Marriott’s new loyalty program doesn’t offer a lifetime status level higher than 50 nights. The old Starwood program didn’t either.
However the old Marriott Rewards program offered lifetime 75 night elite status, and those who achieved that status in the legacy Marriott program, got to keep it.
Starwood elites weren’t going to be given that opportunity. Many Starwood members were unhappy and some of the longest tenured most loyal customers petitioned for a change. Marriott lifetime elites were able to get lifetime 75 night status, while Starwood lifetime elites — even those that had stayed more than Marriott’s had — would top out at 50 night status. Ultimately Marriott relented.
Lifetime 75 night elite status, now called Titanium, was offered to anyone that achieved 750 nights and ten years of Platinum status by the end of 2018. Marriott declared that “this is the last year Lifetime Platinum Premier Elite status will be offered.”
However it turns out that it is still possible to earn lifetime Titanium status, or apparently at least 37 years of Titanium status, by buying a Marriott timeshare. mattcng reports,
Just attended a Marriott Vacation Club presentation. At the end of the presentation, they were enticing everyone to sign up, according to what tier you choose, you get an additional benefit of either “lifetime” (which means 37 years) of gold, platinum or titanium & 400,000 – 500,000 MR points. No need to meet the night requirements of the respected elite status.
For example,
Select tier of the Marriott Vacation Club. You will be paying in total, over the 37 years, $120,000USD for the equivalent 5,700,000 MR points, 2cents per point. And 37 years of Platinum. Good Deal?
Presidential tier of the Marriott Vacation Club. You will be paying in total, over the 37 years, $150,000USD for the equivalent 15,000,000 MR points, 1cents per point. And 37 years of Titanium. Good Deal?
So it seems this is the last year that lifetime Titanium 75 night elite status will be offered by Marriott based on stay activity but if you fork over cash for a timeshare partner it can still be yours.
Marriott hotel owners are also given Titanium status. And that’s presumably lifetime – the lifetime of owning a property and having it associated with Marriott.
I actually don’t think Titanium status is that much better than 50 night Platinum. You get a 75% bonus on points earned for Marriott spend instead of 50% and the possibility of suite upgrades at Ritz-Carltons; earning it gets you 5 more suite night awards or other choice benefit, . That’s not a lot for 50% more nights. The real incremental benefits of 24 hour check-in and an Ambassador don’t kick in until 100 nights and $20,000 annual spend, and is not achievable on a lifetime basis.
As a result I see 50 night status as the sweet spot — and you can earn that with lifetime nights or $75,000 spend on the premium co-brand Amex card.
Just use the money you would have spent on the timeshare and create a super Titanium status by actually buying what you want….and not limited to the timeshare locations.
Getting LT Titanium status doesn’t give you the SNAs/choice benefits each year
@UA-NYC my reference to it being not a lot of extra benefit for 50% more nights meant to convey that I was comparing earning the 2 levels, not holding them lifetime, I have clarified (I hope)
I think the biggest difference between platinum and titanium is united silver status honestly.
“Lifetime” status is a bit of a misnomer as Marriott surely takes the position that it can change its program at any time in any way for any or no reason or end it altogether. Depending upon state law, Marriott Vacation Club owners may be in a better position than loyalty program members in the event of program changes or elimination since presumably their LT status is part of a contract of sale (language incorporating the Marriott Ts & Cs notwithstanding).
@UA-NYC, not having any SNAs or choice benefits is why I consider LT Titanium to be less than annual Platinum even though LT Titanium earn more points per dollar.
It’s definitely not worth one tenth of that cost, but IMO UA Silver is the only perk of Titanium that has me wanting to requalify.
You certainly won’t find me stepping foot on United planes enough to otherwise earn that.
@RabbMD
Pity it’s United. The old Starwood Delta status was a better benefit
I was able to hit LT Titanium last year by transferring my Marriott points to my SPG account and transferring them over to my fiance and having her send them back to me to recycle the points to hit the 2M mark.
Gary:
I am a 5 Star Elite member of Vistana (own at least 3 timeshare weeks). Under Starwood we were Platinum. Under Bonvoy, we Platinum Elite. The corresponding timeshare owners under both Marriott and Ritz Carlton received Titanium Elite Status. Vistana 5 Star Elite owners protested and we were told that it would change. I have not seen the change as yet. What do you know about the situation.
