In 2019, the Marriott Bonvoy program was launched, following the merger between Marriott and Starwood. The Bonvoy program replaced the Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest programs, to form a unified loyalty program for the world’s largest hotel group.
One positive aspect of Starwood Preferred Guest that Marriott maintained is the Ambassador program, which is a top tier status that offers additional perks. However, qualifying for it is significantly more difficult than qualifying for other Marriott Bonvoy status, given that it’s the only status to have a minimum spending requirement.
Readers often ask if I think this status is worthwhile, so I want to share my thoughts, and then welcome others to share their experiences.
In this post:
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador requirements
In the Marriott Bonvoy program, here are the requirements over the course of a calendar year to qualify for Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador status:
- Platinum requires 50 elite qualifying nights
- Titanium requires 75 elite qualifying night
- Ambassador requires 100 elite qualifying nights plus $23,000 of qualifying spending
It’s worth noting that “qualifying” spending is based on the purchases on your folios that are eligible for points accrual. This doesn’t include taxes or service charges, and typically doesn’t include spa treatments, tours booked through the hotel, etc. Rather it just includes room rate, select incidentals, and most dining and beverage purchases, though I find it really varies by hotel.
The point is, expect that you’ll be spending a lot more than $23,000 per year at Marriotts to actually meet that $23,000 spending requirement. There are some potential shortcuts to reaching that spending requirement through non-hotel stays, with things like Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy and Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
The real cost of Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador status
As you can see above, there’s a $23,000 spending requirement to earn Ambassador status. Spread across 100 elite qualifying nights, that’s like paying an average of $230 per night, before any taxes and fees. That’s not low, but not outrageous either.
The catch is that:
- Marriott co-brand credit cards offer up to 40 elite nights per year toward status annually, so if you spread the $23,000 revenue requirement across 60 nights, that’s an average of ~$383 per night
- This assumes you never redeem points, and a lot of us redeem a lot of points, making it even harder to earn Ambassador status
Personally, I had Ambassador status up until 2019. I lost it at that point because I redeemed a lot of points that year. It’s almost like you’re on a spending hamster wheel to maintain Ambassador status, since redeeming your hard earned points doesn’t help you much toward the status. I did finally earn the status again for 2025, so we’ll see if it proves to be worthwhile.
What are the benefits of Marriott Bonvoy Titanium status?
Beyond the traditional Platinum benefits (suite upgrades subject to availability, 4PM check-out, breakfast at some brands, etc.), what are the incremental benefits of Marriott Bonvoy Titanium status?
- Titanium members get a 75% points bonus, while Platinum members get a 50% points bonus
- Titanium members get space available suite upgrades at Ritz-Carltons, while Platinum members don’t
- Titanium members get United MileagePlus Silver status through the Rewards Plus partnership
- Titanium members get Air Canada Aeroplan 25K status through the reciprocal partnership
What are the benefits of Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador status?
Above and beyond the Platinum and Titanium benefits, what are the incremental perks of Ambassador status?
- Access to personalized Ambassador service, whereby you’re assigned a single point of contact who can help you with any Marriott related needs; you also get access to a special shared Ambassador phone number and email address
- Your24, which gives you a flexible 24 hour stay at a hotel, where you can check-in at any time, and get the room for 24 hours, though this is offered at the hotel’s discretion (for example, this can come in handy in the Middle East, where flights often arrive and depart in the middle of the night, so it’s awesome to be able to check-in at midnight, and check-out at midnight the following day)
My experience with Marriott Ambassador status
The above are the published differences between Marriott Bonvoy’s top elite tiers, but what should you actually expect from the status? Below are my thoughts on the program, in no particular order.
Ambassador status offers more personalized service
Like most things in life, your experience will vary greatly based on who you’re dealing with. When I had Ambassador status, I had the same Ambassador, Mike, for years. His service was always spectacular — simply put, he exemplified what the program should be, and in my opinion he should be running the Ambassador program.
He just “gets it.” He always responded to my emails shockingly quickly, when I had a nuanced question he always got me an answer, and when I did have issues, he got them resolved quickly. He’s a superstar, and he really added value to my experiences with Marriott. Now that I have Ambassador status again, I once again have him as my dedicated Ambassador, which I’m excited about.
