I guess MR isn't hurting as it was in recent years as this lowly silver is unlikely to requalify for the first time this century. There were a few promo's, admittedly post 9/11, that offered elites silver for X number of stays in Q4, but haven't seen one of those this year.

Of course, they could be part of the trend towards targetted MR promo's and could be why I never received any. The funny thing was had Marriott thrown out more offers, I might have reworked my holidays to include more Marriott brand stays. Anyone else in the same boat?

Hi,

Could you apply for a MR visa which I think ( certainly for the UK card) gives you Silver without the stay requirement).

Not sure if there is a card for Canadians though.

Regards

TBS

Jeez, it only takes 10 nights to get Silver. My wife is a Silver (and she's never physically set foot in a Marriott ), and it also got her complementary Silver on NW.

And, as TBS says, the Visa card gets you Silver (but don't know if it's good in Canada).

How tough can it be to do 10 nights in the course of a year?

BigLar - could you explain more about how your wife's Marriott Silver got her NW Silver? I'd love to find a quick and easy way to maintain my NW Silver status. I'm switching most of my flying to UA and Delta, so it's likely my NW status will go away next year. My Marriott hotel stays, tho, will likely continue, so if I could use Marriott to requalify for NW, I'd be thrilled.

Sadly, no, at present there is no MR CC option in Canada, though I've sent several emails asking for one.

The question has been asked on this forum and others recently about how hard is it to achieve the basic elite status and my answer can only be for me, which is that as I don't have the luxury of travelling on business and therefore must always pay my own way on strictly leisure trips twice a year and so it's harder than some would imagine. Sure I could top up by staying at a local CY for 4 or 5 nights, but I don't see how any of the silver benefits are worth that $500-$600 bucks, which BTW is a good start on another trip somewhere more exciting than here. I've also been to different destinations this year that didn't have any Marriott brand choices, much to my chagrin.

Maybe I'm just not seeing the big picture benefits vs. value that was once there and maybe the rebound in the travel market has made it a sellers rather than a buyers market we saw a few years post '01 and maybe I haven't gone as far out of the way as I have in the past to make it Marriott, but I was just curious as to if any others experiencing the same thing.

It just appeared in the mail.

Seems like NW is handing out complementary Silver Elite status based on your ststus in Marriott, as well as Starwood and maybe some others. I have no idea what criteria they are using for the selection process.

At any rate, we didn't ask for it -- it just showed up. There's a thread on this, and when I finish typing this I'll go look it up.

[Edit] - Here's the link: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=473778

tcook052 -- If you're not doing any business stays, it would seem that having status in any hotel chain is pretty meaningless. What would you do with it?

If you do start travelling again, I'd contact Marriott in SLC and ask for a comp. Silver should be a no-brainer for them, and you'd wind up getting 20% bonus vs. 30% for Platinum, so you'd be most of the way there. Depending on where you stay, even a Silver sometimes gets some bennies.

I have requalified two years in a row for silver on mostly leisure travel-with no sweat,inconvenience,or credit card deals involved.
My first year('o3)was via a deal with DC.'04 and this year have been head on pillow stays for weekend get-a-ways as well as vacation and the rare overnight for work.
I find Marriott to be very generous with its promos-much more so than *wood.And unlike *wood,Hilton,and Hyatt you can actually use your promos and the points you aquire.
So OP sorry you are dissatisfied.Try some of the others and see if they fit you better.Maybe a Canadian hotel chain(Delta,Gouverneur)would suit you better.Or maybe you really do not need a hotel loyalty program If you are not spending at least 10 nights a year away from home.
Marriott Rewards is not at fault here.

Oh, I'm sorry if I gave the impression it was MR fault, just sharing my situation. I am unhappy MR has moved to the targetted promo system, but that's another thread for another day. I might take some time and take a second look at all of my points/miles accounts and set some goals for next few years. Guess the annual check-up idea isn't bad for FFP also...

You can still requal on NW flying DL. Just put your WP number on all your DL flights. No segments, tho, just miles for qual.

BigLar, BonzaiFlyer, thanks for the assistance. I appreciate the thoughts, but I was just hoping there was some backdoor way to requalify for NW using MR. Having weighed the difference, I think I'm switching from NW to Delta this year for my airline program.

As for the OP's situation / posting, tcook052 - I think you're correct in not requalifying. As BigLar alluded to, the benefits are mostly in the ability to acquire points more quickly. In my 50+ nights this year, I've gotten upgraded to a Jr Suite for one night. I have gotten "upgrades" to the concierge floor, but that's both not available for Silver and, in my opinion, not a real upgrade. Overall, I find that Marriott's service has been good, whether I was a general member, Silver or Platinum. If I were to leave aside the ability to accumulate points more quickly, I'd say that the value of Silver vs. no status is minimal.

[I'd say that the value of Silver vs. no status is minimal.[/QUOTE]

Agreed.

Managed to get back to gold this year, after having dropped to silver, but only via targeted quick requalify. Caught a low-occupancy rate and back in a Marriott now for first time in quite some time. Hotel rates are going up, the employer is cutting back, and most nights are on me anyway. Goodbye Marriott and Hyatt and very reluctantly hello La Quinta. My self-image is taking a beating and I'll really miss the club floor.

Agreed.

Managed to get back to gold this year, after having dropped to silver, but only via targeted quick requalify. Caught a low-occupancy rate and back in a Marriott now for first time in quite some time. Hotel rates are going up, the employer is cutting back, and most nights are on me anyway. Goodbye Marriott and Hyatt and very reluctantly hello La Quinta. My self-image is taking a beating and I'll really miss the club floor.[/QUOTE]





I feel your pain...
If we're in the same cities I'll walk you in to the concierge lounge so you can get some snacks...