5 Star elite owns 5 weeks. I made a mistake.
How many lifetime titanium members are there? Is this a large group?
I attended a timeshare presentation with Marriott/Sheraton/Vistana in Kauai.
They offered quite a bit including a gold status which I already have. Also, I figured that based on $120k to “own” a timeshare, I can earn $6,000 at 5% return plus $2,500 annual fee. In theory I can stay for 7 days with $8,500 by not buying a timeshare. The manager didn’t like what I shared and he walked out.
So why would a higher status be worth it unless you travel for work and your company pays for your hotel?
Can you explain how many time shares or vacation club points you need to become titanium for life?can you also explain what elite benefits if any you are entitled to if you are staying on reward points . Also can you comment on Marriott bonvoy (chase) vs bonvoy Amex brilliant.
I received my Lifetime Titanium Elite Status package today, with a lovely letter and a card that is heavy and metal with my name and status upon it. It’s pretty nice. I am a big fan of how Marriott has treated me over the many years of travel, and this is a nice benefit, now that I am focused on personal travel. The letter reinforces the 75% point bonus on eligible stays; Lounge access and comp. wi-fi, late check out (4PM) and says thanks.
I am a Marriott Fan, for the most part.
Honestly I think it really sucks. I’m on my 10th year at 75 stays average over the last 10 years… And I will not get titanium for life. That means no upgrades at Ritz Carlton unless I keep spending for 75 nights… But I know a 35-year-old guy who has titanium status for life because for 10 years his company has put them up…
It really sucks. It’s A beautiful benefit, and to take it away makes me not like this brand.
I agree with the above post. I also was on my 10th year during the merge and averaging 75+ nights.
I had 9 years Platinum with well over 600 SPG stays but no Marriott stays.
Had I given 1 year of business to Marriott and earned status, I would be lifetime titanium.
I finally just qualified for Lifetime Platinum and Ambassador for 2020 but its bittersweet as will never get Lifetime Titanium. So much for loyalty to starwood….
Jared, I think you are mistaken about what it would’ve taken to get Lifetime…If you had given one year to Marriott, assuming X nights that year, you would’ve still had only 600 combined nights across the two programs…and wouldn’t have qualified under the merger terms they used.
I was on my tenth year of Starwood Platinum last year during the merge, and found it VERY frustrating (as did the Plat Concierges who were left in the dark) that they couldn’t ever seem to tell us how things were going to be handled…I passed enough nights for my 10th year of status a few days after the merger in August…which I later learned meant I would have to wait several months more when my nights could be combined across both programs…I still ended up with LTE, but it took a little while into 2019 for the system to update it…and in the late summer I had SOME Marriott people telling me I was nowhere near it, because they didn’t think I had nearly so many years of Platinum (because of the way the years counted in Starwood…they were seeing when I qualified, not the year for which I was qualified, etc…it was a MESS…and panic ensued on more than a few occasions)….In the end, I had enough nights across both M and S to get LTE…still a little frustrated that I lost some bonus points for the back half of 2018 when I couldve been LTE a little sooner if I’d had good info and just shifted a few nights to S vs M just prior to the merger dates in Aug when they stopped issuing new status and told everybody to wait until early 2019 for “combined” points and nights statuses….For me, it all worked out in the end…but it was PAINFUL…to be in the FINAL year of a 10 year goal and having NO intel on how one would be treated….well, it sucked…M nights were cheap compared to S nights…and I’m glad they made shifts to recognize that a lifetime P guest at S was worth more recognition than a M guest with comparable nights…and yeah, as one poster said…the card is cool!
I agree, each time I call I get a different answer. 2018-2019 I have been titanium . I need 34 more nights, this does not include four weeks, plus, Marriott points. There is no more I can buy or use. Pulse Bonvoy points. This year I have been paying for stays out of my own pocked. Where’s the loyalty for none working seniors?
I plan to spend about 200 nights a year in hotels. As a traveling doc starting out i had almost 600 nights in the last two years. They took away lifetime titanium, now i’m trying to stay at Hyatts & Hiltons. Mariott is for just enough to hit 50 nights – or actually 35 paid/award nights.
