Marriott Bonvoy elite status offers perks ranging from free breakfast and room upgrades to late checkout. The exact benefits depend on your Marriott elite status tier and can also vary from brand to brand.
You don’t have to be a road warrior to earn higher tiers of Marriott Bonvoy status, though. After all, you can earn up to 40 elite night credits per year by being the primary cardholder on select Marriott Bonvoy credit cards. These elite night credits can put even a casual traveler within reach of Marriott’s Platinum Elite or even Titanium Elite status.
But wouldn’t it be nice to have Marriott status for life so you don’t need to qualify year after year? It’s possible. Here’s what you need to know about Marriott’s lifetime status program.
Requirements for lifetime elite status
Marriott Bonvoy has three-lifetime status tiers.
- Lifetime Silver Elite: 250 lifetime nights and five years as a Silver Elite member or higher.
- Lifetime Gold Elite: 400 lifetime nights and seven years as a Gold Elite member or higher.
- Lifetime Platinum Elite: 600 lifetime nights and 10 years as a Platinum Elite member or higher.
Currently, there isn’t a way to qualify for Marriott’s two highest status tiers — Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite — for life. However, when Starwood merged with Marriott, some elites were given lifetime Titanium Elite status.
Although it might feel like these Marriott Bonvoy lifetime elite status tiers are out of reach, Marriott counts credit card elite night credits and promotional nights toward lifetime status. So, you may find it relatively easy to eventually snag lifetime status, especially if you have one or more Marriott Bonvoy credit cards that provide elite night credits annually.
Related: Your complete guide to Marriott published guarantees and compensation
Lifetime elite benefits
Once you earn lifetime status, you’ll enjoy that tier’s benefits for the rest of your life. Here are a few of the highlights.
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- Silver Elite: 10% points bonus and priority late checkout.
- Gold Elite: 25% points bonus and non-suite enhanced room upgrades (at some brands).
- Platinum Elite: 50% points bonus, room upgrades (including suites at most brands) and a welcome gift choice (at most brands; breakfast is an option at some brands).
Plus, Marriott introduced the ability for lifetime Platinum Elite members to view their lifetime journey online and request complimentary luggage tags in late 2022.
Platinum Elite members can ordinarily select an annual Choice Benefit. However, lifetime Platinum Elite members don’t get to select an annual Choice Benefit unless they meet the standard elite night requirements for Platinum Elite status that year.
Related: 17 ways to earn lots of Marriott Bonvoy points
How to check your progress toward lifetime status
The Marriott app is the easiest way to see your progress toward lifetime status.
Select “account” in the bottom right corner, and tap “nights this year.” Then, select “see lifetime status progress.”
If you scroll down, you’ll see your lifetime statistics.
Related: The best Marriott Bonvoy credit cards
Bottom line
Qualifying for lifetime Marriott status is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s also important to remember that Marriott adjusted its lifetime program in 2018 when it merged with SPG. As a result, it’s entirely possible that future program updates could change the requirements for lifetime Marriott status.
Outside of the lifetime Platinum Elite dashboard, the lifetime status benefits aren’t enhanced. You’ll also miss out on Choice Benefits, which are only available once you accrue at least 50 elite night credits during a calendar year.
So, we don’t recommend going out of your way to earn lifetime Marriott Bonvoy status. Instead, consider lifetime status with Marriott Bonvoy a reward for many years of staying with Marriott brands.
Additional reporting by Ethan Steinberg.
