Didn’t Qualify for the Same Marriott Rewards Status as Previous Year – Now What?

It is the time of the year when loyalty programs are starting to demote their members based on the previous years activity. Some programs are offering soft landings when at some others you can just become a base member. In the next couple of weeks I am going to write about how different programs handle these situations.

I have a confession to make.  For the past couple of years I have not even come close to qualifying for Marriott Platinum status, but Marriott has been extending it to me or offered me a challenge. Last year it was 18 night challenge during a 90 day period. It coincided with a Marriott/Delta promotion for extra 5000 Delta SkyMiles per stay so it was no brainer to move some of my stays to Marriott during that period.

This year, I am not so sure. Although Marriott is a huge chain and people tend to like the Marriott Rewards program, I personally prefer Hyatt, Starwood, and InterContinental programs over Marriott’s. I do like to have the top tier status with multiple chains because none of them have omnipresence everywhere I travel to. So in 2011, I ended up less than 40 nights credited to Marriott of which 15 were from the credit card.

Here’s what you can do if you are in the same situation as I:

1. Do nothing yet. Marriott might renew you at the Platinum level regardless, or they might downgrade you to Gold. Marriott is known not to look only at the most recent year. They (computer algorithm more likely) look at the past few years to see how many nights you have credited to the program.

2. You can take advantage of Elite Buy Back Promotion that should run from February 1^st to March 4^th this year. You can buy back the elite level that you had in 2011 using points regardless how many nights you credited to the program. The number of points required for Platinum is 40000, Gold 25000, and 7000 for Silver.

3. Spend most of the early 2012 in Marriott hotels. For Platinum you need 75 nights and 50 for Gold

4. You can call Marriott Rewards customer service to see if they can offer you a challenge. That would typically require 18 nights in any 90 day period for a Platinum status.

5. Just accept that maybe the Platinum or Gold status is not for you, and move on.

Decision time!