Do you find "top tier" hotel loyalty status valuable?

[audreyh1]

Not a high level member at Marriott or Hilton so minimal perks, but I did really enjoy our brief stay at JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort earlier this year. What a setting!!! We stayed on the way to Sedona so that we could spend a day at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Also magically coincided with our wedding anniversary - I did not plan that and just realized that day, ha ha.

The resort is completely surrounded by hills full of saguaro cactus and other cool Sonora Desert plants.

 

[Sunset]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Really nice photo too !

 

[SecondAttempt]

Traveling too much for work gave me lot of Marriott points. Such that I have lifetime platinum status. It's nice, but since a lot of my travel is motorhome, still have points to use for free nights when I do use hotel.

In general, if you're going to be using a lot of hotels, stick with one program and build up enough to get higher benefits. Rather than lower benefits under multiple multiple programs.

Agree 100%. This is my story - lifetime platinum with Marriott Bonvoy earned mostly through work travel 20 years ago. Is it worth it to me? Absolutely. But would I pay for it? Probably not.

We almost always get a big room upgrade at check-in, free breakfast, and free drinks and a light dinner in the lounge. In most cases we skip dinner after that so if we had had a cheap breakfast and dinner with drinks at a local diner/bar we'd probably save at least $60 a day, likely much more.

I completely agree with "stick with one program" but now that I am lifetime with Bonvoy I am eaking away at status on programs where Marriott does not have a big presence.

 

[Chuckanut]

Not a high level member at Marriott or Hilton so minimal perks, but I did really enjoy our brief stay at JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort earlier this year. What a setting!!! We stayed on the way to Sedona so that we could spend a day at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

The desert museum is a real winner, IMO. It's more like a desert zoo with many acres of desert where people can view the desert creatures in their natural habitat.

 

[Chuckanut]

We've found the price difference between hotels on a given stay often supersede the value of choosing a brand just for their status program. In addition we ofte seek out unique properties based on the location, and they are often independent.

That is very true. I have my favorite chain and will usually pick them if the price of competing rooms is within 20%. The points, the occasional upgrade etc. are worth the extra cost. Their credit cards offers one free night a year on descent rooms, another 5% in points, and a 10% yearly bonus on points spent during the year.

But, lately they have really jacked up the prices to the points (pun intended) where I find myself going to smaller chains and even privately owned hotels.

 

[SecondAttempt]

As someone who supported the Desert Museum for many years and knows most of the senior staff personally I appreciate the positive comments about it! Thank you and I will pass these along, anonymously of course.

 

[CO-guy]

We're just back from a trip to Japan where we enjoyed 5 nights at the Grand Hyatt (missed one night due to a cancelled flight). It was an all points stay and our balance at the end of our stay was $0.00. The on site spa was an amazing perk as was the club access for breakfast and evening cocktails. That globalist benefit had a value just over $500. More difficult to value was the hotel staff's ability to fulfill my request for a room on a high floor with a great view. IMO, they definitely delivered. In the image below the mountain is bathed in alpenglow at sunrise. Sunsets over Mt. Fuji were equally stunning.

 

[audreyh1]

What a view!

 

[CO-guy]

What a view!

It far exceeded our expectations.

 

[CO-guy]

I wanted to post one more update about the value I've gotten from having Hyatt Globalist status since 2024 was exceptional. Among other benefits received, when reaching 60 nights, Hyatt awards Globalists with a certificate good for a free night at (almost) all of their hotels and resorts.

So this weekend we used the certificate to stay at an upscale ski resort. Between the waived resort fee ($60/nt+tax), free parking ($62/nt+tax), and free breakfast ($84 for 2 + tax and tip--included as well), we got over $800 in value for the certificate. In addition, we were upgraded to a gigantic one bedroom suite overlooking the ski resort. The room had a giant bathroom. The shower alone was the size of a normal hotel bathroom with multiple shower heads and even more adjustable sprayers on the walls. It was like nothing either of us had ever seen and felt incredible after getting back from skiing.