However, I’d note that not everyone has the same experience with their Ambassador. I’ve seen plenty of reports from people who weren’t impressed by their dedicated Ambassador, and found that they did the absolute minimum required.
Ambassador members may get better upgrades
This isn’t a published benefit one way or another, though many hotels prioritize upgrades for Ambassador members over Titanium or Platinum members.
While all Platinum members and above are eligible for suite upgrades, it seems pretty logical that if hotels are going to pre-block suites for guests, they’d do so by status or other considerations (booking through Marriott STARS, repeat guest, etc.).
Certainly not all hotels do that, but on balance I’d expect to get more good upgrades as an Ambassador member than a Platinum member, for example. I’d expect this to reflect the trends we see in regions when it comes to guest recognition. In other words, in Asia I’d expect Ambassador upgrades to be prioritized more, while in the United States many hotels can’t be bothered.
Ambassador status likely won’t help you much at hotels that don’t particularly value elite members. But still, given that there are often way more elite members than available upgrades, it makes sense that upgrades would be prioritized in such a way.
Furthermore, while it’s exception rather than the norm, some hotels even have better published upgrade benefits for Ambassador members. As one example, the Osaka Station Hotel is a Marriott Autograph Collection property, and it offers Ambassador members access to its Specialty Salon (essentially an exclusive club lounge), which other elite tiers don’t get access to.
Your24 isn’t quite as good as it sounds
Your24 sounds like a cool concept, though I’d note there’s a huge catch. It’s entirely at the hotel’s discretion whether or not to confirm it, and hotels only do so two days before arrival.
So it’s not just subject to availability, but even if a hotel has room, they don’t have to grant Your24. For example, this has worked great in a hotel in Abu Dhabi that maybe had 10% occupancy, but I’d almost never expect this to work at a hotel in Europe, if you’re trying to check-in early after a transatlantic flight (at least under normal circumstances).
So I’d say this sounds better than it actually is, and it has limited value, since you can’t actually count on this working in advance.
What a good Ambassador may do
Okay, let’s be more concrete. Like I said, the Ambassador that I had for years was awesome, so what did he do for me?
For one, he surprised me out of nowhere and sent me cute notes that made me smile every so often.
He also often arranged a special welcome amenity. It didn’t happen every stay, but Ambassadors will typically be asked what they like in terms of food & drinks, and you’ll definitely find customized welcome amenities waiting for you more often than with other elite tiers.
Beyond that:
- If a stay didn’t post correctly, Mike always helped get it fixed right away
- He also often proactively checked with me before stays to see if there’s anything he could do for me
- While it’s rare that I asked for anything special, if I did, he’d typically be able to make it happen (within reason, of course)
Basically, my Ambassador made me feel like I was dealing with a really awesome human, rather than a large, faceless company. There’s big value to that.
Is Marriott Ambassador status worth it?
Obviously there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on:
- How many special requests you have
- How good the Ambassador representatives you deal with are
- How much you’d stay with Marriott otherwise, and/or how much travel you have to switch around to make it happen
If you’re a frequent Marriott guest and if you end up with a good Ambassador, then there’s potentially significant value to the service. However, there’s also the risk you don’t get a great Ambassador, and I also wouldn’t greatly increase my business with Marriott just to earn Ambassador status.
I’m also lifetime Platinum member with Marriott, and the truth is that most of my stays are in cities where I’d probably do well with upgrades even as a Platinum. For example, I’m generally finding myself staying at Marriott properties in regions with fewer elite members and/or at hotels that care about elite members, rather than in places like New York and London.
Bottom line
Ambassador is Marriott Bonvoy’s top tier status, which requires 100 elite nights and $23,000 per year in eligible spending. The status offers more personalized service, flexible check-in and check-out, and sometimes better upgrades.
I enjoyed my time as an Ambassador member, but I just don’t find it worthwhile to stay extra nights at Marriott to earn it, unless you’d otherwise be really close. However, this past year I got really close, so I decided to complete a mattress run to earn it, and I’m curious to experience it again.
