Many loyalty programs have invitation-only elite tiers, like American Concierge Key, Delta 360, United Global Services, and Hyatt Courtesy Card.
At least on the airline front, these tiers are typically pretty widely known. What many people don’t realize is that Marriott also has an invitation-only elite tier. It’s possibly the most exclusive invitation-only elite tier of all, because I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone earning it.
In this post:
Marriott Bonvoy’s five published elite tiers
Marriott Bonvoy is the world’s largest hotel loyalty program, and it has five published elite tiers:
- Silver Elite status, which requires 10 elite nights per year
- Gold Elite status, which requires 25 elite nights per year
- Platinum Elite status, which requires 50 elite nights per year
- Titanium Elite status, which requires 75 elite nights per year
- Ambassador Elite status, which requires 100 elite nights and $23,000 of qualifying spending per year
Who gets Marriott Cobalt status?
Marriott Cobalt Elite status is available exclusively through Marriott’s CEO. Marriott employees can allegedly nominate members, though they have to be approved by the CEO.
Based on how few Cobalt members there allegedly are, I imagine nominations are very exclusive, so this isn’t just a function of being friends with someone at a front desk, or even frequenting one hotel. Similarly, this isn’t even given to hotel owners. It doesn’t even seem to be given to big spenders (I mean, maybe it is if you’re spending six figures per year with Marriott, but seemingly not otherwise).
Back in the day, the Cobalt Elite program existed as part of the Ritz-Carlton Rewards program, and it was also very exclusive at the time. It was only in 2019 that Marriott hotels were formally briefed about Cobalt Elite status, as Marriott at that point formalized benefits for the program.
What benefits do Marriott Cobalt members receive?
Given how exclusive Cobalt Elite status is, the benefits are kind of not that amazing, actually. Cobalt Elite members receive Ambassador Elite status, but on top of that get benefits that vary by brand.
At select and extended stay brands, Cobalt members receive:
- Upgrades to the best available rooms, including suites
- Personalized note from the general manager
- Being met by the general manager
At premium brands, Cobalt members receive a personalized amenity.
At luxury brands, Cobalt members receive a distinctive experience on-property for the member and a guest. The “distinctive experience” being offered at luxury properties varies by brand, and includes:
- At Ritz-Carltons, complimentary club lounge access and greeting by management there, as well as personal invitation from general manager to “scenography defining moment of the day”
- At JW Marriott, personal invitation to meet with general manager at a food & beverage outlet
- At EDITION, VIP table assignment in restaurant or bar
- At St. Regis, personal invitation to a ritual moment
How many Marriott Cobalt members are there?
I don’t actually have any insights here, but I did want to throw the question out there. Invitation-only elite members aren’t exactly rare at airlines. In the case of hotels, I know of a few Hyatt Courtesy Card members, though not many. But oddly in the case of Marriott, I don’t think I’ve heard about a single Cobalt member. We know the program exists, we just don’t know how many members there are.
So I’m curious, are any OMAAT readers Cobalt members? Can any Marriott front office employees chime in (anonymously) on whether they’ve ever had a Cobalt member on property? Does the program technically exist but not have any (or very few) members?
Bottom line
Marriott has a secret, invitation-only elite tier, known as Cobalt Elite status. This is available exclusively through Marriott’s CEO, and membership seems to be extremely limited.
Given how exclusive this status allegedly is, I’m kind of surprised there aren’t more benefits. For example, at Marriott’s top brands (where you’d assume most of these premium guests are staying), you basically get Ambassador Elite status, plus an experience, and that’s it. Ritz-Carlton lounge access is nice (as it’s not offered as part of status otherwise), but other than that, I can’t say the benefits are that exciting.
Now, I would say that there’s probably better “soft” treatment all around. For example, I imagine Cobalt Elite members will be looked after more carefully, employees will be briefed on them, etc.
So, does anyone have Cobalt Elite status, or know someone who does?
Mr Bill Marriott's 3% club was real. One did not receive notice of it. Just happened that an exec club staff saw this designated on our account, and being a woman (my wife), it was unusual. We have found that women still do not get the same best treatment as men. Sad but true.
We called on many Marriott people until one knew it. It was for very frequent Marriott travellers who Bill connected with....
Mr Bill Marriott's 3% club was real. One did not receive notice of it. Just happened that an exec club staff saw this designated on our account, and being a woman (my wife), it was unusual. We have found that women still do not get the same best treatment as men. Sad but true.
We called on many Marriott people until one knew it. It was for very frequent Marriott travellers who Bill connected with. He made the selection. If we had a problem we could call into his office and his staff would deal with the hotel to solve it.
Also, one hotel we were met by the GM, who wanted to show us the new room designs and colours that were coming. Mr Marriott wanted our opinion.
You start to feel like one of the Marriott family.
Then Arne (Bless his soul) and now Anthony Capuano have ruined all that. Oh well, it was a time of the Crystal Ball.
One thing though, negative energy catches up to the CEO's, so they should treat their guests well, even if its one female client.
