The beginning of the year can be quite a sad time for elite status holders as our elite night and elite-qualifying miles counters reset to zero. But, if you're a cardmember of select Marriott Bonvoy credit cards, you should find that your Marriott elite nights haven't been completely zeroed out.
That's because one of the perks of several Marriott cobranded credit cards is 15 elite night credits. And these elite nights have already started posting in many Marriott Bonvoy accounts. This is significantly earlier than in 2019 when it took until Feb. 26 before nights started posting to accounts.
You'll find this 15 elite night benefit as a perk of the following cards:
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card ($95 annual fee)
- Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card ($125 annual fee, see rates and fees)
- Ritz-Carlton Credit Card -- which closed to new applicants in July 2018 — but Chase still allows cardholders of Marriott-branded personal credit cards to do a product change to the Ritz-Carlton, as long as you’ve had the card for at least 12 months
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If you have -- or are considering applying for -- more than one of these cards, keep in mind that the elite nights don't stack based on the number of cobranded cards you have. You just get 15 nights whether you have one eligible Marriott card or multiple eligible cards.
These cards are a great way to help you qualify for Marriott elite status. 15 elite night credits is enough to qualify for Marriott Silver elite status each year (which normally requires 10 nights), but the real benefit comes from using these credits to lower the requirements for higher tiers of status.
The real sweet spot in the Bonvoy program is Platinum Elite, with benefits like a guaranteed 4 p.m. checkout and free breakfast at many brands. This status requires 50 nights, meaning that you can get this status for 35 nights in a Marriott hotel after earning 15 elite nights from a credit card. This is very attainable for less-frequent travelers who are still looking to be loyal to a single chain.
| Status level | Number of nights required to earn | Number of nights required in addition to the 15 elite night credits |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | 15 | 0 |
| Gold | 25 | 10 |
| Platinum | 50 | 35 |
| Titanium | 75 | 60 |
| Ambassador | 100 + $20,000 in qualified spending | 85 + $20,000 in qualified spending |
To see if your 2020 elite night credits have posted, head to Marriott's website, log into your account, click your name at the top right corner of the page and then select Activity. Or, you can click this link to log into your Marriott account Activity page. If you have a qualifying credit card, your "nights earned" will hopefully be (at least) 15.
You can click on Details to note the sources of the nights you've earned thus far in 2020. If your credit card nights have posted, you'd see an entry on the line labeled "Rewards Credit Card."
Related: Maximizing redemptions with the Marriott Bonvoy program
However, there seem to be numerous glitches in the system. You may have noted in the screenshot above that I have "0 nights needed to renew Titanium Elite."
On my account homepage, Marriott notes that I'm just "10 nights + $20,000 to Ambassador." Marriott Ambassador requires 100 nights and $20,000 in qualifying spending to earn, so I should be 85 nights away:
Other Marriott cobranded credit cardholders have taken to Twitter to point out similar issues. One TPG reader with 15 elite nights from a Marriott credit card is supposedly just "25 night(s) to Titanium Elite" -- which is an elite status level that should require 75 elite nights.
Another user with 15 credit card elite nights is showing as just "11 night(s) to Titanium Elite":
Hopefully, these glitches will be fixed soon so that Marriott Bonvoy account holders can accurately track their progress toward elite status.
If you made Marriott Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite or Ambassador Elite status, remember to select your Marriott Choice Benefits before the Jan. 15, 2020 deadline.
Ethan Steinberg contributed to this post.
For the rates and fees of the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business card, please click here.
