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Marriott Bonvoy’s elite status can be beneficial. However, the benefits of Marriott’s elite status only become valuable once you reach the Marriott Platinum Elite status level.
Marriott Platinum Elite status offers free daily breakfast or club lounge access at select Marriott properties. The club lounges serve food and drinks throughout the day. These benefits can be significantly valuable, especially when staying at an expensive resort or visiting a costly destination. Thus, Marriott Platinum Elite status can save money on food and drink expenses.
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Benefits
Marriott Platinum Elite members receive the following on-property benefits:
- 50% Bonus points on stays.
- Enhanced room upgrade, including select Suites, based on availability at check-in.
- Welcome gift choice of points, breakfast, or amenity varies by brand.
- Lounge access at participating Marriott Bonvoy properties.
- Guaranteed 4 P.M. late check-out, subject to availability at resort and hotels.
- Complimentary enhanced in-room Internet access.
- Annual gift choice if you stay fifty (50) qualified nights. The choices are:
- Five (5) Nightly Upgrade Awards.
- The gift of Silver Elite status for a friend or family member
- $1,000 off your favorite mattress
- Five (5) Elite Night Credits
- $100 charity donation
** The Marriott Annual Gift Choice Benefit is not applicable if you earn fifty (50) elite nights through the following shortcuts.
Shortcuts To Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status
Please note that to reach the Marriott Platinum Elite status level without the shortcuts, you must stay at least fifty (50) qualifying nights per year. For those who cannot have that many stays a year, below are the shortcuts to Marriott Platinum Elite through automatic elite night credits, credit card spends, timeshare, and Marriott’s status match or challenge.
It’s also worth mentioning that if you reach Marriott Platinum Elite through actual qualifying stays of fifty (50) nights or more, you will receive the Marriott Annual Gift Choice Benefit, such as the Marriott Nightly Upgrade Awards. With the shortcuts, you will not earn the gift choice.
Complimentary Marriott Platinum Elite Status for Amex Brilliant Card Members
The American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card offers a complimentary automatic Marriott Platinum Elite status level if you are a card member. It is the simplest and quickest way to earn Marriott Platinum Elite status without meeting the required fifty (50) qualifying night stays per year.
Meanwhile, American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card also offers automatic twenty-five (25) elite night credits to your Marriott Bonvoy account each year. If you also have a Marriott Bonvoy Business Credit Card, you receive an additional fifteen (15) elite night credits each year. Therefore, you will only need to stay 10 (ten) extra qualifying nights to get fifty (50) elite night credits. You then will reach the REAL Marriott Platinum Elite status and receive the Marriott Annual Gift Choice Benefit.
Earn 1 Elite Night Credit For Every $5,000 Spent on the Marriott Boundless Card
The Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card earns one (1) elite night credit for each $5,000 spent on the card. It means that each time you spend $5,000 on the card, you will receive one (1) elite qualifying night credit from the last day of each calendar month you qualify. Marriott counts the elite night credit towards the Marriott Platinum Elite status.
Earn 1 Elite Night Credit For Every $3,000 Spent on Legacy Marriott Credit Cards
The legacy Chase Marriott credit cards, such as the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Credit Card and Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business Credit Card, each offer the ability to earn one (1) elite night credit for every $3,000 spent on the card. These credit cards are no longer available for new applicants, but don’t worry if you don’t have any of these cards; there are more ways to earn elite night credits toward Marriott Platinum Elite below.
Receive 40 Elite Night Credits with a Marriott Brilliant Card and a Marriott Business Card
American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card offers automatic twenty-five (25) elite night credits to your Marriott Bonvoy account each year. If you also have a Marriott Bonvoy Business Credit Card, you receive an additional fifteen (15) elite night credits each year. Therefore, you will only need to stay ten (10) extra qualifying nights to get fifty (50) elite night credits. It allows you to reach the REAL Marriott Platinum Elite status and receive the Marriott Annual Gift Choice Benefit.
Please note that if you have another personal Marriott credit card that gives you fifteen (15) elite night credits each year, the most you can earn is twenty-five (25) elite night credits through the Brilliant card.
Receive 30 Elite Night Credits with Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards
American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card offers twenty-five (25) elite night credits each year, and the no-annual-fee Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card offers five (5) elite night credits each year. If you hold the other personal version and one business Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card, you can receive thirty (30) elite night credits every calendar year. Please note that if you have two personal Marriott credit cards, you can only receive fifteen (15) elite night credits.
Having eligible personal and business Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards will earn thirty (30) elite night credits yearly. Then, you only need an additional twenty (20) nights to reach the Marriott Platinum Elite status level and receive the Marriott Annual Gift Choice Benefit.
For example, you can apply for the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card and American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business Card. Once you are approved and become a card member, you will receive fifteen (15) elite night credits per card for thirty (30) elite night credits. This benefit is in addition to the card’s current sign-up bonus offers below:
Marriott Award Stays Count Toward Elite Night Credits
The Marriott Bonvoy program counts award stays toward qualifying elite night credits. Marriott’s dynamic award pricing fluctuates based on the nightly rate and property. Therefore, you could do a quick “mattress run” to a Marriott Bonvoy property that requires fewer points per night. The gist is that any award stays, including points and cash reservations, all count toward elite night credits and status.
