Quote:
Originally Posted by OsTornado
So the signup bonus on the IHG didn't count towards Spire Elite. So, with IHG I am Platinum Elite, Marriott I'm Silver, and Hilton I'm Gold.
Any ideas on how to get free/ cheap top-tier status at IHG, Hilton, or Marriott? Also, anyone that has the higher levels, is it worth much to you? I've got a few two day stays booked throughout the next few months, but they're spread out with those three properties (all booked with points), so I won't get a ton of value out of one, but I will try and match statuses if any promos pop up...
I've looked into MSing to hit Diamond and others, but the cost just doesn't seem worth it, unless I value the points higher than I do.
Right now I'm:
Hilton Diamond
Marriott Platinum
Starwood Platinum
Carlson Gold (from CC, since cancelled but status seems to persist for another year)
IHG Platinum (from CC)
Hyatt Discoverist (from CC)
I got top tier hilton status by a match opportunity last year - matched my then Spire Elite and got it for all 2016 & 2017 (
link)
I got Marriott Platinum free with 0 stays through my sister who had a relationship with a Marriott sales rep. This also got me SPG Platinum when the merger started.
I narrowly (<24hrs) missed the Hyatt Diamond match which was way more generous than they intended over the weekend before they could straighten it out to only match SPG platinums (
link)
Of the statuses you have, obviously the best is Hilton Gold due to the breakfast perk. In all honesty, I haven't found any of these top tier statuses to be super helpful, but the markets I travel for work are not where you'd have Conrads or St. Regis etc, and I tend to stay at lower tier hotels. I do get upgrades to improved rooms (rarely suites) pretty often. The biggest benefit to me is the improved points earning on SPG in general, and on Hilton especially during times like the current promo (2x for members, 3x for diamond - I'm earning 40+/$ at the moment). Carlson Gold has actually secured me upgrades in Europe - no idea what it would be like in the US as I typically wouldn't find myself staying at their portfolio domestically.
Keep an eye out for status match or challenge opportunities if it makes sense for your travel, and sometimes they just throw out a match to top tier for seemingly no reason, like hilton did last year.