I’d imagine that the status is for high-level politicians, lobbyists and company execs. People who can have a significant impact on the company, and I’m not talking personal spend.
If I had to guess it would be people on the tier of Nancy Pelosi or Tim Cook. THAT kind of people.
Does anyone else find it annoying when as a "status" guest they insist on calling the GM and you have to wait around to engage in some mindless small talk when all you want to do is get to your room and shower/sleep/get ready?
Perhaps they could ask, or add it to your profile, if you'd like the meet the GM, as my honest answer will nearly always be no if it means I have...
Does anyone else find it annoying when as a "status" guest they insist on calling the GM and you have to wait around to engage in some mindless small talk when all you want to do is get to your room and shower/sleep/get ready?
Perhaps they could ask, or add it to your profile, if you'd like the meet the GM, as my honest answer will nearly always be no if it means I have to hang around waiting while they come from whatever place in the hotel they are currently situated.
Their business card is normally always left in the room with the welcome message, I'll call if we need to talk.
Funny that the best benefits here are still less than what a run of the mill Hyatt Globalist gets
Funny that run of the mill Hyatt Globalist gets nothing if there isn't a Hyatt to stay at.
Every customer should be well "taken care of" whether they are spending $100 per year or $100k per year. That's just called good customer service and it shouldn't require participation in any rewards program. It's just a sign of how sad and messed up our world is that Marriott now has six tiers of different treatment for customers when, really, all customers should be treated equally well! Also, who in their right mind wants to...
Every customer should be well "taken care of" whether they are spending $100 per year or $100k per year. That's just called good customer service and it shouldn't require participation in any rewards program. It's just a sign of how sad and messed up our world is that Marriott now has six tiers of different treatment for customers when, really, all customers should be treated equally well! Also, who in their right mind wants to waste time socializing with a hotel manager. Most of them have worse customer service skills than some of the staff, and the only time I talk to one is if there's a problem.
Pyongyang gladly welcomes you.
Lol. What some of these chains are doing by having a tier system really isn't that different from Pyongyang. Only there, the elites are Kim Jong whatever, his cronies, government employees, and senior military. I used to get many 4 star hotels for $30-$50 per night back when Priceline's name your own price was around, and I was typically treated as well as any other guests, even getting free lounge access just by asking for...
Lol. What some of these chains are doing by having a tier system really isn't that different from Pyongyang. Only there, the elites are Kim Jong whatever, his cronies, government employees, and senior military. I used to get many 4 star hotels for $30-$50 per night back when Priceline's name your own price was around, and I was typically treated as well as any other guests, even getting free lounge access just by asking for it. That's how it should be. No need to pay thousands just for good decent service.
There are benefits that simply would not scale if provided to all customers, think late check out (4pm), access to a nice lounge, (meaningful) room upgrades.
As someone spending many nights in hotels I appreciate these, and it does drive business.
For what it's worth, I had about $75,000 in spending one year on rooms only and then another $200,000 in event spending. Two general managers of two different properties specifically wrote letters asking Marriott International to award me Cobalt status. They never received a reply from Marriott.
FWIW, an owner with over 10 properties couldn't get Cobolt.
And that's generating revenue a lot more than 7 figures for corporate.
Basically, it`s not for the regular frequent travellers that read these pages.
Yeah, but that doesn't get the blog the clicks it needs.
> At St. Regis, personal invitation to a ritual moment
The mind boggles.
"Being met by the general manager"
I feel bad for the Cobalt members with social anxiety that hate the inevitable meeting with the General Manager at every hotel they go to
I've been an Ambassador for 6 years. I regularly meet a GM, director of operations, or rooms manager. Sometimes it's nice because they invite me for a drink at the end of the day and we engage in a little off-the-record chat about Marriott, hotels, travel, etc. Other times it's weird because it's 9 pm, you've arrived late and a manager has clearly been told to stay and not leave until you arrive. You just want to get to bed and they just want to leave and go home.
@FNT... where do you stay? I'm an Ambassador and I've never been met by a manager. As a Hilton Lifetime Diamond, I've had the manager meet me at a couple high end resorts (think Conrad Bora Bora). But otherwise, maybe a note from the manager in the room...
Don't Cobalt member get, or are perhaps more likely to get, upgraded to "name" suites rather than standard suites?
I am guessing it is similar to United Chairman Circle (a carry over from Continental Chairman's Circle.)
Sounds like the perfect status for the Karens out there. Hard to think of a worse vacation punishment
This sounds to me like a program more or less for hospitality industry leadership, or maybe investors, rather than customers. What is the "benefit" of a meeting with the property manager? It may be there for some who interact professionally with such personas, but not for most travellers.
You miss the point. See BF's comment and my comment to Alec below.
There is a marriott bonvoy platinum status fraud going on in china and Marriott is letting it happen just to increase membership but erroding bonvoy mebership value. Soon being platinum will mean nothing because anyone can be platinum without any loyalty. When Marriott took over Starwood it was somewhat anticipated but Marriott doesn't value loyalty and looks at it from squeezing out more dollars out of it. So once everyone is Platinum what will happen?...
