With it now being 2023, I thought it would be fun to share my hotel elite status strategy for the coming year. While I think the value of airline elite status has decreased over the years, I continue to greatly value hotel elite status, including for suite upgrades and more. As we start a new year, here’s what I’m thinking…
In this post:
What my hotel stays in 2023 will look like
The past few years has throw us for a loop when it comes to predicting travel, given the impacts of coronavirus on the travel industry. With just about the entire world now taking a “live with the virus” approach, my hope is that 2023 is a much more predictable year, and marks a return to normal when it comes to freedom of travel.
In terms of my own situation, what am I expecting in terms of hotel stays?
- Since Miles joined our family several months ago, we’re probably going to be pretty limited in terms of the adventures that we take, at least compared to past years; for actual vacations, we’ll probably be more focused on destinations not too far from home, rather than destinations on the other side of the globe
- My focus in 2023 will be taking as many review trips as possible, which will all probably be pretty fast moving; I’ll always try to review interesting hotels for a night or two at a time when practical
So while I expect that I’ll stay at a good variety of hotels, I’m guessing I won’t be spending as many total nights in hotels as in past years. I anticipate a lot more short stays at hotels.
With that in mind, let me share how I’m thinking about hotel loyalty.
My 2023 hotel elite status strategy
Hotel loyalty programs can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they can offer valuable benefits and the ability to redeem points for free night awards. On the other hand, they can make us act irrationally, and choose overpriced and less charming hotels than you may otherwise find if you were a “free agent.”
Let me share how I’m approaching 2023 elite status with some of the major hotel loyalty programs. I currently have status with Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, and World of Hyatt, so how will that change in 2023? I’m in a pretty good spot when it comes to this, thanks to having lifetime elite status with my two favorite programs.
World of Hyatt Globalist status
World of Hyatt Globalist is my favorite top tier hotel status, and it ordinarily requires 60 elite nights or 100,000 base points in a year to earn. I’m in a pretty great spot, as I just recently qualified for lifetime Globalist status, meaning that I now have the status for life.
Not only that, but lifetime Globalist members receive several additional annual perks, including four suite upgrade awards, a Category 1-7 free night award, and access to My Hyatt Concierge.
While I now have lifetime Globalist status, I anticipate still qualifying for Globalist status the standard way, this year and for the foreseeable future. Why would I even bother? Well, with World of Hyatt, lifetime members can essentially double dip, thanks to the value of Milestone Rewards.
If I earn 60 elite nights, I’ll earn all the incremental Milestone Rewards perks, including an additional four suite upgrade awards, an additional Category 1-7 free night award, and much more.
Earning 60 elite nights per year isn’t too tough, especially when you consider the opportunities to earn elite nights with Hyatt’s co-branded credit cards:
- With the World of Hyatt Credit Card (review) you receive five elite nights toward status annually just for having the card, plus an additional two elite nights for every $5,000 you spend on the card
- With the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card (review) you receive five elite for every $10,000 spent on the card in a calendar year
How did I end 2022 with World of Hyatt? I ended the year with just over 100 elite nights, so it was a busy Hyatt year for me.
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum or Titanium status
Marriott Bonvoy is generally my backup hotel loyalty program, though with each passing year I seem to spend fewer nights at Marriotts. I’m currently a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member and a lifetime Platinum member. Prior to the pandemic I was a Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador member, but I just no longer found that to be worth it.
Marriott Bonvoy members can earn up to 40 elite nights per year with co-branded Marriott credit cards, like the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (review) and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (review). Just for having the Bonvoy Brilliant card, you’ll receive Platinum status.
While I won’t be going out of my way to earn Titanium status, I suspect I’ll still end up qualifying for that:
- Frankly I’m happy with my lifetime Platinum status for the times that I am staying at Marriotts, since it offers the basic perks I value, like some sort of breakfast, guaranteed late check-out, etc.
