My Hotel Elite Status – How I Did in 2024 and Thoughts on Hotel Loyalty Going into 2025

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tl;dr – A quick rehashing of the hotel loyalty programs I earned status within 2024 and my (tentative) plans for pursuing status in 2025. 

As we are officially into 2025, it would be worthwhile to rundown where I landed with hotel statuses in 2024 and give a peek into my plans for this year. Let’s jump into it! 

Hotel Status I Earned this Year

I was busy with hotels this year. I entered 2024 as a Hyatt Globalist and Marriott Bonvoy Platinum member, with no status at Hilton or IHG. For 2025, I re-qualified as a Hyatt Globalist with 61 nights and moved from Platinum to Titanium with 77 Marriott nights. I stayed three nights at one Hilton property in 2024 and zero nights at IHG hotels.

It might come as a surprise, but 42 of the 61 nights I earned with Hyatt were through methods other than hotel stays. I earned one elite night credit from gifting a GOH certificate to a familiar member for their stay. Five nights came from holding the World Of Hyatt Chase Visa Card, and a whopping 36 nights came from credit card spend on that same credit.

I earned 30 Bonvoy elite night credits by starting the year with the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card from Chase and the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card (I canceled the AMEX card a few months into the year). The remaining 47 nights were all hotel stays, so I spent quite a few nights this year turning out the lights at Marriott properties. 

Titanium status with Marriott is still below the top-tier Ambassador status I held during the pandemic. Still, for reasons I’ll expound upon below, there’s only marginal utility at being anything higher than a Platinum member with Marriott. That said since I was looking at ending the year just shy of the necessary 75 nights to become a Titanium elite, a handful of nights got me over the hump. 

Hotel Status Plans for 2025

It’s hard to talk about my hotel loyalty strategy for 2025 without at least touching on whether hotel status is worth it. My answer? It depends. A sweet spot for all four core hotel chains is a balance between ‘cost to acquire the status’ and ‘realized benefits from this status.’ There’s also the underlying (and very personal) question, ‘Does this hotel chain have properties I’m interested in staying at?’ When you measure this balance and factor in this underlying question, you can more easily determine whether chasing status is worth it. 

Here’s my core four hotel chain loyalty chase takes going into 2025: 

Hilton Honors

Top-tier Diamond status can be had simply by being an American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card cardholder. Suppose the $550 annual fee is not off-putting, and you stay at Hilton regularly enough to use the executive lounge access, continental breakfast (or daily food and beverage credit), and space-available room upgrades. In that case, this is an easy route to meaningful hotel benefits. 

Will I chase Hilton status in 2025? No, not at least the traditional way. My sticking point with Hilton has always been the lack of interesting properties worldwide. Unlike Hyatt and Marriott, Hilton doesn’t have as many soft brands – upper market, independent hotels that help fill out the portfolio. Hilton has sought to remedy this through its partnership with Small Luxury Hotels partnership, as well as innovative team-ups with brands like Under Canvas and Autocamp. That said, if I take out a hotel credit card in 2025, it will likely be solely the Hilton Aspire to attain Hilton benefits for any SLH stays I may book.

IHG

IHG’s loyalty program has always been a bit cumbersome to me. Top-tier Diamond status requires nights 70 nights, which, in my book, is a steep commitment, particularly as there aren’t the same elite night credit boosts for being an IHG credit cardholder as there are for Marriott cardholders. While the IHG One Rewards Premier card comes with IHG Platinum status, this tier doesn’t guarantee members complimentary breakfast, and upgrades are prioritized in favor of Diamond elites. Thus, to really maximize your chances of room upgrades, early check-in/late checkout, and complimentary breakfast, you need either 70 nights or a targeted status match offer to enjoy IHG Diamond status. 

Will I chase IHG status in 2025? Nope. In addition to the high barrier for entry I described above, I am even less excited about IHG’s global portfolio than I am about Hilton’s. Many hotels from IHG’s top luxury brand, Six Senses, don’t participate in the IHG loyalty program. Thus, you’re often better off booking with a travel agent, so you can use travel programs to guarantee enhanced benefits (resort credits, upgrades, breakfast). 

Marriott Bonvoy

It’s not uncommon to encounter inconsistencies across Marriott’s portfolio, but one thing the chain has in colors is options. They’re the biggest chain globally by a clear margin and are fairly well represented across the globe at all different thresholds—luxury down to extended stay. The presence of stronger soft brands makes it easier to find unique properties wherever you travel. 

