Becoming an Ambassador in the Bonvoy program becomes more difficult
Reaching the top rung of Marriott's loyalty program from next year will be more difficult, or rather it would be more [...]
Marriott
Reaching the top rung of Marriott's loyalty program from next year will be more difficult, or it would be more correct to say becomes more expensive.
In this article:
Ambassador, the most exclusive status in the Bonvoy program
Until now, in order to obtain an Ambassador card, it was necessary to spend 100 nights minimum and spend at least $20,000 over the course of one year, from January 1 to December 31. From next year, the requirements change: the number of nights is still 100, but expenditure rises to $23k.
Given also theappreciation over the past year of the dollar against the euro, for us Europeans the increase is even more noticeable than for our American colleagues.
Did you get your flight cancelled, miss your connection, land late?
You could get up to 600€ compensation per person
Of course, in the face of this increase Marriott promises to re-introduce personal assistants for Ambassador users. Frankly, I find this service of little interest; the most attractive benefit of this level (upgrades aside) is surely the ability to choose check-in and check-out times.
With Your24h, in fact, the top tier Bonvoy may decide to check in at 2 a.m. and check out at 2 a.m. the next morning.
In conclusion
The problem is not the 100 nights, in fact often thanks to credit cards it is possible in the U.S. to accumulate 40/50 nights just because you have a certain credit card. Having to spend at least $23,000 is a requirement for everyone, and there are no fast tracks to avoid this barrier.
