O Marriott, Marriott, wherefore art thou so stingy with the nights? And, while we’re at it, did anyone remember the status match?
Since last year, the British banking market has been busily rolling out quasi-miles products.
Brexit brought not only a new wave of emigration but changes to banking regulation too.
No miles credit card pyramid schemes of the kind they have in the United States just yet. But some peculiar debit products are being churned out by the dozen.
One of a whole crop of such projects is the Marriott Bonvoy Debit Card by Currensea.
And here’s another example, a collab with United.
What a time to be alive in the UK!
The top tier of Currensea piles on 15 nights for an annual fee of £175 ($235).
Until now, in the UK and EU, only Amex handed out annual nights.
The annual fee on the Amex Marriott Bonvoy credit card is £95 ($130), and it adds 15 nights to your status count.
So for £270 ($365) you start not with a bare backside in a Cancún hostel, but on Marriott Gold with 30 nights in the bank.
Plus 20k points from Amex and 30k from Currensea — one for the road.
As we all know, this year Marriott did its flock out of double elite nights. And a simple top-up to Platinum with ten nights has, in my case, turned into yet another quest.
Since the account was starting from zero, getting a status match over the phone was no trouble at all.
But we’re not like… I won’t point any fingers 👉.
In truth, I didn’t want to lose the five Nightly Upgrade Awards, which you don’t get when you’re matched to Platinum.
So, as Jason Statham famously never said:
“Give your breakfast to your enemy, be patient with your upgrades, and remember there’s no such thing as a lounge at a City Express.”
