How To Earn Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status (And Is It Worth It?)

With more than 30 hotel brands and thousands of hotels across 139 countries, Marriott International is one of the world’s largest hotel chains. Marriott Bonvoy, the brand’s loyalty program, has almost 200 million members, making it the largest hotel loyalty program, too.

It’s easy to find a Marriott hotel in many of the cities and countries you plan to visit. For this reason, it might be worth it to have Marriott Bonvoy Elite status to take advantage of the perks that make your stay more comfortable.

For most, earning the program’s top status of Titanium Elite isn’t attainable unless you travel frequently for work. Luckily, just 1 tier down is Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status, which has many valuable perk — and you can earn it simply by holding the right credit card.

Here’s all there is to know about Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status and if it’s worth it.

How Do You Get Platinum Elite Status With Marriott Bonvoy?

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status is earned after staying 50 qualifying nights in a calendar year at Marriott properties or by holding the hotel’s premium credit card offered by American Express.

Earning Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status With Credit Cards

Marriott Bonvoy offers 5 personal credit cards and 1 business card through Chase and American Express. Holding a Marriott Bonvoy credit card offers many travel-related perks, including Elite Night Credits that get you closer to elite status and bonus points when you use your card at Marriott properties.

Complimentary Platinum Elite Status

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card is Marriott Bonvoy’s premium credit card and comes with the perks to match. With a $650 annual fee (rates & fees), the card comes with the following benefits:

• Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status
• Up to $300 annual dining credit at restaurants around the world (up to $25 per month)
• $100 property credit when you book direct with a special rate for a 2-night minimum stay at The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis brand hotels with the card
• 1 Free Night Award worth 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
• 25 Elite Night Credits

There’s 1 caveat to earning Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status through this card: You still need to have 50 Elite Night Credits to choose an Annual Choice Benefit. If you hold the card, you’ll earn 25 Elite Night Credits. You could earn 40 total Elite Night Credits if you hold the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card along with the Marriott Bonvoy Business^® American Express^® Card.

Earn Elite Night Credits Toward Platinum Elite Status

Other Marriott Bonvoy credit cards can help you earn Platinum Elite status. The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express^® Card, Marriott Bonvoy Bold^® Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card, and Marriott Bonvoy Business card each come with 15 Elite Night Credits. The discontinued Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Credit Card from Chase also gives cardholders 15 Elite Night Credits.

When you hold 1 of the abovementioned personal cards and the Marriott Bonvoy Business card, you can earn 30 Elite Night Credits toward the 50 nights needed to earn Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status. However, you can only receive the Elite Night Credits from a personal card once, so even if you hold several personal cards, you cannot combine those personal credits.

Bottom Line:

You can earn Elite Night Credits to help in your journey to Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status with a combination of credit cards. Or you can get automatic Platinum Elite status outright by holding the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card.

Earning Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status With Stays

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status the old-fashioned way by staying 50 qualifying nights at Marriott Bonvoy-participating properties with qualifying rates.

An example of a rate that does not qualify to earn nights includes those booked through a tour operator, third-party booking tool, or a group rate. An individual Marriott Bonvoy member will only earn nights for a room that they book and stay in and not any additional rooms that they may have booked under their loyalty number. Award nights count toward qualifying nights.

Throughout the year, Marriott Bonvoy offers promotions for members to earn bonus nights on their hotel stay, effectively getting them to elite status faster. Each promotion has specific requirements to meet to earn a bonus.

The 14 Benefits of Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status

1. 50% Bonus Points on Stays

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status holders earn 50% more points on eligible hotel purchases, including room rates, dining, and at the spa. This is in addition to whatever bonus earnings you get from holding any particular Marriott Bonvoy credit card.

2. Enhanced Room Upgrade

Room upgrades are available to Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status holders. Upgrades depend on the hotel and availability, but in some cases, they include select suites.

3. Welcome Gift Choice

The welcome gift choice at check-in varies by brand but includes bonus points, complimentary breakfast, or food and beverage credit when breakfast is not offered.

These welcome gifts are not offered at every Marriott property. For example, complimentary breakfast for Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elites is not offered at The Ritz-Carlton, Design Hotels, EDITION, Marriott Grand Residence Club, or Marriott Vacation Club.

4. Annual Choice Benefit for Members with 50 Elite Night Credits

Each year that you earn 50 Elite Night Credits, you’ll get to choose 1 of the following Annual Choice Benefits:

• 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards
• $1,000 off of a bed from your favorite Marriott brand
• Gift Silver Elite status to a family member or friend
• $100 charity donation
• 5 Elite Night Credits

One of the most valuable Annual Choice Benefits is the 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards. These awards can be requested for either paid or redeemed nights and clear up to 3 days before check-in.

Whether or not you can use them will depend on the individual property, but you can redeem them at almost every brand, including The Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis hotels.

Remember that even if you hold the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card, you’ll still need to stay 50 nights in order to choose an Annual Choice Benefit. If you do not choose an Annual Choice Benefit by January 7 of the following year, you will automatically be given 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards.

