How to Claim Marriott Bonvoy Welcome Gift Guarantee

As a Lifetime Platinum member of Marriott’s Bonvoy brand, I have stayed over 1,000 nights and have had 9 years of Platinum status or higher.  During that time, I have seen both positives and negatives within this program with recent years seeing more devaluations of the brand that I would have liked.  The program has lost fixed point stays, increased the costs of stays significantly, and have allowed a minefield of exceptions to the program that requires you to have deep knowledge of the terms and conditions to understand your rights as a loyal member.  Despite the negative changes to the Marriott Bonvoy Program, there are still some excellent benefits that many people overlook.  Today, we talk about the Elite Member Guarantees, specifically, how you can take advantage of the Welcome Gift Guarantee.

What are the Elite Members Guarantees?

Marriott provides graduated benefits depending on your status within the program.  Each guarantee has its own terms and conditions and unique nuances, and each provides compensation if the guarantee is not met.

What is the Welcome Gift Guarantee?

Depending on the brand of hotel you are staying at, you are offered a choice of points or a food and beverage (F&B) credit. Typically, the gift is either a 1,000 Marriott Points or a $10 F&B credit on your account per stay (not per night).  As you move to more affordable brands, the benefits start to decline.  For example, at a Four Points or Aloft hotel, you are given the choice between 500 points per stay or breakfast in restaurant per night of stay for yourself and a guest.  You can find the details on what each brand’s Welcome Gift here.

What do Most People Choose as a Gift?

According to many of the front desk agents and managers that I have spoken to over the years, almost exclusively, points are chosen as the Welcome Gift.  While it is likely true that value of the points is less than the F&B credit from a monetary perspective, the food prices in hotels tends to be exorbitantly high, and quite poor value.  For example, on a recent stay at the Sheraton at the YYZ airport, a pound of chicken wings (~8 wings) was priced at a ridiculous $26 CAD.  As a result, more times than not, people choose the Marriott points as their Welcome Gift. If I were to peg a percentage, I would guess over 95% of people chose the points.  Why am I telling you this?  Because it’s an important piece of information that strongly influences the behaviour of front desk agents.

Assumption vs Choice

You many notice that I have bolded the term choice in the sections above and that’s because it’s the key word in the Welcome Gift Guarantee.  As a hotel within the Marriott Bonvoy program, each hotel is obligated to the terms and conditions of the program, just like a guest is.  As part of the terms and conditions, you are afforded these rights in regards to the Welcome Gift Amenity below: (bold highlights are my own):

4.3.c. Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Membership Benefits. In addition to all of the benefits Gold Elite Members receive, Platinum Elite Members and above are eligible to receive the following benefits:

iii. Elite Welcome Gift. Platinum Elite Members and above receive one Elite Welcome Gift (of their choice where multiple options are offered) on a Stay of one or more consecutive nights as described in 2.1.d, even if they check in and check out of the same Participating Property within 24 hours. The Elite Welcome Gift for Platinum Elite Members and above does not include the Elite Welcome Gift of Points which is for Gold Elite only (see 4.3.b). Members who select or receive Points as their Elite Welcome Gift and have designated their earning preference as Miles will need to initiate the transfer of Elite Welcome Gift of Points to Miles as described in section 2.3. If the Elite Welcome Gift is not offered at time of arrival, compensation applies (see below). City Express does not offer Elite Welcome Gift for Platinum Elite Members and above except at City Centro locations and properties in the United States and Canada. The Elite Welcome Gift is not offered at the following brands: StudioRes. Choices vary by Participating Brand:

Full details of the terms and conditions can be found here)

What Typically Happens at Check In?

When checking in, the front desk agent needs to complete multiple tasks in order to get you sorted.  They need to match your reservation to you using a piece of identification like a driver’s license or a passport.  They also need to see if you are eligible for an upgrade, take a look to see if there are any notes regarding your stay, and also take a form of payment.  Through all of that, they also need to make note of your loyalty level, thank you for your loyalty, and ask you for which Welcome Gift you would like.  Because of laundry list of check in items the front desk needs to get through, and the fact that 95% of people choose points as a Welcome Gift, there are many occasions where the agent assumes you want the points as your Welcome Gift, and that’s where your guarantee comes into play.

Assumption vs Choice

While I would say that most agents will ask you which Welcome Gift you would prefer, there are certainly some that will simply assume you want the points and say something to the effect of “as a Platinum member, you will receive 1,000 points for your stay.”

What has just happened in this situation is that the agent has pre-emptively taken away your choice of benefit, meaning that they do not satisfy the requirements of the guarantee and you, as the guest, are entitled to compensation.  Depending on the brand of the hotel, this compensation can range between $25 and $100 USD, with full service brands such as Marriott, Delta, JW Marriott, etc. offering the full $100 USD compensation.

Most people would think to themselves that because they wanted the points anyways, that this is just the agent being proactive and to simply move on.  While you are certainly welcome to do just that, I would encourage you to consider claiming the Elite Member Guarantee.

Flipping the Script on Confrontation

Let me first say that most people aren’t very keen to engage in anything that could be considered confrontational, so I’ll understand if this isn’t your cup of tea.  That being said, in order to make it to Platinum or above, you are required to stay 50+ nights a year at Marriott properties and that does not happen by accident.  You are entrusting your loyalty to a brand that is, in return, supposed to give you consistency in your stay.  This is the reason I often choose Marriott branded hotels rather than AirBNB’s because I know what to expect and I am often paying a premium for that consistency.