When it comes to my hotel elite status strategy, I find that I’m also treated well as a World of Hyatt Globalist member, so that’s where many of my nights go (and fortunately I now have lifetime Globalist status).
If you’re a Marriott Ambassador member, what has your experience been like?
I gave up on Ambassador status this year, after having it for many years. I would describe it as a one way loyalty program. It's only good for the hotels. They get a steady stream of guests, who are "committed" to the brand. These guests will often forego staying at better hotels (Intercontinental, Fairmont, Shangri-La), often times with better rates or in a better location. The 'committed' Marriott guests will also not take advantage of...
I gave up on Ambassador status this year, after having it for many years. I would describe it as a one way loyalty program. It's only good for the hotels. They get a steady stream of guests, who are "committed" to the brand. These guests will often forego staying at better hotels (Intercontinental, Fairmont, Shangri-La), often times with better rates or in a better location. The 'committed' Marriott guests will also not take advantage of HotelTonight and other lower cost sites because they want credit for their stays. As an Ambassador, you think/hope you will realize some of the advertised perks. In reality, the perks are no where close to being worth it. Sure, there are surprises, such as nice upgrades in Asia. But most US and Canada urban markets have limited benefits. I was never able to use the 24/7 benefit. Even hotels like St Regis (Toronto), simply ignored any request (24/7 and upgrade requests) during winter visits where every hotel in Toronto was giving away rooms because occupancy was low. I would go so far as to say as an Ambassador member you are viewed as easy money for the hotel. Normal guests are price and quality sensitive. They will stay at a new Intercontinental with better rates versus an over-priced dilapidated JW Marriott (e.g. San Francisco). As an Ambassador, you will put up with the poorly run hotels because of your brand loyalty. You are easy money and the promised perks are just a way of making you think you are getting something of value.
Could not agree more. The program is worthless. Just stay at nicer hotels which are cheaper. Landmark in London, Four Seasons HK, etc. had 8 stays so far as an ambassador elite. Every my 24 rejected. Never a room upgrade or welcome amenity. Honestly had better times as platinum. Have seen zero benefits. And given I have platinum for life and zero incremental benefits I’m just going to stay at nicer hotels and enjoy my...
Could not agree more. The program is worthless. Just stay at nicer hotels which are cheaper. Landmark in London, Four Seasons HK, etc. had 8 stays so far as an ambassador elite. Every my 24 rejected. Never a room upgrade or welcome amenity. Honestly had better times as platinum. Have seen zero benefits. And given I have platinum for life and zero incremental benefits I’m just going to stay at nicer hotels and enjoy my stay versus climb up a latter that has a pile of poo at the top.
i have been Ambassador for many years and its usefulness has been declining for for years
i had the same experience that you had with agents- one (who was marginally competent) simply disappeared and i was transferred to another agent who was totally incompetent.
My new agent seems fine but she is limited by the property itself as there are no mandates other the totally useless "thank you for your loyalty" greeting. Anything else...
i have been Ambassador for many years and its usefulness has been declining for for years
i had the same experience that you had with agents- one (who was marginally competent) simply disappeared and i was transferred to another agent who was totally incompetent.
My new agent seems fine but she is limited by the property itself as there are no mandates other the totally useless "thank you for your loyalty" greeting. Anything else is strictly up to the property and it will range anywhere from a nice amenity to actually being annoyed that you are there.
The "Your 24" benefit is an optic - it is granted by the hotel on a case-by-case basis and even it it is granted, it's not always honored.
My issue is that have >45 nights in my regular "go to" properties, so when you add in the credit card nights and hopefully the 2 x night credit discount in the spring, i have to stay with the program but since i am Lifetime Titanium anyway, if i see that i can't easily reach the 100 nights, i will take a status match and see what the other chain offers
In spite of our experiences with personal ambassadors, Marriott's revenue and net income are at all-time highs. Given that, Marriott has no incentive to act upon our dissatisfaction on this or any other issue. Acknowledge it and choose the best course for your circumstances.
