In days gone by, I used to be a regular Black level member, and now am a humble Silver. Now that retirement is looming, it will no longer be possible to 'move up the ladder' so to speak. The plan is to take my wife on a few long haul trips, and probably closer to home as well, but I was thinking that it would be nice if I could somehow gain Platinum...just for a year... and give my wife some of the perks that I used to enjoy ... concierge level etc. Is there a relativly easy way to acheive this do you think ? Or would a note to Marriott be worth while or a waste of time ? It's a shame really, as it's when you retire that you would really like the perks to kick in for a while longer. Thanks for any input.

Mike,

It is extremely unlikely that they will grant you Platinum status without the requisite 75 nights. It is also unlikely they would grant you Gold, but you would have a better chance. Marriott has a reputation of being pretty strict when it comes to awarding status to folks. The good news is that when I was Silver one year, after previously having been Black, Gold, and Platinum, they continued to upgrade me to concierge level when it was available, and always provided me access to the lounge if a concierge level room was unavailable.

I would do a few things.

First, I would always request an upgrade and access to the Concierge Lounge upon check-in even if you are only Silver.

Second, you definitely do not need Platinum for access to Concierge Lounge and/or upgrades to the Concierge Level as this is a benefit of Gold elite level, too. Granted the Platinums will be upgraded first and the likelihood of an upgrade is less as a result.

Third, I would call up the MR CS line and ask them how many lifetime MR points and stays you have. If you used to be a regular Marriott Marquis Black Level then you may well have accumulated enough to qualify for lifetime Gold status, or you may be close enough do some stays in order to achieve it. Below are requirements:

Silver Lifetime:

12 years as an MR member
600 nights in a Marriott banded property
1.5 million points

Gold Lifetime:

12 years as an MR member
800 nights in a Marriott branded property
2 million points

Platinum Lifetime:

12 years as an MR member
1000 nights in Marriott branded hotels
3 million points

Thanks aaupgrade,

Couple questions about lifetime status:

1) Do I need to accumulate the required number of points or nights AND be a member for 12 years or is each requirement independent?
2) Do the required points include bonus points?

Thanks!

You have to meet all three criteria, number of years as a MR member, number of nights stayed, and number of total points accumulated.

All points posted to your MR account that are earned in any form or fashion count toward the points threshold total. This includes bonus points, points received via AMEX Membership rewards point transfer (which ends at the end of tis year), etc.

FYI, there have been numerous detailed discussions on this MB and a simple search of this thread should yield copious amounts of information on the subject.

There recently have many a number of postings here about folks being granted complimentary plat status. Generally it's been to match status in other programs; but nevertheless it appears that Marriott is not as conservative in such grants as in the past. I don't see why it would hurt to ask.

There is a VERY easy way to achieve this--pay for concierge level rooms! You don't have to be elite to get those perks, and often the room rates are not significantly higher than for standard rooms. Who knows--the extra points you earn may be enough to put you over those lifetime thresholds!

Oh the horror!!!
Oh the blasphemy!!!!
Somebody ban this man from FT!!!!!
How can you suggest that someone PAY for services they want to receive!!!!!


Just Kiddiing

By memory (which isn't always accurate) the "Emeritus" chart above is missing one other requirement - you need to have "earned" the level in question at least once. In other words, in addition to the nights, years and points, you need to have been Platinum at least once in order to get Emeritus Platinum.