Marriott Bonvoy has several levels of loyalty status depending on how often you stay at Marriott hotels. Hotel status through the pandemic was extended, and then made much easier to maintain, as hotels didn’t want to lose their most loyal members. Now that those promotions, extensions and waivers are going away, I needed a reminder about what it takes to earn Marriott Bonvoy status.
- Silver Elite – 10 nights
- Gold Elite – 25 nights
- Platinum Elite – 50 nights
- Titanium Elite – 75 nights
- Ambassador Elite – 100 nights + $23K spend
We’ve been able to maintain Platinum Elite status thru the beginning of 2024 because of the more lenient requirements. That path is now closed so I needed to look at the different ways to keep Marriott Bonvoy status leveraging credit cards.
Several Marriott co-brand cards include instant Marriott Bonvoy status.
- Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful – Automatic Gold Elite
- Marriott Bonvoy Bevy AMEX – Automatic Gold Elite
- Ritz-Carlton Card – Automatic Gold Elite
- American Express Platinum – Automatic Gold Elite (Requires requesting status match)
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant AMEX – Automatic Platinum Elite
Many of the other Marriott co-brand cards, including the ones no longer accepting new applicants, provide 15-night credits as a cardholder benefit which automatically provides Silver Elite status (even if that’s not stated as a benefit.)
You can double dip Marriott personal and business credit cards to reach a higher status. This means if you have a Marriott Bonvoy Boundless and a Marriott Bonvoy Business card, which each provides 15-night credits, you’ll have 30-night credits and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status without stepping foot in a Marriott property.
Sharon is Platinum Elite through 2025. That’s because she received 25-night credits from the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card (which we canceled this year) and another 15-night credit from the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business card. That, along with our Marriott stays in 2023 already put her over the 50-night requirement. Reaching the 50-night requirement allows her to pick an annual choice benefit, like Suite Night Upgrades. You don’t get this benefit from the automatic status provided by the Bonvoy Brilliant card.
After that Platinum Elite status lapses in 2025, she’ll keep Gold status from her Ritz-Carlton card.
Most of our Marriott stays are booked under Sharon’s account because of her Platinum status. But once in a while, we book a room in my name to use one of my free night certificates. I keep Gold Elite status by having the AMEX Platinum card. It’s not much but it’s enough to get us free enhanced Wi-Fi and a 2 PM late check-out, depending on the hotel.
Final Thought
There are plenty of ways to earn Marriott Bonvoy Elite status by having a co-brand credit card. AMEX will sell you Platinum Elite status for $650/year. While I think Platinum Elite is the sweet spot for the Marriott Bonvoy program, it’s not worth it for us to pay for status based on our hotel stays. We’re able to keep some Marriott Bonvoy status from a combination of lower-priced cards with credit for our hotel stays. I’d rather keep two $95 cards that provide Gold Elite status and 2 free nights worth 35,000 points each than a $650 card that provides Platinum status and a single 85K free night.
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