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One of the easiest ways to jump-start your progress to hotel elite status is by holding a hotel co-branded credit card. Many consumer and business credit cards come with a certain number of nights that post to your account annually, without you ever having to stay in a hotel. When hotel loyalty accounts reset on January 1 of every year, you’ll already be one step ahead of most members, having a preset allotment of nights post to your account within a few short weeks.
If you’re a cardholder of an eligible Marriott Bonvoy or World of Hyatt credit card, your elite nights have begun to post.
Which Credit Cards Are Eligible for Elite Night Credits?
This credit card comes with Discoverist status as a perk, and the next level, Explorist, requires 30 nights every year. Simply by holding the credit card you’ll have already completed 5 of the 30 nights, leaving you 25 nights to stay at Hyatt hotels worldwide.
Many of the Marriott Bonvoy cards come with some form of entry-level elite status, but to earn Platinum Elite, upper-end tier status with valuable benefits, you need to stay 50 nights annually. With Marriott Bonvoy credit cards, you can receive 15 Elite Night Credits from some personal card versions and then an additional 15 nights from a business version of the card, no matter whether the card is issued through Chase or American Express.
Assuming you have 1 personal card and 1 business card, that will provide you 30 elite night credits, making valuable Platinum Elite status only 20 nights away, a fairly easy achievement for most people with a few trips scattered throughout the year. Platinum Elite status comes with suite upgrades, lounge access, and welcome amenities, so it’s definitely worth making the bump to the next level if you can, and the elite nights provided with the credit cards help expedite that process.
While both World of Hyatt and Marriott Bonvoy advise that elite nights can post anytime within the first 4 to 8 weeks of the calendar year, traditionally they post much faster. Check your accounts now to see if your nights have posted. If they haven’t, don’t worry, as they could be posting over the next few weeks with the volume of cardmember accounts.
Final Thoughts
It’s always great to start the new year with several additional elite nights deposited into your loyalty program account. If you’re a Marriott Bonvoy or World of Hyatt co-brand cardholder, take a peek at your nights towards status to see how much progress you’ve made just a few days into 2022!