In my first year having the American Express Platinum card again, I leveraged enough of the statement credits to offset the $695 annual fee. It took a little bit of work but the card makes sense based on our spending patterns and travel style. There’s a learning curve involved and it’s easy to let some of the credits lapse to the point where you’re losing money.
While many people solely focus on travel credits, the AMEX Platinum Card has additional travel perks. The AMEX Platinum benefit with Hertz saved me 33% on a single rental last year. In addition to rental car benefits, you’ll also get status with several hotel chains. I used the Platinum card to get Gold Honors status with Hilton earlier this year.
I recently noticed that my status with Marriott Bonvoy fell from Gold Elite to Sliver Elite.
I get 15-night credits and automatic Silver status with my Marriott Bonvoy AMEX card. But if I’m going to book a room with my free nights or points, I’d like to have the highest status possible. That’s why I applied for Gold Elite status from AMEX.
Cardholders can call the number on the back of their card to have a representative walk them through the steps. However, I prefer to do everything online.
After logging into your account, Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status is listed under the travel benefits category.
Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status isn’t worth much as the only guaranteed benefits are bonus points and complimentary Wi-Fi access. But the way AMEX puts it, there appears to be a chance you’ll get a room upgrade or late checkout.
The next step is to put in your Marriott Bonvoy Number.
That’s really all there is to it. The process isn’t immediate as AMEX says it can take up to 72 hours to process the upgrade request.
In fact, it only took about 48 hours for my upgraded status to be reflected in my account.
The status you get from the AMEX Platinum card doesn’t bring you any closer to the higher status levels. If you want Platinum Elite status, you’ll still need to earn 50-night credits.
And while it says you need to stay 10 more nights to keep Gold Elite, you can keep the status as long as you have an AMEX Platinum card. However, you might have to re-apply for the status every year when it lapses.
If you have an AMEX Platinum card and have lower than Gold Elite status, it pays to take a few seconds to apply for the status upgrade. You never know and you could get an upgrade depending on the types of hotels you usually visit.
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