How to Get ‘Status’ at a Hotel (and Use It at Other Chains)

When it comes to hotel status, there are two types of travelers: those who have it and those who don’t. And if you fall into the latter category, you might be wondering how you can reap the benefits that come with a loyalty membership. YYou don’t necessarily have to be loyal to just one hotel chain to reap the rewards. In fact, you can often use your status with one hotel company to earn perks at other chains.

Benefit from a hotel’s “status match”.

Typically, if you have hotel status with one chain, you can use that status to gain benefits at other chains via an “stattoo mah.” In this case, one hotel chain recognizes the status you have with another chain and offers you the status for a limited time in order to win your business. The benefits you get will vary depending on the chain and tier you’re associated with, but they can include room upgrades, free breakfast, late check-out, and more.

In order to use a Status Match you will need to contact the hotel chain you are interested in and provide proof of your current status – the process is usually fairly simple and straightforward. Usually the most accurate information comes from the hotel chain itself, so google “[hotel chain name] status match is a good place to start. Status Matcher allows users to report successful and unsuccessful status match requests for airline, hotel, and rental car programs.

Using status matches can be very lucrative. For example, I had some upcoming trips to Las Vegas and was able to match my Hyatt status with MGM Gold. This saved me from paying the resort fees at MGM properties (which are $39 a night!). Overall, I saved over $400 in resort fees in the few minutes it took me to achieve my status.

Get to the status faster with a “status challenge”

If you don’t already have hotel status or want to upgrade your current status, you can sometimes use an “scondition cChallenge.” In this case, a hotel chain offers you the opportunity to earn status by staying a certain number of nights in their properties or by spending a certain amount of money within a certain period of time. The requirements are lower than the normal requirements for gaining this status, and sometimes you will be offered the status for a limited time while you work to complete the status challenge.

Again, the benefits you get from a status challenge vary by chain, but can be quite generous. And since you’re basically earning your status from scratch, it’s a great way to get some extra perks on your next stay.

Earn status with a credit card

If you don’t already have status with a hotel chain, remember that many hotel credit cards offer basic status just because you have the card. These cards typically have annual fees of around $100, but they also typically offer a free night certificate with the hotel chain. Depending on how often you travel and whether or not you can take advantage of the card, this could be the case It’s worth getting a hotel credit card and even using this status to cross-check with other programs.