As we approach the end of the year, many people are reviewing their hotel stays and checking to see if they’ve achieved the desired status level with their award program. If they haven’t, they may be considering a “mattress run” to earn the necessary points to reach the next status level.
What Is a Mattress Run?
For those unfamiliar with the term, a mattress run doesn’t involve running with a mattress (though I’m sure some would do that for specific hotel statuses). Instead, it refers to the practice of booking hotel stays that you ordinarily wouldn’t, purely to earn stay credits and achieve loyalty program status. Essentially, it’s a way to pay for status.
Important Questions to Consider
Reading social media posts, many people are asking if it would make sense to do a mattress run if they are only a few nights away from the next tier.
While many people give advice about how to achieve those nights for the least amount of spending, there are more important questions:
- Which program are you talking about?
- What level are you looking to reach?
- How much time and money will it take to reach your goal?
- How often will you stay with that hotel chain in the upcoming year?
- What will you get out of the status?
The Value of Status Levels
The incremental benefits of each status level are different for each hotel chain. There’s a big difference between Hilton’s Silver and Gold status, while not much difference between Gold and Diamond. While there’s a big difference between Marriott’s Gold and Platinum status, some frequent travelers will also benefit from being Titanium instead of Platinum when it comes to getting a better room. Here’s a post with what I feel are the sweet spots of each hotel loyalty program.
When a Mattress Run Makes Sense
Hyatt’s Globalist status is highly sought after by frequent travelers. To achieve this status, individuals who plan on staying with Hyatt frequently in the upcoming year may benefit from paying for a few nights at a lower-priced Hyatt before the end of the year. This will result in attaining Globalist benefits on every stay in 2024. Also, Hyatt Globalist members do mattress runs to earn additional milestone awards, as shown in this example from Nick at Frequent Miler.
Is It Worth Paying for Low-Level Status?
If you’re wondering, spending money to reach low-level status with any hotel program is rarely worthwhile.
Unless you’re a frequent traveler or road warrior who spends months of the year in hotel rooms, I can’t see how spending money for status makes much sense. For the occasional upgrade, you could always pay for a better room or lounge access instead of doing a mattress run for status and hoping for an upgrade. But if you’re close to the valuable status level you’ll use next year, booking a few cheap stays before the end of December makes sense to reach that next level.
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1 comment
The AX Marriott Business + Chase Ritz-Carlton cards each give me 15 elite night credits and 1 free night certificate, equalling 32 qualifying nights. That means staying 18 nights, paid or on points, give me Platinum status each year. I was Titanium for 3 years but saw no improvement over my 11 years as Platinum.