Quick Points: Marriott Titanium and Ambassador Elites can claim United status in under five minutes

Although we cover loyalty programs in-depth on TPG every day, sometimes you just want a snippet of useful information that you can put into action on the fly. That’s why we recently launched the series Quick Points. Every week, we’ll highlight a new or easily forgotten tip that can help you travel more for less.

Often these are bits of information or advice that you can find elsewhere on the site, but that might have gotten buried amid flashier or more valuable perks. Today, we’re going to review how those with top-tier elite Marriott status (Titanium and Ambassador) can earn United Silver elite status — in no time.

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Earning United elite status

There’s a a simple — yet extremely beneficial — benefit that comes with Marriott Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite status that’s easy to miss: United Silver elite status.

This perk is granted through Marriott’s “RewardsPlus” partnership with United. This reciprocal-benefit program grants those with United Premier Gold status (or higher) complimentary Marriott Gold Elite status, and those with Marriott Bonvoy Titanium or Ambassador Elite status can enjoy complimentary United Premier Silver status.

However, it’s easy to forget that this benefit exists. It's not listed in the overview of Marriott's elite benefits, and it's just a small box on the page devoted to Titanium members.

To find out about this benefit, you'll need to go to this United-Marriott page.

While Silver is United’s lowest tier of elite status, it can still be quite valuable. United Silver elites get free access to Economy Plus seats at check-in, upgrades on United flights, a free checked bag up to 70 pounds, priority boarding, 7 award miles for every dollar you spend on United flights and even additional award inventory.

Related: How to unlock additional award availability with United credit cards

TPG pegs the value of United Silver status at $910 assuming it’s used for at least 4,800 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) and 12 Premier Qualifying Segments (PQS) worth of flights.

If you have Marriott Titanium Elite or Ambassador Elite status, let’s walk you through how to claim your free United Silver elites status.

First, you’ll want to browse to Marriott’s United landing page at fly-united.marriott.com and click “Join RewardsPlus”:

Next, you’ll be prompted to log into your Marriott Bonvoy account, and you probably will need to complete a two-factor authentication.

Once you’ve logged into your Marriott Bonvoy account, you’ll be prompted to provide your United MileagePlus account number to link your accounts. When you submit your United number, you should get a confirmation that your registration is complete.

The message will likely indicate that it'll take 7-10 days for your benefits to take effect, so make sure to link your accounts before you actually need the perks. While the link won't be instantaneous, prior data points indicate that your my United elite status may be activated the day after you link.

While only Marriott Titanium and Ambassador Elites can claim free United elite status, there’s still a way that you can get many of the benefits of United Silver status: United cobranded credit cards. Cardholders of the United Explorer Card also get a free first checked bag, priority boarding and — perhaps the most-valuable perk — additional award inventory. Plus the card comes with additional perks like up to a $100 statement credit toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fees, two United Club passes and 25% back on United in-flight purchases.

If you don’t have the United Explorer Card yet, it’s offering a sign-up bonus 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open.

Additional reporting by JT Genter.

Featured photo by Zach Griff/The Points Guy