I need to know from other Gold and Platinum Members - it is worth going for gold status with Marriott? I will be about 7 nights aways by the end of the year - and I need to start planning ahead if I want to get some extra nights in to get Gold. How much is Gold better than my Current silver?? In personal experiences out there - what does Gold really do for you?

Thanks!

Well hopefully you have been participating in the stay for B'fast promo(scroll down for more info if you have not)so you will have lots of bonus bucks to play with for weekend get-a-ways.
7 nights,at lss than $100 anight(maybe much less)to reach gold-go for it!Your twofer's will make up most of the expense.

I have been using my Marriott POUNDS - they started out at the beginning of the year worth $190.00 - now down to only $164.00 -

so my stays have been about $40.00 a night - however I ran out of Bonus Pounds - prorbably get the 7-8 additional nights for about less than 50 a night using the regular Bonus Bucks

My top 5 reasons for going for gold:

1. If you're going to be traveling during the week and staying at FS Marriott properties, having access to the concierge lounge is great.

2. 25% bonus on MR points - especially for big ticket stays where you're charging lots to the room at FS properties - makes a difference over time.

3. Elite Exclusive Offers (EEOs, as mentioned throughout the forum) can be great - the most valuable is the buy one night, get the second night free for a weekend stay. Here in Chicago that can save at least $200 off a weekend stay, plus we got credit for 2 nights the last time we used such an offer.

4. Better customer service on the phone... at least that's been my personal experience.

5. Occasional upgraded rooms - there is the occasional "better" room b/c of status - don't count on it though - just be happy when it happens.

I hope this helps!

I stay about 70-90 nights per year. Between Hilton and Marriott, I pick the one that's more convenient, instead of going out of my way to make Marriott gold. So far this year I stand at 18 Hilton nights and 20 Marriott. I usually stay at the Courtyard/Doubletree quality hotels, though for one client I stay at a full service Marriott.

I don't think the greater status is worth the inconvenience, and I've been able to use the concierge lounge about 50% of the time as a Silver.

If points are your thing, you can max points in each program by using the affinity CC of each to pay for rooms (and other stuff if you're so inclined, though there are better cards for that). That's good for 2-4,000 extra points a month.

My short answer is yes, presuming you are diverting otherwise statusless stays you would make anyway and are not shelling out $1000 or equivalent of whatever hard carrency you care to convert to to get there. 99% of the time Gold gets you lounge access, which for me is worth it just so I have another room to go to and food I can sit down and eat without thinking about, spending too much money on, or gorging myself to finish too large a portion I paid too much for to leave. With rates going up I'm being booked into fewer star hotels and see my status slipping away. I'll miss it.