icydog

This year I'm going to have upwards of 160 nights.

Is there any Elite level higher than Platinum?

I'm asking because there's a story on Flyertalk, somewhere, that Marriott Platinum Plus Elites can get United Gold Status-- rather than the lowly Silver I am now.

UpgradeMe

Search is your friend:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...6-present.html

JHake10

As another poster noted there is an unpublished invite only level called Platinum Premier. The main benefit here being UA Gold. All other benefits are basically the same. How you qualify has been hashed out over and over and the general consensus is it's not just nights alone.

escapefromphl

How do you stay 160 nights and not have United gold status anyway?

Time traveller

One year of 160 nights will not likely lead to Platinum Premier status. PP status is usually granted for several years of 100+ nights a year, as well as meeting some threshold for spending.

MSPeconomist

I would have said definitely not.

Jon Maiman

Some of us mainly drive for our business travel so even though we stay a lot of nights we accumulate very few air miles. During my peak business travel periods I was doing 3 to 4 nights a week in a hotel and maybe a half dozen of the trips at most (probably less) involved air travel. Similarly my leisure travel which adds 10 to 20 nights a year is almost all driving trips as well. YMMV.....

--Jon

icydog

I don't care about the elite level other than the UA Gold status. From reading on the website that perk ends in 2018. And I would need to be Platinum Premier and registered by October 2017. Since I won't be Platinum Premier by then I guess this is a mute point. I’ll be 5 nights short of being lifetime Platinum by the end of the year. I've been Platinum Elite for two years now. From the readings I would need to be Platinum for three years to be Premier Platinum.

Am I getting this right so far?

If I don't stay 75+ nights a year going forward, even though I'll be lifetime Platinum in January, I won't be able to be a Premier Platinum, right?

icydog

Here's the answer to that question... Marriott Vacation Club. I own a lot of weeks and MVCI Destination Club Points. I'm the highest level in Marriott's Vacation Club.
I love timesharing and tend to be at a Marriott timeshare at least once a month, but more commonly twice a month. I usually average between 13 and 14 weeks a year. Luckily I'm retired and can do this sort of thing.

I used to be 1K. That was when I flew to my timeshares all over the world. Now I try and drive anytime I can.

BUT, I hate being silver. It's like having no status at all. But it's not worth it to me to be in the air as much as I was either. Premier Gold on UA would be Just Right!

Jon Maiman

The requirements for Platinum Premier are unknown and appear to be fluid. So no not staying 75+ nights year won't specifically disqualify you from being Platinum Premier.

I have been Platinum Premier on and off for years. When I make PP doesn't seem to correlate with the number of nights I stayed the previous year nor specifically to my spend either. It still is a mystery to me as to what the specific criteria are. As have others have already noted, other than the UA Gold, based on my experience there is no discernible difference in how I am treated when I am regular Platinum versus when I am Platinum Premier. Many years ago, I did get more unsolicited suite upgrades as a PP, but that hasn't been true for a long time. Now, it seems I rarely get meaningful upgrades at all.

--Jon

icydog

What I do is call the hotel and ask for an upgrade two days before my arrival date. I always point out my Platinum Elite level. It works (most of the time)!

Jon Maiman

That's fine. For me on business travel, a suite is a nice bonus but not a necessity, so I don't call and ask. If I get one unsolicited so much the better. For family stays where it matters, I do ask with varying degrees of success.

--Jon

icydog

That's so true. If you are by yourself all you need is a nice bed, a desk with USB ports, and a clean bathroom!!

MSPeconomist

If you're new to Plat status in MR, you won't be PP for several years no matter how many nights you stay in a given year.

OTOH, due to the Starriot merger, there might not be PP after this year.

joshua362

I personally would throw peace & quiet without being jarred awake by my neighbor's self-slamming door into that mix. So an upgrade to a corner, top floor, the CL level or an otherwise unused suite is nice. But yes I would trade that all away for a guaranteed suite for the family a few times per year.