Moreover, Marriott members receive every Marriott 5th Night Free on award stays of five (5) consecutive nights or more. Marriott counts five total award nights instead of four and credits you five qualifying elite nights.
Therefore, combining award stays to get twenty (20) night credits and the automatic thirty (30) elite night credits through the personal and business Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards mentioned above can be a quick way to obtain the Marriott Platinum Elite status level.
Receive Platinum Elite Status by Spending $75,000 on the Ritz-Carlton Card
For big spenders, the discontinued Chase Ritz-Carlton Card offers Marriott Platinum Elite status after you spend $75,000 on the card. The spend must be within your card’s membership year for the Ritz card.
While the Ritz card is no longer available for new applicants, you can still upgrade an eligible Chase Marriott card to the Ritz card.
Get Timeshare Ownership Status Matched with Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status
I am not a fan of timeshare and don’t know much about the program, but if you are a Marriott Vacation Club timeshare owner, the Club Points program can help to achieve your Marriott Bonvoy elite status as well.
Marriott club points offer you a timeshare status, and you can match that timeshare status with Marriott Bonvoy status. Supposedly, you are automatically granted the Marriott Gold Elite status if you have timeshare Owner status. If you have timeshare Select and Executive owner status, you can get matched with Marriott Platinum Elite status.
Enroll in the Marriott Platinum Elite Status Challenge
Although Marriott does not have a dedicated page for status challenges, Marriott still offers a status challenge promotion. However, you must contact Marriott to enroll in the challenge and learn more about the qualifications. After enrollment, you must stay a certain number of nights within ninety (90) days to earn elite status with Marriott.
The requirements of the Marriott status challenges are:
- Eight (8) nights for Gold
- Sixteen (16) nights for Platinum
Please note that only paid nights count toward the challenge. You’ll receive Marriott Gold or Platinum Elite status within 48 hours of completing it. For more information on requesting Marriott’s status challenge, see this post.
Marriott Elite Nights Promotions
From time to time, Marriott offers extra Elite Nights quarterly global promotions. These promotions allow members to earn additional elite night credits for every paid night with Marriott, which can help accrue elite nights towards Marriott Platinum Elite.
- You can check your Marriott’s Promotion Central for such an offer.
- Remember to subscribe to our blog posts below or follow us on social media channels, and we’ll let you know when Marriott’s extra elite night promotions return.
- You can also check out our master list of Marriott Promotions and Offers below.
When Does the Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status Reset
Once you earn elite status with the Marriott Bonvoy program, your status is valid for the rest of the calendar year you earned it, plus two additional months of the following year.
For example, you earned Marriott Platinum Elite status in 2025. In that case, the status level will be valid until the end of February 2027. That’s when your Marriott Platinum Elite status will reset, and you’ll have to earn enough elite night credits in the 2026 calendar year to re-qualify for Marriott Platinum Elite.
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In terms of how long the status lasts…..Someone who gets upgraded in November, would get the upgraded status for the remainder of the year (November + December) 2 months + 14 months = 16 total
Where as someone who got the status in January, would have it for the remainder of the year (12 months) + an additional 14 (26 total) months after that?
I only ask because i'm 1 night away from a Platinum upgrade but its already mid september. Contemplating delaying the next credited stay until January.
Hi KC, unfortunately it does not work that way. On January 1, 2022, your total nights this year towards Platinum status will start over (zero). Therefore, you will need to complete that one night between now and Dec 31, 2021 to get the Platinum status that will be good for the rest of this year 2021 through Feb 2023. If I were you, I’d try to get that one night as soon as possible so that you can start enjoying the perks the rest of this year. You can also try to contact Marriott via Twitter or call and ask for one night credit without stay as a one-time good will gesture. Worst case they say no. Good luck!
Thank you so much for the super fast response!
I just called Marriott and you are right. The minute the clock strikes 0 on New Years Day, my accumulated nights rolls back to Zero.
Interestingly though, the rep stated that the status upgrade is only good for the remainder of the year + 12 months and not 14 months.
Could this be a change in the rule?
It’s very common that the rep has wrong information on the validity of the status. No worries. It’s been the case that that the status once earned will be good for 14 months, not 12 months.
years ago I think I was reduced one level per year. so in the above example if you reached platininum in 2021 you would still be platinum in 2022 and then gold in 2023 and silver in 2024. is that still like this?
kr Koen
No, unfortunately it does not work that way. Once your status is expired in feb 2023, your new status will be based entirely on your qualifications in the year prior (2022). The qualifications are based on the qualifying elite night stays or complimentary status through credit card benefit which is the fastest way to get elite status. Please check out this post for more information on earning automatic hotel elite status through credit cards.