Last month, Marriott introduced a new lifetime status level – Platinum Premier Elite. While you’ll be able to earn this status on a yearly basis, this is the only year where you’ll actually be able to earn this top tier status for life. Since you have to earn this status by the time the ball drops at the end of 2018, many people are wondering whether or not it is worth chasing this status. Starting in 2019, the highest lifetime status you’ll be able to earn is Platinum. So this is your once in a lifetime opportunity, but is earning Platinum Premier Elite status actually worth it?
With Platinum Premier, you’ll receive the following benefits over just having Platinum status:
- Extra bonus points: With Platinum Premier you’ll receive a 75% with every stay, while you’ll only earn a 50% bonus with Platinum. If you stay often at Marriott hotels then this could add up, but if you only stay here and there or typically use points, then this will not have a huge impact.
- 48-hour guarantee: If you need a Marriott or SPG property and the hotel is sold out, as long as it is 48 hours or more from your check-in date, those with Platinum Premier status are guaranteed a room. The huge caveat to this is that you’ll pay rack rate which can be incredibly expensive. I’ve personally had Marriott Platinum status for 10+ years in total and have never once used this benefit, so the value really depends on the person. For me, the value is minimal.
- United Premier Silver Status: Through the RewardsPlus partnership, those with Platinum Premier status will receive United Silver status. All you have to do is link your Marriott account to your United MileagePlus account. Of course it is nice to earn airline status for literally doing nothing, but this is only helpful if you fly United. I hardly fly them, but for those once in a blue times, having status is nice and I can reap the benefit of no checked baggage fees. Of course there is no guarantee that this partnership will last, so there is no saying if you’ll still have United Premier Silver status in a few years.
While the other main difference between the two status levels include the choice benefits, you must actually earn the status on a yearly basis. Having lifetime status will not actually get you this perk. Platinum members receive 5 suite night awards and Platinum Premier members receive 10 suite night awards (or you can select a gift option).
As you can see above, there really isn’t a huge difference between the two status levels. Yes, you might get a slightly better room upgrade, although in my experience Marriott is pretty stingy with upgrades (unlike SPG properties). And yes, you’ll walk around with a cooler lifetime status level. But if chasing this higher status level is going to cost you a ton of money out of pocket, it probably isn’t worth it. Although benefits can always change, so there is always the chance that you might be surprised with a new benefit as some point in the future that only Platinum Premier elites will receive, but who knows.
Two Ways to Earn Platinum Premier Lifetime Status
1. Earn lifetime status under the CURRENT Marriott requirements through December 31, 2018
Marriott is one of the few programs where ALL points earned count towards lifetime status. This includes points earned from hotel stays, purchased points, points transferred from another person, points transferred from another program such as Chase Ultimate Rewards, credit card bonus points, etc. The one exception is that points transferred from your Starwood account will NOT count towards lifetime status. And similar to the Starwood requirements, only stays at Marriott properties will count (you cannot include Starwood stays).
- Lifetime Platinum = 750 nights + 2 million points
2. Earn lifetime status by combining Starwood and Marriott nights and years towards status through December 31, 2018
If you’ve been loyal to both brands, this could work great for you! You can combine the number of eligible nights and years of status between both programs.
- Lifetime Platinum Premier = 10 years of Platinum status combined between Starwood and Marriott AND 750 nights combined between Starwood and Marriott.
I personally will be earning Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite status due to the combination of my Marriott and Starwood nights. While I am very happy to have this status tied to my account, I am not sure I would pay more then a few hundred dollars to earn the status. I’ll be putting together a post this week with ways to earn this status if you are shy some points or nights.
Will you be chasing Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite status?
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I have been Marriott Gold for a couple of years, thanks to being United Plat, I was able to get Marriott Gold. I logged into my account last week and noticed my status changes to Marriott Platinum Elite. I am not sure why they did this. I do not have enough nights or stays in either account. Did they grant people some complimentary upgrade in status?
This following was provided by Starwood Social Media Specialist, William Sanders, who has been providing answers approved by the Loyalty dept. to questions posed on FlyerTalk.
“B8. Do Marriott members with 2MM uncombined lifetime MR points and with 750 combined lifetime MR nights and lifetime SPG nights qualify for LTPP?
Yes.This is confirmed at members.marriott.com under the Benefits and Lifetime tab where it specifically states, “You can also qualify for Lifetime status via the existing criteria for Rewards and SPG through December 31, 2018.” Existing legacy criteria for earning Lifetime Platinum Premier in MR/RCR is 750 Lifetime nights + 2MM Lifetime points. Also, in August, when members combine Rewards and SPG accounts, their lifetime nights across both programs count toward Lifetime Elite status in the new combined program. To be included in at previous thresholds for Rewards or SPG, members will have until December 31, 2018, to complete stays in order to achieve the Lifetime Elite status. ”
When William was asked if his answer could be summarized as “Yes,” he responded I don’t see why not or something to that effect. There are at least a couple of bloggers that are still implying that combined nights can only be combined with years of status and MR members with 2MM+ MR only points can’t utilize SPG nights to qualify for LTPP.
Since at least a couple of bloggers don’t believe that those with 2MM MR only points can utilize combined nights, would it be possible to confirm if the above statement by a employee who was authorized to speak for the company is still correct?
@MPG321 – With all the information I have read and have received from Marriott PR directly, this information is incorrect. My understanding is that if you reach lifetime status with the legacy system it ONLY includes points/nights/years towards status with ONLY Marriott or ONLY Starwood – the numbers cannot be combined. When you combine your numbers, you can earn Lifetime Platinum Premier status if you have 750 nights COMBINED + 10 years of Platinum status COMBINED.
I hope this helps!
Thank you for your response. Initially, only MR members could qualify. Later, other options were allowed. The loyalty department’s answer was dated June 20, so it’s possible that the answer changed as well. Is there any information from Marriott that you received directly after June 20 regarding combined nights and uncombined points that you could provide?
@MPG321 – The info provided was from Marriotts PR post June 20th.
Thank you very much!
I wish the company would communicate that type of information directly to customers. Because I believed the assurances of the Loyalty Department representative, I spent money to reach 750 nights that will be wasted if I don’t qualify for LTPP.
Short of calling Marriott Rewards and sitting on hold forever, how do I found out what my “lifetime” Marriott night total is. I cannot find it anywhere on the Marriott site, like I can on the old SPG site?
@D.A. If you download the app you are able to see your numbers towards lifetime status.
How to find the total LT points?