Still, not sure how to value the suite upgrade, so I'll leave it out. However, with this trip, I've now managed to get pretty close to 1:1 in terms of how much I spent to reach Globalist in 2024 and how much value I've gotten back in benefits from that spend. And I'm already working on re-qualifying for 2025!

 

[HFWR]

Far from top tier, but I do have some points that have offered a free or reduced night here and there.

 

[Aerides]

Used points to stay on the beach this weekend (decent hotels this time of year are $600+, when they are way less than that out of season, not worth it otherwise). So points made it free, and my status got me upgraded to ocean front and included breakfast:

 

[CO-guy]

Used points to stay on the beach this weekend (decent hotels this time of year are $600+, when they are way less than that out of season, not worth it otherwise). So points made it free, and my status got me upgraded to ocean front and included breakfast:

View attachment 55166

That's quite the view and a wonderful use of points!

Getting the best room in the house no matter what room I book can truly make a vacation. I also neglected to mention that our room ready for check-in at 10am on Sat. and we had until 4pm to check-out on Sun. That enabled us to ski two days on a 1-night stay, go back to the room to shower, enjoy a leisurely lunch, and our vehicle was waiting out front with all of our ski gear loaded when it was time to depart.

 

[Aggie1999]

I was Marriott Titanium Platinum Elite or some such designation for a few years. Largely worthless for me. Not once did I get an upgraded room. I quit asking. Then when a hotel was closed during Covid, Marriott would not honor their guarantee about room not being available, even though I booked the hotel through the Marriott website.

In general, Marriott is a pretty bad loyalty program. They constantly raise their redemption rates, etc. I've found Hyatt much better. Have stayed pretty much the same redemption rates for multiple years now.

 

[calmloki]

Remarkable locations and amenities being posted! We have status that gives us free WiFi, earlier check in and out, and free breakfast. We've used up most of our points and now just get a "free" stay each year. Well, free-ish as our card costs $49/annum. I keep being tempted to dump the IHG card, but a $49 annual Holiday Inn stay keeps me hanging on. Guess by nature I'm a margarine kinda guy rather than butter. What one gets used to. We started using butter some decades ago and don't buy anything but. Can't imagine getting hooked on amazing rooms, which being in the corporate management tier maybe gets one used to?

 

[explanade]

Remarkable locations and amenities being posted! We have status that gives us free WiFi, earlier check in and out, and free breakfast. We've used up most of our points and now just get a "free" stay each year. Well, free-ish as our card costs $49/annum. I keep being tempted to dump the IHG card, but a $49 annual Holiday Inn stay keeps me hanging on. Guess by nature I'm a margarine kinda guy rather than butter. What one gets used to. We started using butter some decades ago and don't buy anything but. Can't imagine getting hooked on amazing rooms, which being in the corporate management tier maybe gets one used to?

Wifi isn't free at IHG hotels unless you have status?

I don't generally stay at these international chains but once I recall they had basic wifi free -- I didn't have any status -- but it was slow and they offered "business-class" Wifi for a fee, forget how much it was.

I usually buy a ton of mobile data, which is generally much faster than hotel wifi.

 

[TripleLindy]

Much like my lifetime Platinum status on AA, I earned lifetime Platinum status with Marriott (Bonvoy) based on business travel. Other than early check in and late check out, we don’t see huge benefits. We gravitate towards VRBO properties in resort destinations and tend to stay in lower-end Marriott properties, like Courtyard or Fairfield Inn, when visiting family. Upgraded rooms at those properties are either non-existent or nothing to get excited about. Every now and then, we’ll stay at something like a JW Marriott with an upgrade to a suite that’s really nice, but it’s not a common occurrence. For those that have mentioned Hyatt, I have grown to love their properties. I never did much business travel in Hyatt properties, but now wish I had.