🏨 Two quick ways to get Marriott status

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 41 seconds

Hello, and good morning from Chongqing, China!

If you’re reading this, it means my VPN works, and you will get Daily Drop this week (yay).

If you aren’t reading this, then…. hello, void. Good to see you again. 👋🏼

Let’s talk turkey:

• 🏨 How to easily earn high-level Marriott status

• 💵 Save $250 on a Virgin Atlantic flight 

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

🏨 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 it’s 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, I’ll tell you a few ways to easily earn meaningful Marriott status.

First, let’s 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 “Card Benefits” 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 “buy” 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 “Platinum Status Challenge.”

• 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 lot… but considering the standard requirement of 50 nights to earn Platinum status, it’s not a bad deal at all.

Of course, you’ll 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 isn’t a guaranteed method, and Marriott doesn’t 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 it’s a pretty safe bet that you’ll be able to do it.

So here’s 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 I’ve described today to fast-track your way to status and give it a try for a year or two.

💵 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 aren’t 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.

It’s 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 👇

Like I said, I saw this in my account from holding the [[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.casual-card-name ]], but that’s not to say you couldn’t 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 doesn’t 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, you’d unlock the $250 back instantly 😎

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 Delta’s 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 flights… like the [[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.casual-card-name ]] that gets 5x points per dollar.

It’s also important to note that your flight must originate in the US and be paid for in USD.

I have nothing else to say but… 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 🤗

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

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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That’s all for today, folks! Hopefully, between yesterday’s newsletter and today’s, you’re well on your way to getting some easy airline and hotel elite status! 👍

For now, I’ll bid you adieu and look forward to seeing you tomorrow. ❤️

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