- I’ll certainly make it to 50 elite nights, given that I’m starting the year with 40 elite nights due to my co-branded credit cards; this will allow me to select some Marriott Choice Benefits, like suite night awards
- I wouldn’t be surprised if I spend 35 nights this year at Marriott properties, which would earn me Titanium status (40 nights through credit cards, 35 nights through stays), and allow me to select further perks through the Choice Benefits program
Personally I don’t generally enjoy staying at Marriott Bonvoy properties in the United States, as I find that they often overpromise and underdeliver. The main reason I don’t totally throw in the towel with Marriott is because I love some of Marriott’s Luxury Collection resorts in the Mediterranean, and being able to redeem points there in summer is always a highlight of my year. That being said, with Marriott Bonvoy’s new dynamic award pricing, this doesn’t offer quite as much value as before.
How did I end 2022 with? I qualified for Titanium status with 77 elite nights — 40 of those were from credit cards, and 37 were from actual stays.
Hilton Honors Diamond status
Hilton is a brand that has grown on me so much in recent years:
- Hilton has greatly increased its portfolio of luxury hotels, which makes me actually want to stay at more Hiltons
- Just for having the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (review) you get top tier Honors Diamond status; on top of that, the $450 annual fee card more than pays for itself based on all the other perks, like an anniversary free night award, a $250 resort credit, a $250 airline fee credit, and more
- Hilton Honors has gotten better at delivering on elite benefits than Marriott Bonvoy has in many ways, or at least the program doesn’t over promise and under deliver in the same way
While I don’t specifically seek out Hiltons, I do find myself staying at Hiltons when they’re the best option in a city, and in many cases I’ve come to prefer Hiltons to Marriotts. From the perspective of chasing status there’s limited need to stay with Hilton more, though, given that there’s nothing beyond Diamond status.
I usually complete a handful of stays at Hilton properties per year, and 2022 was no different.
The information and associated card details on this page for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
IHG One Rewards Diamond status
IHG is a bit of a wildcard for me this year, as I like the revamped IHG One Rewards program, and there’s lots of value with the Milestone Rewards concept.
IHG is very much my backup backup backup hotel program, after Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors. 😉 For years I’ve had IHG One Rewards Platinum status, as this is offered just for being a cardmember of the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card (review) or IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (review). The status ultimately isn’t that valuable, but it comes in handy for the few times that I do stay at IHG properties.
However, for 2023 I have a better status situation with IHG, as I have IHG One Rewards Diamond status. A few months ago, IHG was offering free instant Diamond status, which I took advantage of. I then had that extended by a further year by signing up for the InterContinental Ambassador program.
So I now have IHG Diamond status for 2023, which offers some meaningful benefits. I’d like to start staying at some more IHG properties to give this status a try, though I’m not sure how realistic that is, especially if I’m still trying to earn status with Hyatt and Marriott.
Virtuoso & other programs
The truth is that you don’t actually need to be loyal to a hotel group to receive elite-like benefits. There are all kinds of programs offering room upgrades, breakfast, hotel credits, and more, all based on the method you use to book.
These include Virtuoso, Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, Belmond Bellini Club, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Hilton Impresario, Hyatt Privé, Marriott STARS & Luminous, Mandarin Oriental Fan Club, Rosewood Elite, etc. I find myself booking through these programs quite often, regardless of whether I’m staying at a luxury points hotel, or whether I’m staying at an independent hotel.
Bottom line
Hopefully 2023 is a bit more predictable of a year when it comes to travel, given how the past few years have been due to the pandemic.
When it comes to hotel status, I’m in a pretty good spot, as I have valuable status with my four favorite hotel loyalty programs. While I have lifetime Marriott Bonvoy Platinum and World of Hyatt Globalist status, I’m still planning on qualifying for elite status the traditional way with these programs, given the incremental perks.
On top of that, I have Hilton Honors Diamond status just for having a credit card — this is valuable to me, though I also appreciate how I don’t have to put any effort into earning it.
Lastly, I have IHG One Rewards Diamond status, though I’m not sure what exactly I’ll do with that. There’s definitely more valuable to IHG status than in the past, but I still don’t get as excited about IHG as other hotel groups.
What’s your hotel loyalty strategy for 2023? Does it differ from past years?
Honestly, I think this article is useless for most people. You should keep in mind that it is your business to review hotels, brands, destinations, flights, etc and you are paid in various ways for this. This is not the case for most people. They may have one or two hotel groups that they frequent somewhat regularly and if they are often on business trips may be can earn status. But most people don't have lifetime status at multiple groups.