Worth it if you dislike you’re life enough to want to be away from your home and family 100+ nights a year.
Not worth striving for. I have been Ambassador for years and there are few if any benefits. I wouldn't waste any energy trying to achieve this status level. I haven't heard from my Ambassador in months.
I haven't heard from my Hyatt globalist agent in 7 months.
Yes Your24 is the only incremental benefit over Titanium but it is not guaranteed and only subject to availability (on the goodwill of the property). You are not quite correct about the Your24 can be only confirmed 2 days before your stay. You can request it latest 2 days before your stay. You can request it up to a month before. Some hotels confirm it almost immediately but usually they say they can’t confirm and...
Yes Your24 is the only incremental benefit over Titanium but it is not guaranteed and only subject to availability (on the goodwill of the property). You are not quite correct about the Your24 can be only confirmed 2 days before your stay. You can request it latest 2 days before your stay. You can request it up to a month before. Some hotels confirm it almost immediately but usually they say they can’t confirm and use high occupancy as excuse even when they were nowhere near full. I love how they usually let me know they confirmed my late checkin at 6 pm but cannot guarantee the late checkout past 4 pm lol. Really you confirm my late checkin? Anyway even the process of requesting is a nightmare, with Starwood you could request it online and now you have to waste time contacting the Ambassador
Is Ambassador status worth it? Short answer: no
Longer answer: HELL NO! ...especially if you can do 60 nights/year and hit Hyatt Globalist. Even without that, to give Marriott 100 nights a year and still get basically nothing (almost no real 'upgrades' at anything resembling a desirable hotel) and points that are now worth less than Delta SkyPesos.
Find ANY other chain....and they'll reward you much better for this kind of loyalty (100 nights +...
Is Ambassador status worth it? Short answer: no
Longer answer: HELL NO! ...especially if you can do 60 nights/year and hit Hyatt Globalist. Even without that, to give Marriott 100 nights a year and still get basically nothing (almost no real 'upgrades' at anything resembling a desirable hotel) and points that are now worth less than Delta SkyPesos.
Find ANY other chain....and they'll reward you much better for this kind of loyalty (100 nights + $23k/year). Seriously, look anywhere else! Don't get Bonvoyed!
To answer the question: no. I have been an Ambassador since the program started and will no longer seek Marriott tier status. For all of the reasons we know, which don't need to be restated.
I think if you get an Ambassador that was part of SPG ambassador team normally you will have better service! The best one I had was my first one. Karen Morales. She was so amazing but she was promoted (so I was told). No one has been able to measure up to her and the amount of times they have switched me is also bothersome. Wasn’t happy with my current one after it came back....
I think if you get an Ambassador that was part of SPG ambassador team normally you will have better service! The best one I had was my first one. Karen Morales. She was so amazing but she was promoted (so I was told). No one has been able to measure up to her and the amount of times they have switched me is also bothersome. Wasn’t happy with my current one after it came back. I’ve requested a new one and I may be working with someone ex SPG. Mike who is working with Ben is also SPG.
Every Marriott property across all brands get cards from corporate (like a Hallmark greeting card) that they're supposed to put in your room. Of course, most properties can't be bothered to do so. And even then many are too lazy to write your name on the card or have a manager a sign their name. As a 7-year ambassador I don't expect any recognition at franchised or licensed properties, which are about 70% of the...
Every Marriott property across all brands get cards from corporate (like a Hallmark greeting card) that they're supposed to put in your room. Of course, most properties can't be bothered to do so. And even then many are too lazy to write your name on the card or have a manager a sign their name. As a 7-year ambassador I don't expect any recognition at franchised or licensed properties, which are about 70% of the properties within Marriott now. The corporate-managed properties (around 30%) generally still provide some kind of recognition.
Thanks for the article. I currently have Ambassador status and definitely not impressed. I had it for 3 years during the pandemic and the program did not do much for me. I did not have it in 2024 but got the spend requirement to have it in 2025. I hope my new ambassador is like Mike. So far not on the right track.
@Ben can you give us some examples of the "special requests" that you have asked Mike and how did he deal with those?
Requested Hawk Tuah.
