I wouldn't do that. I would follow the esteemed fellow above's recommendation to show some CO activity at the beginning of the year. Given that people's accounts are "zero'ed" out at this time, it helps for demonstration purposes. :)

Yeah, I suppose so. But the timing makes this tough -- I have to book and fly two transcons in the next 3 weeks. I would have to get a CO status match, book a CO trip, book a UA trip, fly a CO trip, get the CO miles credited, request the status match from UA, get it, then fly on UA -- HOPING that the timing worked out such that UA agrees to comp me in the 5 days between flights. It would also leave me with 8K orphaned CO miles I can't use.

I know what you're saying -- better than 100K US miles that go poof in June.

I should have gone through with this earlier this year. Now that we're in Feb, I'm not so sure it'll work.

Added: What the hell, I'm going to ask UA for a comp and see what they say. I know they're out for business these days, so who knows...

thanks, very useful info.

and any of you have any ideas re. my SKYTeam status match enquiry (who will comp. me, which one do I want) ? Any ideas much appreciated !!!

Why go poof in June? Unless they are expiring, US Airways group has no strong indication of going poof by June. They've even "projected" a "profit" by 2006. While that is really long time away and difficult to predict, it's with much more confidence that US Air will be around for the rest of this year given relative calm.
By the way, any news on whether Airtran will match DL status? Will any random airline match any status (say will ATA give elite status to DL elite?)?
Thanks :)

Anyone have an idea of how long a UA comp takes these days? I sent this info on Thurs night, and so far nada.

Seems like between 48 hours and 14 days, and I don't know how to predict which one it will be closer to in any given instance.

Thanks. I hope they hurry :)

SPG to HH?
 

Will Hilton comp me for SPG Platinum?

What level will they comp? Do I just need to fax them with statement?

SPG will match HHonors diamond VIP with SPG Platinum Preferred, but will place you on a challenge if you are HHonors gold or below. Just fax a statement to 1-512-997-9046 along with your spg number and a HHonors statement. They usually do this in 24hrs. They will not email or call you to confirm. It will only show on website. I have done this for my wife and mother, all are platinum preferred and none of us have received our new cards. Also write a short note saying you want to take your business to them if they will match. HHonors will do they same in return, but I cannot find their fax number. Best Western will do it without faxing them a statement if you get the right customer GCCI member otherwise they will tell you outright NO. I called twice second guy said he would do it and within 5 minutes my account said Diamond. I know this does not help your situation but it might help others.

Took them about 1 week for me. Posted online only.

It's PDQ. I had a letter in my mailbox 8 days after I posted my request. It may have been less time than that if I had been checking online.

HHonors Diamond to Marriot - response
 

Sent an email to via the Marriot rewards website inquiring as to potential status match from HHonors Diamond to Marriot anything. Here is the response:

Thank you for contacting Marriott Rewards about status matching.

In fairness to our most frequent guests, levels in Marriott's Elite Club are only achieved by personal nights stayed at Marriott brand hotels between 1/1 and 12/31 of each calendar year.

Most of our Gold Elite level members stay over 60 nights per year, and most of our Platinum Elite level members stay over 100 nights per year. The demand for Gold and Platinum Elite benefits is very high at hotels, and not all Gold and Platinum level members can be accommodated on every stay. Therefore, we can only offer those levels to members who stay the requisite number of nights each year to qualify.

We can however, offer you a complimentary upgrade to the Silver elite status which is given to our members who stay 10-49 nights within a calendar year. Please let me know if you would like to be upgraded to Silver and I will be happy to accommodate you.

We appreciate your understanding, and are always happy to answer questions about the Marriott Rewards program.

Sincerely,

Reed Hatch
Internet Correspondence Specialist
Marriott Rewards

Bummer. I was truly intrested in changing my travel "preferences" but am now discouraged. Not sure what I get for silver. If it is anything like HHonors silver...not much. (Better than an outright "NO", I suppose.)

At least you got Silver!

Dear Mr. BA Loyal,

Thank you for contacting Marriott Rewards.

I apologize to inform you that we do not have a status matching program. In fairness to our most frequent staying guests, elite levels in our program are achieved by personal nights stayed at Marriott Hotels between January 1 and December 31 of each year. Silver elite level requires 10 personal nights, Gold elite level requires 50 personal nights, and Platinum elite level requires 75 personal nights.

The demand for Gold and Platinum elite level benefits such as concierge lounge (full service hotels, only, excluding resorts), upgraded rooms, etc., is very high at hotels and not all of our current Gold and Platinum level members can be accommodated with complimentary benefits on every stay.

Please let me know if you have further questions. We are always happy to help you with your Marriott Rewards Account.

Sincerely,

Elaine Gregston
Internet & Correspondence Specialist
Marriott Rewards Guest Services

I am pretty sure I toss my elite statements. Or maybe I opted out just for e-mails. Point being - if you don't have these does anyone know if a print out of the e-summary on the web site will do the trick? (along w/ your elite cards of course).

I have platinum on American and Silver on United. Am thinking of switching to Continental due to their rediculous number of non-stop flights out of EWR. What level would you think they'd match to?

A print-out shoud be fine. I would think they would give you gold.