If you stayed at a Marriott branded for 49 nights and asked Marriott to provide you an exemption and grant you the Platinum status that comes with 50 nights, they are very likely to tell you that according to the terms and conditions, you did not meet the requirements to earn the status.  If Marriott is able to hold you accountable to terms and conditions of the program, you should be able to do the same with them when they don’t meet your expectations as an Elite Member.

Remember, this is a reciprocal program.  You provide them with your loyalty and you receive benefits.

I don’t think of this as confrontation, but rather the idea that I am holding them to account on the promise they made me when I started the journey to become an elite member.  How you go about it will ultimately determine how confrontational it feels to you or the agent.  The way I go about it is very fact based and non-confrontational, but I am certainly adamant in my demands because I have read the terms and conditions of the program and know what my rights are within the program.

How to Make the Claim – Welcome Gift Guarantee

Typically, when I check into a hotel, I do so actively listening to determine whether the agent provides me a choice in my Welcome Gift.  In the event that I am given the choice, I simply move on and enjoy my stay.  On the rare occasion that I am not afforded my choice in benefit, I will make a note of it in my head and go up to my room to freshen up.  Depending on how long I stay, I will typically go out and enjoy the town or city that I am visiting and upon my return, I will go up to the next available agent and give them the details of my check in and make a claim for my Elite Member Guarantee.  I also usually come armed with the Elite Member Guarantee webpage up on my phone to reinforce my claim.

I would suggest that when making the claim that you find a different agent than the one that checked you in, as it feels much less awkward because the front desk agent is very likely going to need a manager to weigh in on the issue and asking the agent that made the mistake to report the error to their own manager seems unnecessarily cruel.

For those that are looking for the exact wording I use when making the claim, it is something very similar to the following:

“Good Evening.  I am a Platinum member of the Bonvoy program and when I checked in this afternoon, I was not given my choice of my Welcome Gift.  As such I would like to claim my Platinum Member Guarantee.”

The agent will check your reservation and take a look at what happened during the check in and move onto the next phase of the discussion.

The Pushback

The likelihood of the agent agreeing to your claim and handing you over $100 USD is highly unlikely, and you will very likely be asked some clarifications on the claim.  Below are some examples of what an agent might say (in blue) and my suggested responses (in red).

“Mr. Loh, thank you for your loyalty.  I see here that when you checked in, you were given 1,000 points as the Welcome Gift for your stay.”

“That may very well be the case, but the Marriott Guarantee says that I am to be given the choice of either the points or F&B credit.  Because I was not given the choice of my benefit, the compensation of $100 USD applies.”

“Did you not want the points?  If that’s the case, I can change it to the F&B credit.”

“It’s not that I don’t want the points, it’s the fact that I was not given the choice.  It clearly states on the Platinum Guarantee website that the choice is given to the member.  It actually states it even more clearly in the terms and conditions of the program”

“I understand, Mr. Loh.  I’ll have to go speak to my manager to see what we can do.”

“Certainly”

Inevitably, the manager will come to the desk after being briefed on the matter, and you will very likely need to explain the situation again. During these discussions, I would strongly suggest that you remain level-headed but firm.  At no time should you be raising your voice or making it more difficult for them to deal with the situation.  I have found infinitely more success at being friendly but firm than confrontational and mean.

The Reward

During my 1,000+ nights I have made successful Elite Member claims well over 30 times, resulting in cash in hand or a credit placed on my hotel bill.  If you are on points stay, any credits on your bill will be refunded to the credit card you have on file.  The program is not clear on how the compensation is provided but in most situations, it has been cash, though it ultimately doesn’t matter.  If they are willing to provide the compensation, whether they provide it in cash, a credit on the bill, or points, the form of payment isn’t a hill to die on.

Tips and Tricks

While not entirely necessary, depending on the location of the hotel, you are likely to have the right to record your check in conversation as proof of your claim.  As an example, in Canada, one-party consent is required to record a conversation, meaning that if you are one of the parties in the discussion, you have the right to record to conversation without further permission.  This is also true in many countries in Europe but in the United States, each state has its own requirements.  Do your own research and stay on the right side of the law and do not take this as legal advice in any way or form.

During my claims, I have only had to provide proof in the way of a recording on one occasion, so it may be a moot point to provide you with this information.

If you are unsuccessful in resolving the claim prior to you leaving the property, ask the manager or GM to contact you with a resolution, either via email or phone.  In the rare occasions that I needed to leave the property prior to a conclusion, I have had 100% success at receiving a follow up and satisfactory resolution.

Failing a resolution at the hotel level, you can always lodge a complaint to Marriott Bonvoy’s Loyalty Program directly.  To do so, log into your Bonvoy account and go to the Contact Us page and choose the topic “Compliment/Concerns About a Stay”.

Conclusion

The Marriott Elite Benefit Guarantee program is a vital part of keeping consistency within the Marriott program and quite a key benefit for elite members, but only if you understand and use the benefit.  I have been successful in making these claims numerous times and have been told by the managers that this information is vital in providing training to front desk staff.

Approach the guarantee as an added perk that you can claim if you are not provided the benefits you are owed but keep it friendly and constructive.