Marriott's a Taste of Gold - a nice surprise

I've been a Marriott Silver member for about a year now, thanks to a promotion they ran last September. I used it to get Silver status on a new membership account, and then combined a previous account with some marginal points in it - something I was willing to risk losing but turned out well in the end. Ever since, I've stayed a reasonable bit at Marriott hotels. In fact, it is #2 on my list of nights stayed with hotel chains, where IHG leads at #1. 

Anyway, I was a little late in checking my email this morning, but when I did, there was small surprise from Marriott Rewards.



So I've been automatically upgraded to Gold, effective immediately, and the Gold benefits apply immediately as well. Turns out that this is the "Taste of Gold" promotion - rather a challenge - that's valid for 3 months (till the end of January 2015). The deal is as follows:
  • I get MR Gold status immediately - this gets me room upgrades, lounge access / breakfast for 2 people and complimentary internet
  • I need to have 6 stays with participating Marriott hotels before 31 January 2015, till which the Gold status will be valid
  • If I do meet the above requirement, the Gold status is extended till February 2016.

Marriott Rewards Gold can be rather useful, and I've been fortunate to have some stays that coincided with promotions, thereby giving me a healthy points and free nights certificate balance. Gold status normally requires 50 nights' stay from Silver (which itself requires 10 nights' stay), and gets you:
  • 25% bonus MR points
  • Guaranteed lounge access/breakfast for members and one guest
  • Complimentary room upgrade
  • Complimentary premium tiered internet service
  • Guaranteed room type
  • Hertz #1 Gold membership
  • Free local phone and local fax
  • Discounted long-distance phone calls

In particular, I like the extra bonus points, lounge access/breakfast, room upgrade and free internet. The last 3 of these alone can add up to a tidy sum, if paid for, and so I can see how this will come in handy for me. 

Strangely, this offer has been made without a request for status match, and that's the one point that intrigues me...is this targeted? Have you received a similar offer for elite status with Marriott? If yes, what's the deal you're being offered?

As an aside:

In the last couple of months, my view towards loyalty programs has changed / is changing a bit. I'm not sure if I'll have enough stays between now and January 2015 to meet the 6-stay requirement. If I get close, then I'll probably do a mattress run to keep the status going, but if not, then I don't plan to stress over it too much. Let's see where this goes.



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