The best ambassadors merely call a hotel to follow-up on any preferences that were emailed over or notated on the reservation. Supposedly, there's a new system that allows properties to see an ambassador status guest's specified food/drink/room preferences. I don't know it's fully launched. But supposedly it's been developed.
Each property is supposed to designate someone to be the liaison to ambassador services. At small properties, it's normally the general manager or front office manager....
The best ambassadors merely call a hotel to follow-up on any preferences that were emailed over or notated on the reservation. Supposedly, there's a new system that allows properties to see an ambassador status guest's specified food/drink/room preferences. I don't know it's fully launched. But supposedly it's been developed.
Each property is supposed to designate someone to be the liaison to ambassador services. At small properties, it's normally the general manager or front office manager. At larger properties, it may be a dedicated guest relations manager or operations director.
Regardless, it's up to individual properties to actually implement and follow-through.
I request 100 percent feather pillows on each and every stay. I get it less than 50% of the time. And that's a basic, basic request. I have on my food and drink preferences that I don't eat junk food and that I have a tree nut allergy. I get junk food or snacks/food amenities with nuts about 50% of the time that a property provides some kind of in-room amenity.
At the end of the day, most properties don't care. As I've said before, most U.S. hotel workers didn't go to hotel or hospitality school. It's just a job. Internationally, it's a career.
I've been an Ambassador for several years now and in 2024 my spend was north of $30K. I think the program is poor in general and my Ambassador is about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.
I asked to change Ambassadors last year but I was met with "why whats wrong?" I tried to be polite and simply say that my current Amb only worked limited hours etc etc - but it fell...
I've been an Ambassador for several years now and in 2024 my spend was north of $30K. I think the program is poor in general and my Ambassador is about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.
I asked to change Ambassadors last year but I was met with "why whats wrong?" I tried to be polite and simply say that my current Amb only worked limited hours etc etc - but it fell on deaf ears.
I ported my hotel spend away from Marriott in Q4 of 2024 and qualified as a Hyatt Globalist. This program is leaps and bounds ahead. Like you Ben, I am lifetime Plat with Bonvoy and there is simply no difference in my experience between Plat/Tit/Ambassador.
Don't you have to have a registered business to apply for a business/corp card? If affirmative, then it becomes a bit disingenuous not to make this distinction clear to your readers.
Ben has written multiple posts on obtaining business cards. A “registered business” is not required.
How do you know Ben's circumstances so as to make such a comment? By the way, a person can operate a business as a sole proprietor or a common law partnership, neither of which requires formal organization.
@Ben Curious if your experience (as an influencer) is representative of the general population.
“Basically, my Ambassador made me feel like I was dealing with a really awesome human, rather than a large, faceless company.”
Another option would be to not do business with a large, faceless company and choose an independent property.
The spend needed for Amb has to be among the poorest in terms of ROI across the entire loyalty space.
Objectively hilarious how people give so much to Marriott and get so little in return (marginal vs Tit one level lower and with $0 spend requirement).
Because fanboy favorite Hyatt has very limited footprint.
While I don't personally believe Ambassadors actually try to 'invest' in becoming one. Like Ben, people just happened to earn it.
And just my two cents, the worst ROI in the loyalty space would be all those "lifetime" status. Especially LT Hilton Diamond.
Yawn at the footprint argument…same thing was said about Starwood in the 2010s.
There is benefit in LT - when forced to stay at Marriott at least I get some benefits from my LTT. But you are right about LT Diamond for Hilton - those people truly aren’t playing with a full deck.
Maybe he was a former associate at a big law firm.
Two biggest benefits I got from it was:
1. When traveling every week for work the amount of times I wasn’t emailed a folio (or it was wrong) for my expense report was so high. Saved a lot of time having ambassador deal with the hotel to get it
2. Bodrum Edition saying they’re only giving me breakfast with my award stay cause I was an ambassador (not actually sure if that was true or not)
I’ve gotten in the habit of requesting a physical print out just because on the number of not or incorrectly sent out by the Marriott hotel.
Edition does not offer free breakfast to elites even on paid stays, as a brand standard.