Originally Posted by Points Scrounger

I just got that chase Marriott card last year, getting the 15 nights right away. Apparently, they have stopped the 15 nights as a benefit going forward, but do existing a card holders continue to get 15 nights per enrollment year? I do not have an employer, so have to qualify for these statuses out-of-pocket. So, if I can now start combining Marriott and Starwood property stays, along with the 15 automatic nights, that will make it a lot easier to get to the golden level of 75 per year.

Originally Posted by Points Scrounger

I just got that chase Marriott card last year, getting the 15 nights right away. Apparently, they have stopped the 15 nights as a benefit going forward, but do existing a card holders continue to get 15 nights per enrollment year? I do not have an employer, so have to qualify for these statuses out-of-pocket. So, if I can now start combining Marriott and Starwood property stays, along with the 15 automatic nights, that will make it a lot easier to get to the golden level of 75 per year.

Originally Posted by lexdevil

Marriott has been doing this as a trial for a couple of years now. They have not, however, based it on status or spend (if they did, I would have a concierge). I'm mostly DIY with my bookings, but I would appreciate a concierge/ambassador to run interference for me when there are problems. I would love avoiding lengthy hold times and phone calls when chasing missing points. And if they do put a spend requirement on getting a concierge/ambassador, I hope it is not measured by points (unless they include credit card points). I put $40-60k of Marriott spend on my Marriott card every year. If I only get credit for the points from three rooms, this will radically understate the amount of business I am bringing Marriott.

Originally Posted by itsallgood

My first comment is NO, don't use the name Platinum Premier. FDCs often gave me less benefits as a PP than when I was a Plat because they thought it was a lower status. Choose Diamond, Titanium, or anything other than Platinum Premier.

Originally Posted by spgplat21

I guess anything is possible, but I would be very surprised if SPG LT Plat is not matched to the same lifetime tier as MR LT Plat. I know it's a popular thought, but not every SPG platinum member qualifies on exactly 25 stays.

10 years of platinum means probably 600-800 nights for the average lifetime platinum and 2M points sounds like a lot, but adding in credit card spend and a 3:1 transfer ratio, I would imagine the majority of LT Plats would meet that threshold too, especially since the SPG card is a better option for regular CC spending.

The most troubling aspect of all the speculation is the dynamic awards though. Airline transfers are where the big point values are, but both MR and SPG offer solid rewards for hotel stays too, and dynamic awards would almost certainly kill that. I use hotel rewards way more often than I need international first class award flights, and I've already been pretty disappointed at MR award availability for peak travel times so to add this on top would be would be tough to swallow.

Originally Posted by MSPeconomist

Originally Posted by Points Scrounger

I just got that chase Marriott card last year, getting the 15 nights right away.

Originally Posted by itsallgood

Someone upthread mentioned a vacation to Asia as a cheap way to keep status. I did something similar with my daughter a few years ago ... did a month or so in China/HK/Thailand to keep SPG Plat. It wasn't all that cheap though, as we stayed at the nicest properties in most cities, such as the St Regis in Lhasa (Tibet). I've still got a planned vacation to Egypt should I decide I want to get status with someone other than Marriott; hotels are also cheap there.

Originally Posted by Absolute

As gokeeper mentioned, this is a reply to worldtraveller73'spost about the Canadian version of the cards; of which, the Chase Marriott officially terminated all accounts as of March 14th, leaving no Marriott card in Canada. Thankfully, we get 2x the free night certificates as a consolation, and either 15 or 30 night credits this year, depending on renewal dates.

Unfortunately we Canadians get screwed on the best credit card bonus, and if I recall correctly, several of the worldwide versions don't grant nights/stays either.

Originally Posted by hockeyinsider

It looks like you can fly from New York to Jakarta for under $660. You could book one of those $30-50 per night hotels for a month. If you stay there, you stay there. You don't need to physically check-out thanks to Marriott's mobile application. If you need 35 nights, $40 x 35 = $1400 + $660 = $2060. If I was short 35 nights for lifetime status, I'd totally do it.

Originally Posted by itsallgood

If I were you, I'd make plans to diversify. I was a Plat Premier for several years with 130+ nights/yr and still didn't get a concierge to call so this is something that hasn't really been a Marriott offering (personal concierge).

Originally Posted by malexander131

This was a gripe of a coworker of mine. He asked several times if he could be part of the beta program when they trialed it last year and was turned down. His number was somewhere in the 150's.

Originally Posted by Handcake

I wondered about this too, especially since for me as a Canadian, my AMEX Plat offers me SPG Gold, which gives me Marriott Gold. If SPG gold becomes like Marriott Silver, it is worthless for me, and I would rather shift to a card that offered me Plat status, which is most likely going to be where you get the free breakfast/lounge access.

I really hope this doesn't affect me for the rest of the year as a Marriott Gold member, I booked Marriott hotels with the knowledge I would be getting that lounge / breakfast. I have about 20 nights booked thus far, half of which were a pre-paid booking I cannot change.

Originally Posted by MSPeconomist

Originally Posted by gokeeper

I believe he is talking about Canadian version of SPG AMEX