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If you are tempted by the chance to “buy” ten elite night credits from Marriott Bonvoy, then you are probably aware of the advantages of reaching elite status with a hotel chain. But not all “elite statuses” offer the same benefits; in fact some levels of elite status are barely worth the effort. Many people, therefore, determine whether a certain level of status is “worth it” by applying two general criteria:

• Do I receive free breakfast due to my status?
• Am I guaranteed lounge access due to my status?

Applying such criteria to Marriott Bonvoy, both Platinum and Titanium members receive free breakfast (at most brands) and access to the executive lounge where available. Since the most important criteria are met regardless, you might be wondering whether Titanium is worth it, as it involves substantially more effort. As a reminder:

• Platinum status requires 50 elite nights per calendar year
• Titanium status requires 75 elite nights per calendar year

Marriott Bonvoy offers a useful chart on its website…

I’m not necessarily interested in getting bogged down with all of the benefits of Titanium, but I AM interested in knowing what Titanium members receive that Platinum members DON’T!

Advantages of Titanium

Bonus Points

Titanium members receive a 75% bonus. Platinum members receive a 50% bonus.

The difference is 25%. In other words, a Titanium member would receive 2.5 points per US dollar MORE than a Platinum – i.e. an extra 2% in rebate.

Annual Choice Benefit

Both Platinum and Titanium members receive an annual benefit upon reaching 50 nights. Only Titanium members reach the 75-night hurdle, which entitles them to a choice between:

• One free night at any Category 1-5 hotel
• Five Suite Night Awards (i.e. a complimentary upgrade to a suite for five nights in total, confirmed a few days in advance of hotel arrival)
• Other possibilities that are more confusing than relevant, in my opinion…

48-Hour Guaranteed Availability

If you absolutely MUST stay at a particular Marriott hotel, only Titanium members can force the hotel to make a room available to you. Unfortunately you probably require this benefit during a major sporting event, trade fair, etc. in which case the hotel is not required to honour this benefit.  🙁

United Airlines Mileage Plus Silver Status

Only Titanium members receive this benefit. United’s Silver status has few benefits, however. Perhaps the most important is some additional award availability for United flights when trying to build one of Joe’s excellent Excursionist awards. If you don’t have any elite status at all with Star Alliance, you might also appreciate the checked luggage benefit.

Room Upgrades

One assumes that a Titanium member would receive a higher priority for any room upgrades that the hotel is willing to offer its elite members. In practice… who knows…  We’ve all heard stories of BA Silver members being upgraded ahead of their Gold colleagues…

Bottom Line

One might think that Marriott Bonvoy would reserve some pretty special benefits for those members who can manage a whopping 75 nights in Marriott hotels. Instead I find it hard to find a major reason why you should aim for 75 nights instead of the minimum 50 nights that qualifies you for Platinum status.

Disagree? Have you seen any Titanium benefits that I’ve missed? Let us know in the comments section…