Will I chase Marriott status in 2025? Yes, but no higher than Platinum Elite. As mentioned earlier, I stepped up from Platinum to Titanium with Marriott. This was mainly unexpected but then somewhat planned when I crept close to 70 nights in early December and decided to go for Titanium. Going into 2025, I don’t intend to shoot for anything higher than Platinum –  here’s why.

I don’t feel a material difference between benefits or recognition at each successive level to justify the additional investment necessary to get to that next level.

My experience with Marriott has primarily been positive – I’ve received some bucket list upgrades to presidential suites and penthouse suites. There have been many complimentary amenities, like wine, charcuterie plates, etc. The thing is, these benefits didn’t come more frequently at Ambassador than they did at Titanium. Additionally, the recognition I received as a Titanium wasn’t noticeably better (or more frequent) than that of a Platinum elite. (I was an Ambassador for nearly two years before dropping to Titanium and finally dropping to Platinum). To be clear, I am grateful for the elite status recognition I’ve received over the years, and I would say that if you are comparing skip-levels – Ambassador to Platinum, there is a tangible difference, but it isn’t as noticeable going from one level to the other. Thus, when you factor in the investment to attain the highest level – Ambassador, it becomes clear that it just isn’t worth it – Ambassador requires 100 nights and $23,000 of spend. Titanium requires 75 nights but no spending – a significant commitment to Marriott brands that may not net you much better treatment than if you had stayed just 50 nights. 

Platinum is the sweet spot; I’m afforded free breakfast and eligible for complimentary, space-available room upgrades, with just 50 elite nights – 15 of which I’ll receive simply by holding the Ritz Credit Card. At the start of 2025, I’ll also be two years away from lifetime Platinum status, so that’s more impetus to shoot for the low end of Platinum but nothing higher while enjoying the slightly higher Titanium status throughout the year.

Hyatt

I’ve been a Hyatt Globalist for three years, and it’s been worth it.  My rooms have almost always been upgraded, and lounge access and complimentary breakfast at participating locations have been helpful and even luxurious at some properties. Hyatt’s portfolio is widely diverse, too – their multi-year acquisition spree has beefed up the number of soft brand hotels, and Hyatt’s leadership has continually identified the luxury segment as a focus area for new openings. All of that makes it exciting to be a Globalist. That said, there is not much value to holding a lower status than Globalist in Hyatt’s loyalty program. Hyatt Explorists don’t receive complimentary breakfast or lounge access and are not eligible for complimentary suite upgrades or complimentary upgrades to club-level rooms. You need 60 elite night credits for Globalist status, which is quite an investment. 

So, will I chase Hyatt status in 2025? Probably not – at least not organically. There are a few reasons why this one is complex. First, 60 nights is a lot to spend with any hotel chain. While I am excited about Hyatt’s future growth plans and openings, there are so many destinations I plan to travel to where I’m likely to stay elsewhere other than a Hyatt. Secondly, Hyatt’s milestone awards program allows members to earn (and gift!) Club Access Awards (CAAs), Guest of Honor awards (GOHs), Suite Upgrade Awards (SUAs), and Free Night Awards (FNAs) as you hit certain elite night thresholds (20, 30, 40, 50 nights, etc.) throughout the year. On my way to Globalist in 2024, I accumulated several of these milestone awards – all of which I’ve yet to use, as many of the benefits afforded are duplicative of core Globalist status benefits. That said, these benefits are beneficial if you aren’t a Globalist. Since members can give these benefits to other Hyatt members, there’s less incentive to chase 60 nights and see if you can score a SUA, GOH, or CAA for an upcoming stay as you need. In many ways, Hyatt’s willingness to let members’ share the wealth’ makes it less attractive to chase Globalist status, and frankly, I’m not sure I will.

Conclusion

I was lucky enough to qualify for Hyatt Globalist and step up from Platinum Elite to Titanium Elite with Marriott Bonvoy. That said, the cost-benefit analysis doesn’t work out in a way that will allow me to continue my heavy patronage of these programs in 2025. Hilton’s top-tier Diamond Status can be achieved by successfully applying for the Aspire card, which is possible for me in 2025. IHG, as a chain, has a lot to figure out before I’d consider it an attractive option. The incentives within the Marriott portfolio don’t justify chasing anything higher than Platinum Elite, and Hyatt’s Milestone offerings make it easier to forgo Globalist. 

I’d love to know where you ended up in 2024, and your status plans for 2025 in the comments!