I qualified for silver status last year (so I'm silver this year) and I'm about to book a room. My question is, with silver status do I have a chance to be upgraded for a room? Is this something I need to ask for? Is it even something that is possible with silver status?

Any info on these things would be greatly appreciated. The membership rewards website just doesn't make this very clear to me.

thx

Only Gold and Platinum Elite members are (supposed to be) guaranteed room upgrades. If a hotel decides to upgrade you to a better room, it would be an exception. Doesn't hurt to ask the front desk when you check in.

Marriott has a tendancy to give away Silver status to just about anyone and everyone. Because of that, Marriott doesn't give a lot of benefits to Silvers. But unlike most of the other chains, Marriott does give some decent benefits to their mid-tier elites (Gold). So if you can make it there, you will get some fairly nice benefits.

But as Rewards_Guy mentioned, it can't hurt to ask. Just be prepared for the "we don't have any available" answer.

I think most properties will do favors for silvers if they can. By all means, ASK. But its much easier for plats and golds...especially to get something big (like a suite).

if there is no 'set' way to go about upgrading a room (im not talking guarenteed here, but a way to upgrade like airline upgradess), then what's the point of getting silver status with marriott at all?

20% bonus points is the main reason. Marriott also takes care of you based on past status. A number of years ago I dropped to Silver for a year and was provided CL access on all my stays as Silver without even asking. Now with hotel occupancy at all time highs they may not do that now, but I will never forget their generosity in the past. Back to you issue...

Get a Marriott Rewards Premier VISA signature credit card and you will get 15 nights credit towards annual status and lifetime status. You will also get 15000 bonus points after your first purchase, a free night certificate at a Cat 1-4 hotel, and a 2 for 1 golf certificate. Then each year on your anniversary you will receive 15 nights toward elite status and a free night certificate at a Cat 1-5 hotel.

On top of that you earn 5 points for every dollar spent at Marriott locations and 2 points for every dollar spent on airline, dining and rental car purchases. This means with Silver status and the Premier VISA you will earn 17 points per dollar spent when staying at Marriott, Renaissance hotels and participating MCC and MVCI properties, 17 points per dollar spent on room rates at CY, SHS, and FI, and 12 points at other properties. MR points add up very quickly.

Oh and when you check-in at full service hotels ask nicely if you can have access to the CL. It never hurts to ask. Just keep you expectations at the level that they will decline your request and you will not be disappointed.

One slight correction is that the subsequent year certificate will be for a Cat 1-5 hotel. Which adds quite a bit in terms of usefulness. ^

great information, thanks.

So I get offers for plat cards all the time and I shred/throw them away. From what I am hearing though the Marriott plat rewards card might actually be worth getting. I don't carry any balances, so the interest rate doesn't matter to me. Woiuld you recommend getting that card?

Remember the group you are asking that question to. The real question is not would we recommend the card or not, but how many of them should you apply for.

But yes, if you are planning on staying at Mariotts, then the Premier Visa card is a must. (And note that we are talking about the Premier card, not the standard or business card.)

I dislike having lots of credit cards, so I'd prefer to just add one. Is the main marriott card that would do me the most good the premier (i assume platinum) marriott rewards card?

In most cases the answer is yes. For most Marriott "perks" the basic Signature Visa and Business Visa are pretty much the same. The Premier card has some "extra" benefits over the other two.

But it does have one potential downfall. The Premier costs $65/yr versus $30/yr for the other two. Also, it is fairly normal to get the base and business cards free for the 1st year, whereas you will have to pay for the Premier card even for the 1st year. But it does have a lot of benefits that counter balance the added annual fee (i.e. more points/$ spent, Cat. 1-5 free night coupon every year aftrer 1st yr, etc).

Here is the main thread where the Premier card was bantered about quite a bit: New Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Signature card. While there are a lot of posts, it might be worth skimming over them to get a feel for what everyone is talking about.

Just for the sake of clarity, it is not a Plat card. Make sure it is the Mariott Rewards Premier Signature VISA card as the other Marriott Signature VISA only gives you 2 points per dollar spent with Marriott and 1 point on everything else. Oh and the color of the card is actually black.

The extra points alone on my annual purchases get me at least a free week at a Cat 6 each year at my current spending level.

sdadept - FWIW, I have 2 cards and I, like you, don't carry balances. The MR Premier card for Marriott charges, car rental, airline tickets and dining; and a UA MP Visa for everything else. Both are from Chase.