✈ These Marriott Properties Power My Elite Status, Discover Cards Migrate to Capital One & More From TPG ✈

July 28, 2026

The best options may not be hotels

by Katie Genter, Lead Writer

Having elite status with multiple hotel programs has long been a priority for my husband and me, since we live out of hotels.

But in our current push to secure the level of Marriott lifetime status we want, I’ve discovered something I didn’t expect: Some of our best options for qualifying stays this year haven’t actually been in Marriott hotels.

Instead, we’ve increasingly found Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy to be a compelling option.

For example, we spent three nights in a modern apartment in Tirana, Albania for just $60 per night.

We also spent 32 nights in Athens’ hip Exarchia across two stays. We saved $500 with Amex Offers, which brought our nightly cost to $115. Plus, we earned a total of 80,000 bonus points through promotions on these stays.

We’re each striving to requalify for Titanium Elite status this year, which will help us reach Marriott lifetime status at the Platinum Elite tier. Even after we account for the elite night credits we get from Marriott credit cards (one of which has a great limited-time offer ending soon!), we still have to each spend at least 45 nights at Marriott properties each year.

Looking forward, we have 12 more Homes & Villas nights already booked in Lima, Peru, and Venice, Italy. In both cases, booking through Marriott Homes and Villas was significantly less expensive than booking at a Marriott hotel.

If you’re already into booking vacation rentals, it’s worth checking whether a hotel loyalty program offers a similar option. Hyatt has a similar program called Hyatt Homes and Hideaways, but it only offers properties in the U.S. Meanwhile, Hilton launched its Apartment Collection by Hilton earlier this year.

To learn more, check out the following stories:

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Photo Credit: Tinslay.

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