What Are the Marriott Silver Elite Benefits?

Marriott Silver elite status is the bottom-tier elite status offered by Marriott. There’s not a whole to Marriott Silver to know about but since this is a frequently obtained status, it’s good to know what it offers. So here’s the rundown.

How to earn Marriott Silver status

To achieve or renew Marriott Bonvoy Elite Membership status, the following number of personal nights must be earned through stays at participating locations between January 1 and December 31 of any given year:

• Silver: 10 to 24 nights
• Gold: 25 to 49 nights 
• Platinum: 50 to 74 nights 
• Titanium: 75 to 99 nights
• Ambassador: 100 nights +  $20,000 U.S. dollars in qualified annual spend

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Coronavirus update

Marriott has offered some pretty solid coronavirus elite benefits.

The first benefit is that your elite status earned in 2019 will be extended to February 2022.

In addition you will receive a one-time deposit of 50% of your tier’s annual Elite Night Credit requirement based on your status from 2019. This means that those Members who achieved Silver Elite status in 2019 would receive 5 Elite Night Credits. Find out more details here.

Marriott Silver via Credit cards

You can also achieve Silver status (and above) with the following credit cards.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card offers automatic Silver status but you can earn Marriott Gold status by spending $35,000 in a year. That’s a lot in spend per year for a status that doesn’t even offer breakfast so I would rather put $35K to use in another way.

You’ll also be given 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year, which can help you reach Gold status much quicker since you’ll only be 10 nights away from reaching Gold. Free nights start out at 5,000 points per night for off-peak Category 1 awards and welcome bonuses can range from 75,000 to 100,000 points after meeting minimum spend requirements.

So after earning the bonus you could use 50,000 Marriott points to climb your way to Marriott Gold status since free night stays count towards elite status. Another great benefit of this card is that you get an annual free night for properties that cost up to 35,000 points per night. See how the Boundless card compares to some of the top hotel credit cards!

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card offers automatic Gold status and you can also earn Marriott Platinum status by spending $75,000 in a year. 

Platinum status will get you breakfast and lounge access but that’s a lot of spend for Platinum status and once again, I don’t think I would go for it.

Here’s a look at the other features:

• $300 in Marriott statement credits
• Bonus earning:
  • 6x at Marriott properties
  • 3x at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines
  • 2x on all other purchases
• Each calendar year you can receive credit for 15 nights towards the next level of Elite status
• Priority Pass Select membership
• Receive a statement credit every four years after you apply for Global Entry ($100) or TSA Pre√^® ($85) with your Card.
• No foreign transaction fees
• Free, unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi at more than 1,000,000 Boingo hotspots worldwide.

Platinum Card from American Express

With the Amex Platinum Card you can earn automatic Marriott Gold status along with Hilton Honors Gold status. The Platinum Card is also loaded up with additional benefits which include: 

• Priority Pass access for you and two guests
• Centurion lounges access for you and two guests
• Delta SkyClub access when flying with Delta
• $200 annual Uber credit
• $200 annual airline credit
• 5X on airfare and 5X on hotels booked through the Amex Travel portal
• TSA Pre-Check/Global Entry $100 credit

Marriott Silver elite benefits

There isn’t a lot that distinguishes Marriott Silver status from the basic Rewards Member tier.

As a Silver elite member, you’re not entitled to free breakfasts, lounge access, or even late check out. The only benefit that’s unique is that you’ll get bonus points for your stays.

Below is a breakdown of the benefits.

10% Bonus on Marriott Rewards Points

Marriott Silver elite members are credited with a 10% bonus on base points earned during stays.

You typically will earn 10 base points on your stay so this means that you will be earning 11 points per dollar spent.

The benefits below are also provided to Marriott Silver members though note that many of them are also available to basic Marriott Rewards members.

Priority Late Checkout

Marriott Silver elite status doesn’t provide you with guaranteed late checkout like you get with Gold or Platinum, but you can still get it based on availability.

Ultimate Reservation Guarantee

If Marriott is unable to honor your reservation, they will pay for you to stay at a nearby hotel they will even compensate you for the inconvenience. You can read more about this perk here.

5th redemption night free

Book 5 consecutive nights and the 5th night is free (this perk is available to all Marriott status levels but is worth mentioning). 

Free standard in-room Wi-Fi

All Marriott Rewards members enjoy free in-room Wi-Fi when they book through Marriott. While this is not unique to Silver member, it’s nice that you’re entitled to free wi-fi — just remember that you need to book through Marriott to get this benefit (at least according to the terms).

Marriott Gift Shop Discount

You’re entitled to a a 10% discount at participating Marriott-operated and managed gift shops.

Marriott Silver elite upgrades?

Upgrades are only explicitly provided as a perk to Gold and above members but that doesn’t mean that you won’t ever get one.

Since Silver is the bottom of the elite totem pole, you’ll want to ask for upgrades, though. In fact, I would probably even email the property ahead of time to inquire about availability-based upgrades if I were really trying to get an upgrade.

Final word

Overall, Marriott Silver elite status doesn’t have a whole to offer other than a bonus on points earned for stays.