5. Lounge Access

When staying at any participating hotel brand that has lounges, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elites get complimentary access to the lounge as well as breakfast and other amenities served there.

The following brands (not necessarily each hotel property) offer Club Lounges:

• Autograph Collection
• Courtyard (outside of the U.S. and Canada)
• Delta Hotels
• JW Marriott
• Le Méridien
• Marriott Hotels
• Renaissance Hotels
• Sheraton
• Westin

Elite status holders do not receive complimentary access to The Ritz-Carlton lounges.

6. Late Checkout

Late checkout at 4 p.m. is guaranteed at most Marriott properties for Platinum Elites. This benefit is subject to availability at resort and convention hotels.

7. Free In-Room Wi-Fi

Non-Marriott Bonvoy members only receive complimentary Wi-Fi in the hotel’s public areas. As a Marriott Bonvoy member and Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite, you’ll get complimentary Wi-Fi in your guest room as well.

8. Ultimate Reservation Guarantee

If Marriott cannot honor your hotel reservation for any reason, it guarantees to pay for you to stay at a nearby hotel and compensate you for the inconvenience.

9. Exclusive Member Rates

Exclusive member rates are available when booking directly, either through marriott.com or on the mobile app. You must be logged into your account to see the member rate. Member rates are not available through third-party booking websites.

10. Mobile Check-In and Mobile Key

Mobile Check-In and Mobile Key allow Marriott Bonvoy members to check in to their hotel room through the mobile app and have their room key on their phones. This feature isn’t always available but convenient when it is.

11. Cash + Points

When you don’t have enough Marriott Bonvoy points to pay for your whole stay, you can use a combination of points and cash to pay for your stay. The Cash + Points rate is available on a per-night basis. For example, and as the screenshot below shows, you could pay cash OR points for any amount of nights during your stay.

12. Instant Redemption

With Instant Redemption, you can redeem Marriott Bonvoy points as a credit for expenses you incur during your hotel stays. Eligible charges include room charges, food and beverage, golf, spa services, and incidental expenses. Points are redeemed at 250 Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar.

Redeemed points must be ordered at the front desk of the participating hotel during your stay. If you use points to cover an expense, you will not receive Marriott Bonvoy points for that expense. Instant redemption is not available at all-inclusive resorts; Atlantis, Paradise Island; City Express; Design Hotels; Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy; MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy; residence clubs; vacation clubs; and Vistana Properties.

13. PointsSavers

PointSavers are reduced redemption rates at select hotels. Because Marriott Bonvoy no longer has a published award chart, it’s impossible to know when a hotel will have PointSavers award availability.

14. Dedicated Elite Support

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elites get access to dedicated elite support at 877-739-2737.

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite vs. Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite

There are a few differences between Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite and the next tier down, Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite.

To start, Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elites only earn 25% bonus points at participating Marriott Bonvoy properties. They also only receive a 2 p.m. late checkout, whereas Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elites receive a 4 p.m. late checkout.

Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elites also receive a welcome gift, but it will be either 250 or 500 Marriott Bonvoy points. They will not be offered a choice between points and another amenity, such as complimentary breakfast.

When it comes to room upgrades, Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elites receive an enhanced room upgrade based on availability upon arrival. Unlike Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elites, this room upgrade does not include suites.

Lastly, the greatest difference between the 2 tiers is Annual Choice Benefits, the most valuable of which is 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards, which allows you to elevate your hotel stay for no additional fee. You have a better chance of getting a room upgrade, including to a suite, when redeeming a Nightly Upgrade Award (which can clear up to 3 days before arrival) than you do with a space-available upgrade at check-in.

Hot Tip:

The next Marriott Bonvoy Elite status above Platinum Elite is Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite. Requiring 75 nights per year, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elites get even more perks like 75% bonus points on stays, complimentary United MileagePlus Premier Silver status, and 2 Annual Choice Benefits.

Is Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status Worth It?

If you’re loyal to Marriott properties and find value in the perks that set Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite apart from lower statuses within the program, then yes, this status level is worth it. A later checkout time, Annual Choice Benefits, lounge access, and complimentary breakfast where available can make all the difference on vacation. And it doesn’t get much better than earning automatic Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status simply by holding the right credit card.

However, if you don’t frequent Marriott Bonvoy properties often and instead frequent other hotel brands, it might not be worth it. If this is the case, you may not be able to earn status through staying enough nights, and the annual fee on the premium Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card probably isn’t worth it for you.

Final Thoughts

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status is the third-highest elite status level available under Marriott Bonvoy. Earned either by staying 50 nights or by holding the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card, this status grants elites perks like 4 p.m. late checkout, lounge access, and 50% bonus points on stays.

By comparison, Platinum Elite status is where guests see a noticeable difference in the perks offered, even making the next 2 highest tiers — Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite — not very appealing when you consider the requirements compared to the perks.

Marriott Bonvy Platinum Elite is the sweet spot status level for Marriott Bonvoy loyalists and is worth earning year after year.