I became Platinum Elite in Marriott Bonvoy, time to choose my Choice Benefits.

I cut, for the first time, an important milestone in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program: I became Platinum Elite.

I decided to target this program in early 2022 for two reasons:

1. Thanks to rollover nights I had a chance to qualify for the status Diamond by Hilton until 2024 With only 3 stays in 2022.
2. La promotion Marriott Bonvoy allowed people to earn double qualifying nights. This meant halving the actual nights needed to achieve status, from 50 to 25.

I remain firmly convinced that between Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy both the first the best loyalty program for an "average" Italian user, but the ability to achieve status so quickly and with half the qualifying nights prompted me to try more frequently the Marriott facilities than those of other chains in the early months of the year.

I must say that I have discovered some beautiful places: from the W of Bangkok at Royal Hawaiian of Honolulu, up to many of the facilities Marriott in Italy. But it is now that, thanks to the shot from the Gold level, the one included in the American Express Platinum annual fee, I switched to Platinum Elite that things get very interesting.

The benefits for Platinum Elite level holders

It is important to know that the benefits you get from the status vary depending on the type of hotel where you stay and the sign.

In general, however, a guest with this level can expect:

• Room upgrades, up to the suite. This is a right to be assigned the best available room in the hotel upon check-in for the duration of your stay. Unlike the Hilton Honors where, despite recent changes, this upgrade is not certain and always depends on the hotel. The upgrade is excluded when staying at these insignia: Marriott Vacation Club, Marriott Grand Residence Club, Aloft, Element, and Vistana; while at Ritz-Carlton properties, in-suite upgrades are available only to Titanium and Ambassador members
• Access to executive lounges. The primary guest and a guest staying in the same room receive guaranteed lounge access at the following Marriott brands: Autograph Collection, Delta, JW Marriott, Le Meridien, Marriott, Renaissance, Sheraton and Westin. M Lounges are reserved for status holders or guests who book an executive room. Breakfast is served in these spaces, and during the rest of the day they are perfect for munching on snacks, drinks, and cocktails.
• Welcome gift of your choice (with optional breakfast). With each stay, Bonvoy program members receive a gift that varies depending on their status and preferences. To see how many different possibilities there are, just see the table below that summarizes the various gifts depending on the hotel where you stay.

As can be seen, even with Platinum status, the possibility of receiving free breakfast is not certain, or rather it is one of the gifts that can be requested. If the hotel has a lounge, breakfast will be included because of the Platinum level reserved access, otherwise you will have to choose between points, breakfast or one of the other gifts offered by the hotel. In case you choose breakfast as a benefit in a hotel that has a lounge you will then be able to have breakfast in the restaurant and not just in the lounge, but of course I do not recommend that.

• Late check-out at 4 p.m. guaranteed. No need to ask for anything; this is an automatic and guaranteed benefit. The only exception is at resorts, where late check-out is subject to availability. This benefit is worth so much, it means being able to check out of the room even more than 24 hours after arriving at the hotel.
• 50% of Bonvoy bonus points. This bonus allows you to maximize point accumulation, getting up to 15 points for every dollar spent on facility and all qualifying expenses.
• Premium Internet access. You will have free access to wi-fi and should receive a faster connection than other hotel guests receive.
• Ultimate Reservation Guarantee. It guarantees compensation if something during the stay does not meet the standard stipulated in the reservation. Specifically, this guarantee comes into play if the reservation is not honored, if the welcome gift is not received, if access to the lounge is not given, or if the type of bed in the room is not as requested.
• Platinum Choice Benefits. Each user, each year, can choose their Platinum Benefits.

What are Choice Benefits

Choice benefits are options that are triggered upon reaching Platinum (50 nights) and Titanim (75 nights) status. Each user can choose the award they prefer from the following:

1. 5 Suite Night Awards. Indicates ability to request room upgrade to suite for one night (up to 5 nights) up to five days prior to check-in
2. 5 Elite Night Credits, That is, having 5 qualifying nights already in your account
3. Giving away Silver status
4. 40% discount on the purchase of a mattress
5. Choose who to donate 100$ to between a hospital, Unicef and WWF

If you touch 75 nights, you will be entitled to an additional choice from the same options:

1. Gifting Gold status
2. One night free prize

The choice is final, that is, you cannot change your mind for the entire year. The following year you will be able, if you requalify, to change your award. The decision must be made from the moment you get the choice, and on January 7 of each year, if you do not choose, you lose forever.

What I chose and why

Let's say there are awards that I ruled out a priori how the donation. I can do better without wasting my award by donating directly from my own pocket. Similarly, I excluded the mattress, they are really the best ones that are in some hotels, but at the moment I don't have to change the one in my house. The third choice eliminated lightly was the possibility of giving away the Silver level Bonvoy, the reason is very simple: not even Gold is of great value let alone Silver.

The ballot remained between two options:

1. The SNA, Suite Night Awards, or the possibility of request guaranteed upgrade to the hotel to the suite for 5 nights
2. 5 qualifying nights to add to my statement

SNAs give away a guaranteed suite upgrade, this means that you book a basic room and can find yourself in a room that costs 5 times as much. The upgrade can be requested any time between booking and the day before arrival, by 2 p.m. local hotel time. Basically only in case of "last minute" booking, it cannot be used. Each SNA is valid for one night; if you book for 3 nights, you will need to have at least 3 SNAs available.

The difference between using the Suite Night Awards and hoping for the upgrade at check-in is that, in the former case, when requested and confirmed, it is certain; in the latter case, on the other hand, we have to hope that there are vacant suites and that no one has arrived before us with equal or higher status.

The five qualifying nights instead are. 5 credits that will increase the number of nights stayed in the current year: for example, if I am certain that I will stay 71 nights in Marriott this year and want to qualify for the Titanium level, I can use them to make the jump from 71 to 76. This is the only real utility, also because it is important to remember that if chosen, these nights are immediately credited and you cannot, for example, use them for the following year.

Do these calculations I therefore decided to go for the certain upgrades and the reason is simple: in the next few months I am planning many trips and the idea of end up in Suite for the price of a basic room is certainly a very interesting and fulfilling thing, which then is one of the fundamental pillars of the reward travel world.

• Bonvoy