There is a marriott bonvoy platinum status fraud going on in china and Marriott is letting it happen just to increase membership but erroding bonvoy mebership value. Soon being platinum will mean nothing because anyone can be platinum without any loyalty. When Marriott took over Starwood it was somewhat anticipated but Marriott doesn't value loyalty and looks at it from squeezing out more dollars out of it. So once everyone is Platinum what will happen? Create higher level of membership and you have to stay or pay more to qualify for it. No thanks Marriott. I moved all my buisness travel stays to Hyatt who values my loyalty so far.
Everyone is already Platinum and loyalty already means nothing. The Brilliant card exists.
I tried to move my loyalty to Hyatt.
But then I'll end up on the streets because there isn't any Hyatt nearby.
"There is a marriott bonvoy platinum status fraud going on in china"...what is this? Care to expand?
https://loyaltylobby.com/2024/08/22/reader-email-widespread-marriott-platinum-card-fraud-in-china-and-its-impact-on-elite-member-congestion/
The 'official benefits' are unexciting because the type of extra-high-value customer who gets this status doesn't *need* official benefits. The mechanics of the loyalty scheme become irrelevant when you're at a serious level of wealth (individual or corporate). You don't need higher priority for room upgrades because if you want a high-end suite, you'll just pay for a high-end suite. You don't need 10% extra points at the Courtyard West Denver I-70 Interchange or wherever...
The 'official benefits' are unexciting because the type of extra-high-value customer who gets this status doesn't *need* official benefits. The mechanics of the loyalty scheme become irrelevant when you're at a serious level of wealth (individual or corporate). You don't need higher priority for room upgrades because if you want a high-end suite, you'll just pay for a high-end suite. You don't need 10% extra points at the Courtyard West Denver I-70 Interchange or wherever to save up for an award at the Ritz-Carlton, because you're already staying at the Ritz-Carlton. These kinds of statuses really only exist to send a red flag to individual hotels that the customer is important to the company and needs to be handled with extreme care. I imagine the real value is that if something goes wrong, you'll have the manager jumping through hoops to fix it instead of having to beg the front desk guy for a resolution.
^^^ THIS ^^^ (And, you don't hope for complimentary Ritz Carlton club lounge access because you're already paying for it.)
And then you have Mitt Romney, an on-again, off-again Marriott International board member. He surely has Cobalt status. But he was famous (or infamous?) for staying at a roadside Courtyard or a mediocre Marriott (Marriott the flagship brand) in the suburbs that was 20 minutes away from where he needed to be but was the cheaper option. He would also wash his own clothes in the laundry machine and iron shirts instead of sending them out for dry cleaning/laundry.
Mitt Romney is doing it for the optics.
That how you want the public to see politicians.
Not like the entitled Ted Cruz.
I actually worked for Mitt Romney. For 7 years. I can tell you that was and is Mitt.
The benefits seem entirely uninspiring
See @BF's comment above. It's not about the benefits. A Cobalt is dropping six figures with Marriott and is already paying for the perks. They're not *looking* for anything . . . other than thoughtful execution of service.
Does anyone actually want to meet the manager
You miss the point. It's not about meeting the (general) manager. It's about the general manager assuring you that you'll be taken care of. It's about the team knowing that the general manager does greet just anyone and seeing that the general manager is meeting you . . . and hearing the general manager assure you that you'll be taken care of. And, then, the team takes care of you. That's what it's about.
I've been an Ambassador for 6 years. I regularly meet a GM, director of operations, or rooms manager. Sometimes it's nice because they invite me for a drink at the end of the day and we engage in a little off-the-record chat about Marriott, hotels, travel, etc. Other times it's weird because it's 9 pm, you've arrived late and a manager has clearly been told to stay and not leave until you arrive. You just want to get to bed and they just want to leave and go home.
I knew a guy who had it, so can give an example of what it gets to earn one. He was a US oil exec assigned to oversee the Russian market. Since he couldn’t be bothered to rent something in Moscow, he booked a suite in Ritz (something like 2-3k a night) for 365 nights a year for a few years in a row.
That did the trick.
"I knew a guy..." lol
Isn't this place called internet?
Just asking for a friend.
Very interesting, I’ve never heard of this status before, but it seems underwhelming. Sure, my LT Titanium
Status never gets me a manager (general or otherwise) greeting me (I’d probably cringe if they did), but my very standard Hyatt Globalist status has seen me greeted by managers (not sure if they were general managers) on multiple occasions this year (yes, I cringed as I don’t need that kind of attention)
This sounds like...
Very interesting, I’ve never heard of this status before, but it seems underwhelming. Sure, my LT Titanium
Status never gets me a manager (general or otherwise) greeting me (I’d probably cringe if they did), but my very standard Hyatt Globalist status has seen me greeted by managers (not sure if they were general managers) on multiple occasions this year (yes, I cringed as I don’t need that kind of attention)
This sounds like another example of Marriott trying to make some people feel ‘special’ without actually doing anything special at all.