Honestly, if you read the entire article, you would realize having lifetime or not doesn't matter, since his actual stays already exceed the status requirements.
The better (still weak) argument for being useless is not everyone having access to credit cards.
The other important benefit at Marriott properties is the lounge access depending on the brand and location. It can be really useful outside the US in properties that would not ordinarily have a lounge. Also even for the premium brands it depends on the brand as to if breakfast and the lounge costs more.
I may express an unpopular opinion, but Marriott works just fine for me. I guess I'm not too picky about their services since I spend most of my time outside my room anyway. As a Titanium, I never got denied late checkout and breakfast, but room upgrades were hit and miss. I never had issues with their app. And realistically, I won't be able to spend 60 nights at Hyatt to get a Globalist status. With little kids, traveling is restricting and not as enjoyable anyway.
Thanks Ben. Also, IHG Diamond. The reward of Lounge membership I activated on 1 January, so good for calendar year 2023 plus all of 2024 seems great value. Unfortunately, the "guaranteed suite upgrade" benefit seems a bit of a scam. Paid top dollar for Intercontinental flexible rate, IHG Diamond call centre confirmed suite was available, but then their system kept crashing, so have been unable to activate. Now IHG and the IC Hotel say "guaranteed"...
Thanks Ben. Also, IHG Diamond. The reward of Lounge membership I activated on 1 January, so good for calendar year 2023 plus all of 2024 seems great value. Unfortunately, the "guaranteed suite upgrade" benefit seems a bit of a scam. Paid top dollar for Intercontinental flexible rate, IHG Diamond call centre confirmed suite was available, but then their system kept crashing, so have been unable to activate. Now IHG and the IC Hotel say "guaranteed" suite is not available, yet suite is available if I want to pay for it! A scam I think.
I've got 55 nights at Marriott. I am current having 4 Marriott credit cards. They are AMEX Brilliant, Chase Marriott Biz, Chase Boundless, and Chase Ritz Carlton. Looks like a bug or something.
Even as a Diamond Elite Ambassador with IHG apart from the annoyingly consistent "thank you for your loyalty" I have never seen any consistent benefits from this program. Invariably there is no availability to utilise points at the best Intercons and as someone mentioned, never a proper upgrade. I recently used 110,000 points for one night at an intercon as I was desperate for a room in a NYC hotel - madness. So many of...
Even as a Diamond Elite Ambassador with IHG apart from the annoyingly consistent "thank you for your loyalty" I have never seen any consistent benefits from this program. Invariably there is no availability to utilise points at the best Intercons and as someone mentioned, never a proper upgrade. I recently used 110,000 points for one night at an intercon as I was desperate for a room in a NYC hotel - madness. So many of the hotels won't offer points rooms even if their hotels are only half full, this is particularly the case in the Pacific region. I'd like to build my Marriott or Hyatt footprint but unfortunately there just aren't enough properties in my region for me to do that. I also think that hotels forget that often customers actually buy points so it's not like they are giving those rooms away for free especially as they have had use of those for funds for a long period of time. Hotels need to rethink their loyalty programs but good luck with your 2023 strategy.
Outside the USA, I have found IHG Diamond status to be excellent. I have been upgraded to wonderful suites and had some pretty good breakfast buffets.
However, this does not apply at Intercontinental Hotels. Even with Diamond status, you are lucky to get a one category upgrade. I stayed at a completely empty Intercontinental in Lebanon and they would not upgrade to a suite. The breakfast on the other hand was ala carte and excellent.
I so envy anyone living in the US and do not understand why the Aspire card is "not in everyone's wallet".
Still slogging through the earned Diamond labyrinth for the 29th year without achieving lifetime DFL status (due to Hilton's inability to properly record stays).
I guess I can always fall back on my Lifetime Bonvoy Silver Status (snicker)
What, no Accor status strategy?
Only half joking…I suspect Accor will become more of a thing in our hobby as they ramp up their US expansion over the next three years.
Travel with Miles now while he’s tiny! Also, more Miles content please :)
You should review all the Florida kimpton properties this year while you can