Marriott Ambassador Elite changes coming in 2023

Marriott just announced upcoming changes to the Ambassador Elite level of its Marriott Bonvoy rewards program. These changes will take effect in 2023 and you might want to know about them now before you try to start requalifying for Ambassador status.

What is Ambassador Elite level?

The Ambassador Elite level is another level of Marriott Bonvoy, the hotel chain’s rewards program for guests. Ambassador Elite is the top tier level of the program. 

Qualification Requirements 2022

The requirements to become an Ambassador Elite are pretty steep. You need to satisfy both of the following requirements.

• 100 nights a year with any Marriott property
• $20.000 spent on your stays in the same year

The hardest to reach is the spent requirement, as only cash counts which you spent on room rates and services, but taxes are excluded from the calculation.

There is still time to qualify for the status in 2022. But you must make sure you checkout on December 31st, 2022, and have $20k in spend with your last stay to qualify before the changes take effect. More about them later.

Ambassador Elite Benefits 2022

Titanium Elite can be achieved with 75 nights a year at Marriott properties and there is no spent requirement. With Titanium status you get the following benefits:

• 75% Bonus Points
• 4 p.m. late checkout (based on availability)
• Points, Breakfast Offering, or Amenity as Welcome gift
• Room Upgrades are based on availability and include selected suites
• Dedicated Elite Support
• Lounge Access at properties with a lounge. Including complimentary breakfast
• Annual Choice Benefit
• 48-hour Guarantee. Get a room when you book by 3 p.m. local hotel time 48 hours ahead, they will always have a room for you.

Once you qualify for the Ambassador Elite level you get the following benefits in addition to the above-mentioned benefits.

• Ambassador Service
• Your24™: Flexibility to choose your 24-hour check-in and checkout time.

An overview of the different status levels of the Marriott Bonvoy program can be found on Marriott’s website.

Review of the Ambassador Benefits

I have been an Ambassador Elite now for a few years and with my constant travel habits, I can say the benefits are not really worth anything at all. But let’s break it down.

Ambassador Service

You used to get a dedicated person in the ambassador team to help you out with your reservations. That person got to know you and your travel habits. Marriott stopped assigning personal ambassadors to members and you could either call in or email the general ambassador team. Your request was then processed by whoever picked up your message in the ambassador team. 

To be honest, there was nothing which the normal Marriott customer service team could have done too. Now you might think you don’t have to wait as long on hold when you call in, wrong. I have been on hold for very extensive times while calling the dedicated ambassador team number. Some of the team members there lacked a lot of knowledge of the actual program as well.

My biggest pet peeve was to get Marriott to finally realize that Android users were not able to see their free night certificates in the Marriott Bonvoy app. I heard so many contradictory answers by different agents, it was just unreal, and I basically gave up. Finally, Marriott redesigned their app for both iOS and Android and now everyone was finally able to see the free night certificates.

Overall, I gave up using the Ambassador Service at all. It is just quicker to make your reservation in the app or online and call the hotel for any issues or changes you want to make. 

Your24

Well, the idea behind this benefit is nice. Basically, it gives you 24 hours at a hotel room. For example, you can check in at 9 a.m. Monday morning and then check out at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. Supposedly it should also work when you check in at 10 p.m. Monday and then check out at 10 p.m. Tuesday. According to a chat with an ambassador team member it should even work over the course of a multi-day stay. For example, check in on Monday at 10 p.m. and then check out on Thursday at 10 p.m.

Marriott has extremely limited information on their website about this benefit.

However, there are so many hoops you must jump through to make this benefit work. You better bring a week’s worth of time to set up Your24 stay. First of all, you must make the request 48 hours in advance. Then you have to see if the hotel even participates in the Your24 service. The “good” thing about this is that there is no information about which properties will allow you to use this benefit. You can call the Ambassador Service and ask them, but they want you to make a booking first so they can check if they can apply for it. This is completely useless if you have to gamble. I would rather go to Las Vegas and gamble there. My chances are higher in Vegas than at Marriott.

Since I hold the Ambassador Elite level, I was never able to make use of this benefit even once. I even gave up on trying. For me, this benefit would be great if your journey gets interrupted and your red-eye flight gets cancelled and there is no other flight until the next night. This way you can check in late at the hotel and have a late check-out the next day to catch your flight. I was hoping to use that benefit when there was the big snowstorm in Seattle a few years back and I got stranded overnight in the city as my flight got cancelled. But remember you must request this benefit 48 hours in advance and can’t do it at the last minute. This is completely useless for me, as my trips are usually booked within a week, most of the time only a few days before departure.

Ambassador Status Changes for 2023

As mentioned, Marriott will make some adjustments to the Ambassador Elite level. Actually, there are only two changes. One good one and one awfully bad one. Let’s start with the good stuff first.

Personal Ambassador Service

Marriott is re-introducing the personal ambassador. Members who hold the Ambassador Elite status will get a personal Ambassador assigned who will get to know you and help you tailor your travel experience accordingly. Marriott will start assigning personal ambassadors in mid-2023 which will then reach out to all the members to get to know them. It is nice to have this one-on-one connection back and a person you can actually talk to. But is this worth the new…

Qualification Requirement as of 2023

To become an Ambassador Elite in 2023 you need to meet the following criteria.

• 100 nights at Marriott properties
• $23.000 in spent at Marriott properties.

Yes, that’s a whopping $3k increase to qualify for ambassador status just to have a person to talk to? I don’t know about that. As I never really used the ambassador service, I became self-sufficient and got to know the Marriott program and how it works, I am not sure if I need an ambassador. I definitely will see what comes mid-2023 when my personal ambassador contacts me. Maybe the service finally gets the much-needed improvement, and it makes sense to have a personal ambassador. Only time will tell.

Conclusion

You still can lock in the ambassador status through February 2024 with the lower requirements, when you qualify this year. Starting next year, you must shell out 15% more money to qualify for the status. 

The elite nights you earn with Marriott’s co-branded credit cards still count towards your qualification requirement. This has not changed. The biggest problem is spending. Credit Card spend on other than Marriott properties does not count towards your qualification.

Will I go out of my way to earn Ambassador Status next year? Most likely not, but the problem is, I might earn it either way as I live in hotels, and I just qualify that way for it. This year alone I spent more than 190 nights at Marriott properties and spent even over the $23k requirement which will be implemented next year. 

Let’s see how it goes. Are you going to qualify for ambassador status again? Is the $3000 extra a big hurdle or is it worth it to have the new one-on-one connection with an ambassador team member?

Peter

Peter has a passion for Traveling, Photography, and Geocaching. These are the best ingredients for amazing adventures all over the globe. “Traveling is fun, no matter if you stay in a luxury hotel or travel like a backpacker.” Peter shares his experiences on his Blog www.gatetoadventures.com
Some of Peter’s photos are published on corporate websites, in-flight magazines, travel guides, and much more.

gatetoadventures.com