, the same happened to me at the Courtyard by Marriott in Zürich.

Solution for me: No benefits for status = no more status

That is why you should not be staying at CYs. It is at the full service Marriott hotels where you see the value of Gold status.

yup.

Spent 25k points today to remain gold since the Air China thing didn't work for existing golds :( 39 nights last year .... oh well. Gold is worth 25k for me.

I must be missing something....I have been platinum for the last 3 years. Apart from increased points, an occasional free bowl of cereal in the morning, and free bottled water in the Concierge Lounge.......I really don't understand what the big deal is with "status". I can't imagine paying a penny for it.

The joys of Marriott Lifetime Platinum...:)

First time I've ever seen this pop up on my profile, so I assume that means after 2 years where I stayed a total of 18 nights, Marriott is going to drop me down.

So, the deal is I can pony up 40K and stay a Plat, or do nothing and I'll drop down and soft-land at silver, is that right?

It has always been my understanding that you only drop one level, but as it has not happened to me, I am not 100% certain.

Is it me or is this a pretty good price to buy back Plat

No, i don't think it is just you. the plat deal is pretty cheap and I think reaps enough benefits to outweigh the expense... Especially if one has the points and does not have to buy them.

25k is a great price for Gold, not sure 40k for Plat is worth it. With the EEOs, free breakfast and lounge access it is well worth it for me if I fall short by just a few nights.

I don't think I'm going to bother. I only had 5 nights at Marriott properties last year and minus the 10% point bonus and the fancier key card, I didn't find much value in my Silver Status. I will miss the nice MR card though

Did anyone else have their BuyBack Note on their Marriott Rewards Account homepage come and then disappear? I saw the note for a few days, have not take action yet to reinstate Platinum, and then it disappeared.

Yes, same here. I'm waiting until March 1 to see if my status drops, before taking any action.