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- šØ Two quick ways to get Marriott status
šØ Two quick ways to get Marriott status
Plus, you might just find an offer for $250 back when booking a Virgin Atlantic flight.
Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 41 seconds
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Hello, and good morning from Chongqing, China!
If youāre reading this, it means my VPN works, and you will get Daily Drop this week (yay).
If you arenāt reading this, thenā¦. hello, void. Good to see you again. šš¼
Letās talk turkey:
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šØ How to easily earn high-level Marriott status
As a Marriott titanium elite, I get a TON of value from having high-level elite status with Marriott.
Whether itās free breakfast, lounge access, early check-in, late checkout, or the 75% bonus points on cash stays, the value adds up quite quickly over time.
Normally, you need to work pretty hard to get elite status and spend dozens of nights per year in chain hotels.
But today, Iāll tell you a few ways to easily earn meaningful Marriott status.
First, letās talk about the easiest way: credit cards.
There are a bunch of cards that offer Marriott status as a perk just for holding the card:
The [[ marriott-bonvoy-brilliant-american-express-card.name ]] will give you Platinum status
[[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.name ]] will give you Gold status (and Hilton Gold status)
The [[ the-marriott-bonvoy-boundless-card.name ]] will give you Silver status
Recently, however, my personal favorite card, the [[ chase-sapphire-reserve.name ]], launched a new offer for cardholders to get Marriott Gold status (and possibly extend it for almost two years).
If you hold the [[ chase-sapphire-reserve.casual-card-name ]], go into your account and search for the offer in the āCard Benefitsā section of your account.
Then, follow these steps:
Register for the offer before September 30th, 2024
Get Marriott Gold status for three months
Complete three paid nights during that time to extend status through February 2026
Considering this card has a much more palatable annual fee than the [[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.casual-card-name ]] (which also offers Marriott status as a perk), I think this is awesome for anyone who wants to give Marriott status a try.
The terms specify that you must complete three paid NIGHTS, not paid STAYS, which is super easy.
For example, I recently spent a few nights at the brand-new Moxy Hotel in Surakarta, which costs as little as $42 per night.
With a 3-night stay here, you could effectively ābuyā a year and a half of Marriott status for $126.
But, of course, Platinum status is where the truly epic benefits start to kick in, including:
Suite upgrades
Free breakfast and lounge access
4:00 PM late checkout
All of the other benefits below:
Thankfully, Marriott offers a similar status challenge to any member, allowing you to earn Platinum status fairly easily.
Here is how it works:
Call Marriott and say you want to do the āPlatinum Status Challenge.ā
They will usually give you the following offer:
Spend 16 paid nights at Marriott in the next 90 days and get Platinum status through the following year
Of course, 16 nights is a lotā¦ but considering the standard requirement of 50 nights to earn Platinum status, itās not a bad deal at all.
Of course, youāll want to register for this a few days before you have a planned stay so you can maximize that 90-day window.
To be clear, this isnāt a guaranteed method, and Marriott doesnāt always advertise it.
However, this is what I personally did years ago to get Platinum status for the first time, and I know people who have done it as recently as last month - so itās a pretty safe bet that youāll be able to do it.
So hereās the bottom line:
I personally value hotel elite status much more than airline status.
Earning hotel status can be tough, but you can use the methods Iāve described today to fast-track your way to status and give it a try for a year or two.
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šµ Save $250 on a Virgin Atlantic flight
This deal is coming straight from a merchant offer that I personally saw come through on the [[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.casual-card-name ]].
If you arenāt familiar with these offers, the bank that [[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.points-program-override.points-currency ]] points belong to often has rotating deals for categories such as travel, entertainment, shopping, and dining.
Itās never guaranteed which cardmembers will get which deals, so in a way, these are targeted.
But this morning, I checked the Offers tab on my mobile app and saw this little deal sitting pretty in there š
Like I said, I saw this in my account from holding the [[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.casual-card-name ]], but thatās not to say you couldnāt also see it come through if you hold the [[ american-express-gold-card.name ]], or another card that earns [[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.points-program-override.points-currency ]] points.
This offer expires on September 30th, but that doesnāt mean you have to travel by then. You just have to redeem it (aka book your flights) by then.
But if you did want to travel to London in September, you and your family could score economy flights for just $546 round-trip.
If there are four of you traveling, youād unlock the $250 back instantly š
Or perhaps you wanted to head to Europe for the Christmas markets in December. You and your best travel buddy could splurge and book two round-trip flights in Deltaās Premium Select cabin and also earn the $250 back.
There are a multitude of ways to book flights and unlock this cash-back deal, but remember, no matter how you book it, put it on a card that will earn you bonus points for flightsā¦ like the [[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.casual-card-name ]] that gets 5x points per dollar.
Itās also important to note that your flight must originate in the US and be paid for in USD.
I have nothing else to say butā¦ go check your accounts if you have a card that earns [[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.points-program-override.points-currency ]] points! You might just find this deal, or even something better š¤
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š¤ Travel Trivia Tuesday
Which is the oldest continuously operating airport in the world? |
The correct answer is... College Park Airport!
College Park Airport in Maryland holds the title of the oldest continuously operating airport in the world.
Founded in 1909 by none other than Wilbur Wright, it started as a training ground for the first military pilots in the U.S. Imagine learning to fly from a Wright brother.
Pretty cool, eh?
This historic airfield has seen a lot of firsts: the first female passenger flight, the first controlled helicopter flight, and the first night landing. Talk about an impressive resume!
If you're a nerd like me, you can read more about the history of U.S. airports here.
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ā¦or you can just buy these prizes from our website if you want to keep us all to yourself. š
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Thatās all for today, folks! Hopefully, between yesterdayās newsletter and todayās, youāre well on your way to getting some easy airline and hotel elite status! š
For now, Iāll bid you adieu and look forward to seeing you tomorrow. ā¤ļø