Thank you for clarifying. I kinda knew I wasn't reading that correctly but didn't have the patience to slow down.

Surprised this hasn't been posted yet, but the "NEW" Gold will not have Lounge access or breakfast anywhere it's not free for everyone. In short, if you are already Diamond with Hilton, you're probably better off sticking with Hilton.

https://members.marriott.com/benefits/

Perfect, that's what I was looking for. Doesn't look like there is any reason to go for 400 nights and LTG, other then a slight bump in points earnings, there's nothing there.

The new Gold and LTG status is worthless other than extra points earned on hotel stays. New Plat is the old Gold with free breakfast and lounge access.

I didn't think it was so hard to answer a few factual qualifying questions. Sorry if it was offensive. I'll spare you my responses.

I have SPG LTG which is similar to what the new Marriott Gold will be. You can also get this from having an Amex Plat card, so lifetime status isn't that helpful. If you are so close and already have the years, I would suggest not focusing on it in the near term. Over time if you end up staying at Marriott properties here and there, and you may end up hitting it anyway.

Would it be worth using credit cards strategically to get a lot of additional nights and capture LTG before the rules change again? Even if it isn't much, it might be good for the OP to have in the future, for flexibility when there aren't good Hilton family choices available.

It's always a good idea to have options. It's just a question of whether LTG is an objective worthy or intentionally pursuing, vs get it whenever. If the HH option is a Hampton Inn, then HH Diamond loses nothing by staying at a MR/SPG hotel.

I like to have options. Although most of my LT stays are with Hilton, there have been times when there was no Hilton available in some locations so Marriott has been my go to. If it were me, I'd just get the credit card with 15 nights upon approval, 15 nights on anniversary plus the 2 free night certs gets you 32 of those nights. If you haven't gotten the bonus in over 2 years, you'd also get 75K points letting you get LF Gold for $85 (card is free for the first year).

One nice thing I discovered is that when I'm on an award stay, I don't mind staying at RIs as I get breakfast and "dinner" depending on the day of the week. Now that points don't help gain status, I'll probably be staying at them more :)

Only you can answer this. LT Gold is a stepping stone to LT Plat which I believe is worth it. If you are going for LT Gold then shifting your stays I would say don't bother.

I am Hilton LT Diamond and Marriott LT Plat but I wouldn't consider going for any higher levels in any other program as between Hilton and Marriott 99.99% of my destinations are covered.

You will be lifetime silver, which means that your points will never expire. Not really worth going for lifetime gold, as it doesn't offer much more. You're better off with Hilton Lifetime Diamond.

Looks like your first sentence is wrong. You answered it perfectly. The new LT Gold is worthless, but LT Plat is worthwhile. So the answer the the OP is NO, don't go for LT Gold if you're not looking further down the road.

"15 nights on anniversary" will be in 2019, and it's unclear whether this card will continue to exist until then. So I wouldn't absolutely count on it.

However, you can get 16 nights from the existing Marriott Premier card (which may stop taking applications any day now), 15 right away and then 1 as a by-product of spending $3000 to get the 75k (and another 1 for each additional $3000 you may spend).

The new Marriott Premier Plus card, on the other hand, won't give 15 this year, nor does it appear to give 1 for $3000. So that's why it's best to apply for the existing non-Plus Premier right away if you're interested in elite nights from the card.

Also, if it still exists by the time it makes sense for the OP to apply for yet another card, the Marriott Business card also gives 15 + 1 nights, and the business 15 stacked for me last year with the 15 from my personal card.

Getting the current Marriott Lifetime Gold, which will become Lifetime Plat in January, is certainly worth it. You'll get free breakfast and lounge access.