Reader K.D. is a lifetime Gold member who lost his Platinum status in 2020. Gold isn’t worth much in the Marriott Bonvoy program – 2 p.m. late checkout and avoid the worst room on property over the HVAC more or less.
Platinum status gets club lounge access (though not at legacy Marriott brand resorts) or breakfast, and the occasional upgrade, as well as 4 p.m. late checkout. So he decided to ask Marriott if they’d give him back his status. They said yes.
You might think, how valuable is Platinum status right now when you aren’t traveling?
You may be able to use it this summer, and into the fall. And perhaps more importantly Marriott is extending current elite status for next year. So presumably he’ll keep Platinum status for 2021 as well.
An interesting data point, one that may not be replicable, but worth always remember that you don’t get if you do not ask.
I want to be cobalt. I’m going to ask.
I want Marriott to honor my existing lifetime platinum benefits. I’ll ask.
crickets
I want Marriott to split legacy Starwood properties off and create a new loyalty program for its Preferred Guests…I’ll ask too.
8 year Plat who got downgraded to Gold in 2020 due to only 45 nights in 2019. Sent DM via Twitter to Marriott after reading this post. Polite request for reconsideration. No dice. Bonvoyed again!
It seems like the more history you have with them the less likely they are to extend your status. They are extending random people but for many people who have several years of Titanium, Platinum or even Ambassador – no dice. Puzzling.
They are unbelievably STUPID to do this. It will please one but further alienate the thousands that will be denied. It doesn’t affect me, as LTTE, but it’s a reflection of the ongoing..set in concrete…cluelessness in Marriott.
I asked for permission to marry Bill Marriott’s daughter, and to my surprise, it was granted!
Gary,
I posted this on the Loyalty Lobby site after seeing his post. I’m asking again…
I was Platinum last year with almost 40 nights and got downgraded to Gold. We didn’t travel at all from August-September due to the birth of a child. I asked and they said they don’t make exceptions to their process. #bonvoyed
I recall that back in the Great Recession, some programs did some out of the box things like this. Delta, for instance, tossed me 50,000 extra MQMs after my travel fell off a cliff (mostly because my job went away).
I’d expect to see more, not less, of these kinds of things.
How do you direct message Marriott? Would like to give this a shot.