The new bonvoy left many people in the dust! I have over a thousand nights in 9 years and was 80k points away from the 2 million. I have far exceeded the 2 million threshold and am still never going to be eligible for the lifetime titanium. Makes me want to try Hyatt on for size.
AUDIT LOCK (Freeze) on one’s Marriottt Bonvoy acct even if you are LIFETIME TITANIUM ELITE member.They use it as a secret ‘blackmail tool’ on those with MVCI time shares converting into Marriott reward points, if there is any kind of dispute! I learned it after nasty encounter.
After being member of Marriott since 1999 along with member of MVCI (with 5 time shares) I became a LIFETIME Titanium Elite last year with over 3 Million Rewards points in Marriott Bonvoy acct ( ******179) Now, MVCI is forcing to sell (send back deeds of my 5 time(3 in Hilton Head and 2 in Orlando) shares,(for which I had spent 75K+) back to MCVI WITHOUT any compemsation. There were errors in registration (of names) of those in deeds bought in or around Sept 1999 via resale froma Marriott agent (Wayne Williams).). They added my children as tenants in common instead of my directed SPECIFIC request under ‘joint survivor ownership clause. Now I am supposed to sign the deeds back to MVCI (WITHOUT any compensation to me!) they are demanding that my children (now grown in different cities/Countries) also sign with a notary, which is logistical nightmare for me. They are all over the country+ in foreign country. I told them to confiscate my time shares on their own and leave me alone! They keep harrasing, hounding and lately a blackmailed by putting a freeze (now removed!after I paid the fees) ) over my Marriott Bonvoy Rewards account . Early this year (NOT NOW!) they (MVCI & Marriott Bonvoy) tried /trying to harass and blackmail me, by putting AUDIT LOCK on my Marriott Bonvoy (marriott rewards) Rewards account containing more than a 3 Million (yes M) points.
Audit Lock means I CANNOT REDEEM my points for ANYTHING – hotel rooms, airmiles etc. Essentially it is frozen until I have to pay pending fee of over 8K+( which I paid using Marriott VISA cc) for timeshares I never used! The resale office in Orlando FL, apparently headed by Mr. Alphonso Petty is involved from the very beginning. They could have CONFISCATED my 5 times shares ( 3 in Hilton Head and 2 in Orlando) at any time last(2020) year, even without compensationg me for those timeshares (paid close to 75K to Marriott agent Mr. Wayne Williams in Sept of of 1999. I sent all the documents to resale office (Mr. Alphanso Petty). Instead I was forced pay additional 8K+ to remove the FREEZE aka AUDIT LOCK on my Marriott Bonvoy rewads account. This is a nightmare, a bitter experience, unexpected from a global Corp like Marriott! I just wanted them to confiscate my ALL 5 time shares and leave me alone
Being a life time Titanium Elite member means NOTHING to them. Imagine what do to others!?
IT is NOT all roses for being long time -Titanium Elite members!
Buyer Beware
We’re titanium elite members for life. We earned this status bc we had over 10 years of platinum elite. I absolutely love Marriott. We are also Hilton elite, but I’m biased to Marriott. I can go into any Marriott Hotel, and I know exactly what I’m getting. They ensure every hotel runs, and looks identical. We’ve been Marriott members for 20 years now, and we haven’t stayed in any other hotel chain except Marriott and Hilton, during this time. I believe both chains are the best. Of course staying at the Ritz and J.W.”s are the ultimate in luxury. I love staying in those suites, for vacation. They’re the best of the best.
I’m topped out with Lifetime Platinum Elite at Marriott, but still a few hundred nights to go for Lifetime Diamond with Hilton. Guess who will get most of my nights for as long as that is true…
What are the extra benefits of Lifetime Titanium Elite? I can only find benefits for plain old Titanium Elite. I have been Lifetime Titanium since about 2019. I understand it is no longer possible to attain Lifetime Titanium.
If anyone knows of where I can access a list of Lifetime Titanium Elite benefits, please post.
Thank you.
@richard – Lifetime Titanium benefits are the same a Titanium benefits. The only difference is that you don’t have of earn out the 75 nights each year and if you do not earn them out, the only difference is that you will not receive the 50- and 75-night annual choice benefits.