The Offer
- Select Visa Signature & Infinite cardholders can get six months of free Gold Elite status with Marriott.
The Fine Print
- Not all cardholders will be eligible
Our Verdict
Gold Elite is the second highest elite status that Marriott offers, it usually requires 50 nights or more so this is a pretty good free benefit even if it’s only for six months. The best benefits of Gold Elite are the following:
- Lounge Access/Free Breakfast
- Complimentary room upgrades if available
- 25% bonus points on stays
- Enhanced Internet Access
You can view a full list of all the benefits that are available by going here.
Hat tip to Mile Nerd
If we already have a reservation, can we upgrade our reservation once we have this gold elite status or would I need to rebook everything? thanks!
I used the offer but my status still just says “Member” even though I got an email saying congratulations you’ve been upgraded. Does it take a couple of days to process?
Anyone care to publish the site they used to generate valid #s? Thanks in advance!
Or the BIN / Issuer Identifier Code that worked?
Sure, so use 400917. Head to http://www.elfqrin.com/hacklab/pages/discard.php. Click Visa, Chase Manhattan Platinum. Replace the digits listed with the bin above and click generate (you may need to turn off Adblock). Congratulations, you’ve got a Peruvian Visa Infinite!
I tested this and got to the next screen but didn’t register. Turns out a glitch from a Deloitte promotion reupgraded me to Platinum, despite only 3 lifetime nights!
Thanks! Worked great.
Don’t do this if you’re carrying a significant balance of points with Marriott. If they ban you (like Hilton did for some people), those points are gone.
Hilton banned a lot of people though. Buyer beware.
I can confirm that the HHonor gold trick works here. Just used 6 digits Issuer Identification Code + 9 digits random number + 1 calculated digit and was identified by marriot as valid card number. Will wait to see if the application finally go through.
I have 5 Visa Signatures and none worked for me. Oh well.
This reminds me of the offer Hilton ran a while back. You don’t technically need to have a targeted card, since they never charge it. You can generate a “valid” number in the correct range, and register using that. I just generated a card number in the Visa Infinite range for a random bank in Uruguay, and the initial page validated it happily. There’s a chance they actually make a test charge to it once you sign up, which wouldn’t work since it’s not a real number. I’m guessing they don’t go that far, though.
Also, note that this approach depends strongly on how flexible your ethics are. I just wanted to point out that the same approach a lot of folks used a few years ago with Hilton would probably work here as well.
Lol @ flexible ethics
Seems to targeted to Latin American cardholders only
Participation in this offer is by invitation only by Marriott Rewards® to select eligible Visa Infinite and Visa Signature cardholders in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina,Aruba,Bahamas,Barbados,Belize,Bermuda,Bolivia,Bonaire,Brazil.British Virgin Islands,Cayman Islands,Chile,Colombia,Costa Rica,Curaçao,Dominica,Dominican Republic,Ecuador,El Salvador,Grenada,Guadeloupe,Guatemala,Guyana,Haiti,Honduras, Jamaica,Martinique,Mexico,Montserrat,Nicaragua,Panama,Paraguay,Peru,Puerto Rico,St. Kitts and Nevis,St. Lucia,St. Maarten,St. Vincent and the Grenadines,Suriname,Trinidad and Tobago,Turks and Caicos,Uruguay,US Virgin Islands and Venezuela.