Marriott Bonvoy Elite Night Credit Card Guide

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You can earn elite status by using a hotel credit card. Some hotel credit cards give elite status, while others give a certain number of elite nights.

I wanted to show you how to earn elite nights in the Marriott Bonvoy program using co- branded Marriott credit cards. It's a new year and people are starting to think about their elite status strategy for 2020. If you are like me, Marriott credit card elite nights have already been posted for the year.

You can earn Marriott Bonvoy elite nights using Marriott's credit cards. If you have the right credit cards, you could have Platinum status, but you wouldn't have to spend a dime on the cards.

What are Marriott elite nights?

It's worth clarifying what I'm talking about when I say "elite night." An elite night doesn't entitle you to a free night in a hotel.

Minimum requirements for hotel loyalty programs are 50, 75, or 100 nights per year. Status gives you perks like free breakfast, late check-out, and room upgrades.

I mean when I use the term "elite night", I mean you're getting credit that qualifies you to earn status in the program. If you get 15 elite nights with a credit card, that doesn't mean you get any free nights in hotels, but it does mean you're closer to elite status, since it's the equivalent of spending 15 nights in a hotel.

Marriott has credit cards issued by both American Express and Chase, and several of them offer elite nights every year just for having the card. Five Marriott credit cards are open to new applicants and four are older cards that are not open to new applicants.

There are nine cards that offer 15 nights and a single card that offers 25 elite nights.

• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (review)

There could be as many as nine Marriott Bonvoy credit cards that offer 15 elite nights and one that offers 25 nights. Can you start the year with 45-55 elite nights if you have three credit cards? Unfortunately not.

40 Bonvoy elite nights can be earned through co- branded credit cards.

When do Marriott credit card elite nights post?

Marriott Bonvoy elite nights can be earned with credit cards.

• In other words, you don’t just get the elite nights your first year, but you also get them in subsequent years
• You also get these elite nights even if you open your credit card in the middle of the year, so there’s no requirement that the account has to be open at the beginning of the year

Marriott Bonvoy elite nights should be posted at a certain time.

• If your Marriott Bonvoy credit card is open at the beginning of the year, your elite night credits will post by March 1; however, in practice, they typically post much faster, often within the first week of January
• If you open your Marriott Bonvoy credit card during the year, your elite night credits will post within 60 days of account opening; if you open the card toward the end of the year, don’t worry, the nights will be backdated, even if they post in the subsequent year

The elite nights have already been posted. It's pretty cool that my account is showing 40 elite nights for the year.

There are three tiers for lifetime status.

• Lifetime Silver status requires 250 elite nights plus five years of status
• Lifetime Gold status requires 400 elite nights plus seven years of Gold status or higher
• Lifetime Platinum status requires 600 elite nights plus 10 years of Platinum status or higher

There is a lifetime status night requirement for Marriott credit cards. They do.

If you have a Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card you can get Bonvoy Platinum status. Platinum status is offered for as long as you are a cardmember, which is a great deal.

There is a difference between having status through being a cardmember and earning elite status. You aren't getting elite nights when you have a credit card.

In the form of an example, this can be explained.

• Say you have the Bonvoy Brilliant Card, and as a benefit you receive Platinum status
• You’ll have Platinum status, but won’t get the corresponding 50 elite nights; you will, however, receive 25 elite nights, since that’s an additional perk of having the card
• If you want to then go for Bonvoy Titanium status (which requires 75 elite nights), you’re not any closer to earning it, since you’re not getting the 50 elite nights usually associated with Platinum status
• You also wouldn’t qualify for Bonvoy Choice Benefits, since those are based on the elite nights you earn, rather than your status

Status becomes valuable around the Platinum tier of Marriott Bonvoy. Bonvoy Platinum members get perks.

I find Marriott to be inconsistent and so temper your expectations when it comes to the unlimited suite upgrade.

Bonvoy Platinum status requires 50 elite nights per year, so if you can earn 40 elite nights through credit cards, you are in a good position.

Even award stays and redemptions of free night certificates can make it easier to earn Marriott status.

I thought I would talk about what other hotel groups have to offer in case you were wondering about Marriott's policy of earning status with credit cards.

If you use a hotel credit card, you can earn status with a hotel. For as long as you have the card, you can get top-tier Diamond status for free. The annual fee is easy to justify because the card has so many benefits. This is a great value, though it doesn't include suite upgrades, late check-out, or anything like that.

As long as you have the card, you can earn IHG One Rewards Platinum status for as long as you keep it. If you spend $40,000 on either card in a year, you'll earn a diamond status. In order to earn a certain number of elite nights, you have to be an IHG elite tier.

World of Hyatt Globalist status is my favorite top tier hotel status, but it is not easy to earn. The World of Hyatt Credit Card can help you get elite status.

• On the personal version of the card you receive five elite nights annually just for having the card, and two more elite nights for every $5,000 spent
• On the business version of the card you receive five elite nights for every $10,000 spent in a calendar year

Marriott Bonvoy members can use their co- branded credit cards to earn elite nights. It gives you 80% of the way to Platinum status, or more than 50% of the way to Titanium status. There is a Marriott credit card that will give you Platinum status just for being a card member.

I have both the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card and Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card and that proves to be a huge help with maintaining status and all the benefits of those tiers.

Do you use Marriott credit cards to get elite status?