Status Overviews

When it comes to loyalty programs, Marriott Bonvoy stands out for its extensive hotel portfolio, with over 7,000 hotels spanning 139 countries. Marriott gives its members the widest range of options, for every budget and location. We'll help you understand the status levels, maximize the perks, and provide some hacks for gaining both status and rewards points.

The first two levels of Marriott Bonvoy are easy to achieve but aren't very useful, besides maybe a dedicated check-in line and free enhanced internet. You'll see the main benefits at Platinum Elite and higher, where you unlock free breakfast, lounge access, and room upgrades. Status especially shines in hotels outside of the US, where there are fewer Bonvoy members with status. Here's a summary of the status levels:

Status Shortcuts

There are a plethora of credit cards with Chase and American Express that give you status just for holding the card. American Express Platinum card holders, for example, all get Gold Elite status. These cards all come with their own set of bonuses and perks.

The highest status you can achieve with a co-branded card is Platinum Elite with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card. This card has a 95k point sign up bonus and annual benefits, including $300 in dining credit, 1 free night award (up to 85k points), and $100 in property credit at St.Regis and Ritz Carlton hotels.

Road to Titanium Elite

If you're set on maximizing your benefits with Titanium Elite, you can get there with a combination of credit cards and stays.

Most of the co-branded credit cards come with elite credit nights that count towards status. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant gives you 25 Elite Night Credits. Unfortunately these credits won't stack between personal credit cards. However, you are able to stack the nights of one personal and one business credit card. The 25 nights from the personal Bonvoy Brilliant card are stackable with the 15 nights from the Marriott Bonvoy Business card . This gives you 40 nights towards Titanium Elite.

To get the rest of the nights to Titanium, you'll be able to take advantage of your Platinum Elite Status during your travels. Marriott regularly runs promotions that allow you to get additional Elite Night Credits.

If you'd like to get the status without ever setting foot in a hotel, then the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card allows you to get 1 Elite Night Credit for every $5,000 spent on the card.

Card Combo

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant

Personal Credit Card

Bonus

185k Points

How To Get

Spend $6000

Fee

$650/year

---

Perks: Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status. $300 dining statement credit. Annual free night. 25 Elite Night Credits

Cash Back: 6x Marriott, 3x dining, flights. 2x everything else.

Get BonusDetails

Marriott Bonvoy Business

Business Credit Card

Bonus

150k Points

How To Get

Spend $5000

Fee

$125/year

---

Perks: Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. 7% room discount. Annual free night. 15 Elight Night Credits

Cash Back: 6x Marriott, 4x dining, wireless, gas, shipping. 2x everything else.

Get Bonus

Breakfast and Lounge Access

Once you get to Platinum Elite, you unlock breakfast, welcome gifts, and lounge access. However, these benefits are notoriously overcomplicated. Some hotels don't have lounges. Some hotels don't offer free breakfast. Different brands and even resort hotels within brands or in different countries may have different benefits. Here's a table to try and make it simpler:

Earning Points

With your Marriott status, you'll get anywhere between 10x and 17.5x points per dollar spent at Marriott properties. If you use a Marriott credit card, you can add up to another 6x points. With each point worth about 0.8 cents on average, you're looking at a return of 8% to 18% on your spending.

You can also gain points through Marriott's Eat Around Town program, where you can earn 6x points per dollar spent at participating restaurants as an elite member. It is 4x for non-elite members.

While Marriott does not have a shopping extension like airlines typically do, you are able to use Rakuten to earn American Express MR points, which can be transferred to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio. There are often points transfer bonuses to improve the transfer ratio.

Marriott has its own set of travel websites beyond hotels. These include Marriott Vacations where you can earn points on vacation packages, Marriott Homes and Villaswhere you can earn points on vacation rentals, and Marriott Tour and Activities where you can earn ~5x points on tours, activities, and rentals.

Finally, there are a plethora of credit cards that either earn Marriott points or can transfer points to Marriott. See our credit cards page for more: