My Hotel Elite Status Strategy For 2026: I’ve Got Flexibility & Options

With it now being 2026, I thought it would be fun to share my hotel elite status strategy for the coming year. While I think the value of airline elite status has decreased considerably over the years (well, in many ways), I continue to greatly value hotel elite status, including for suite upgrades and more.

As we start a new year, let me share a general overview of how I’m approaching hotel elite status, what elite status tiers I am starting the year with, and intend to end the year with.

What my 2026 hotel stays will likely look like

Over the years, the average number of nights per year that I spend in hotels has decreased. Back in the day, I lived in hotels full time, so I suppose just having a home at all represents a reduction in hotel stays. 😉 Honestly, though, the older I get, the more I realize that no hotel bed can beat the comfort and familiarity of sleeping at home.

That being said, I actually think 2026 will be a year where I see an increase in hotel stays again, and that comes down to a couple of factors.

First of all, my mom passed a few months ago, after a long battle with cancer (I miss her every day… ugh… anyway). For over six years, I felt like I couldn’t actually make any long term travel plans, since we never knew how much longer she’d have (and she outlived all our expectations). For that matter, I’d spend almost all of my spare time with her, rather than traveling. So with my mom’s passing, I also once again have a bit more time to travel, and also have the ability to plan in advance.

Second of all, we now have two kids — Miles is around three years old, while Jet is around six months old. Having two kids is certainly an incentive to be as home as much as possible, since time flies. However, we are at the point where we actually see value in traveling with our older son (in the sense that we feel he gets something out of it), which is a relatively recent development. We’ve been doing a significant of travel with him, and plan to continue that going forward.

Beyond that, I anticipate my travel will primarily come in a couple of different forms. For one, I want to take several trips with my dad (who I wasn’t great about prioritizing while my mom had cancer, since I was so focused on her), and I also hope to take some trips with Ford.

Lastly, much of my remaining travel will come in the form of review trips, where I travel exclusively to review airlines, and in some cases hotels. For these trips, the goal is to be away from home for as little time as possible.

I hope that this will finally be the year where I can check out some of the places on my bucket list, and also stay at the points hotels that have been on my radar.

My 2026 hotel elite status strategy

Hotel loyalty programs can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they can offer valuable benefits and the ability to redeem points for free night awards. On the other hand, they can make us act irrationally, and choose overpriced and less charming hotels than you may otherwise find if you were a “free agent.”

Let me share how I’m approaching 2026 elite status with some of the major hotel loyalty programs. I’m starting the year with quite a bit of flexibility, between the status that I’ve earned the “hard” way, plus the status that I receive through other means, which doesn’t require much effort to maintain.

Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador status (earned)

Marriott Bonvoy has historically been my backup hotel loyalty program. While the number of nights I was spending with Marriott was decreasing with each year, that trend reversed a couple of years back. In 2024, I qualified for Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador status, which is probably the hardest published elite hotel tier to earn.

For some historical context, I had Ambassador status up until the start of the pandemic, but I then dropped to Titanium status, and then even to Platinum status. Fortunately I have lifetime Platinum status, so that’s not even a status that I need to earn, and I always have that to fall back on. However, there are still incentives to rack up elite nights, in order to receive Choice Benefits.

Marriott Bonvoy members can earn up to 40 elite nights per year with co-branded Marriott credit cards, like the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (review) and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (review). Furthermore, just for having the Bonvoy Brilliant Card, you receive Platinum status.

I ended up requalifying for the status this past year, so I have another year on the Ambassador “hamster wheel.” Frankly, I think I might even end up requalifying again, given that we have a Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruise booked this spring, which puts a good dent in the spending requirement for the status.

While my first full year back with Ambassador status hasn’t been that exciting, I plan to make full use out of it this year, and am planning lots of trips to Marriott properties that have been on my radar.

World of Hyatt Globalist status (lifetime)

World of Hyatt Globalist is my favorite top tier hotel status, and it ordinarily requires 60 elite nights or 100,000 base points in a year to earn. Fortunately I’ve earned lifetime Globalist status, so I get that status every year without having to actually qualify.

While the Milestone Rewards program is tied to the number of elite nights you rack up, lifetime Globalist members get quite a few of the rewards each year automatically, including four suite upgrade awards, a Category 1-7 free night award, five Guest of Honor awards, and access to My Hyatt Concierge.

While I’m hoping to qualify for Globalist status the “normal” way in 2026 (so that I earn even more Milestone Rewards perks), I’m not convinced that will happen, so I guess we’ll see!

Depending on how the year evolves, I might shift some credit card spending to Hyatt’s co-branded credits in order to earn more elite nights:

• With the World of Hyatt Credit Card (review) you receive five elite nights toward status annually just for having the card, plus an additional two elite nights for every $5,000 you spend on the card
• With the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card (review) you receive five elite for every $10,000 spent on the card in a calendar year

However, that also comes with some opportunity cost. Still, if it’s just an incremental top-off on otherwise earning 40 or so nights, maybe it’s worth it.

We’ll see how the year goes. I’m going to assume that I’ll fall back on my lifetime Globalist status, but I’m not ruling out the possibility of making it to 60 elite nights.

Hilton Honors Diamond elite status (credit card)

Hilton is a brand that has grown on me in recent years, thanks to how its luxury portfolio has grown. Furthermore, I appreciate how just for having the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (review), you get Hilton Honors™ Diamond status. On top of that, the $550 annual fee card (Rates & Fees) more than pays for itself based on all the other perks, which really add up.

However, I’m getting less excited about the program again, between awful points devaluations, plus the introduction of a new top tier status above Diamond.

While I don’t specifically seek out Hilton properties, I do find myself staying at Hilton when they’re the best option at a destination. From the perspective of chasing status, there’s limited need to stay with Hilton, though, since I get the status that I’d like just by having a credit card.

I usually complete a handful of stays at Hilton properties per year, and I suspect that will be the case in 2026 as well.

IHG One Rewards Platinum status (credit card)

The IHG One Rewards loyalty program was nicely revamped several years back, especially with the Milestone Rewards program. However, I just don’t love IHG’s portfolio overall, as well as the lack of good points redemption opportunities for luxury hotels, like at Six Senses properties.

IHG is very much my backup backup backup hotel program, after World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, and Hilton Honors. 😉 I have IHG One Rewards Platinum status, which is offered just for being a cardmember of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (review) and IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (review). The status ultimately isn’t that valuable, but it comes in handy for the one or two times that I do stay at IHG properties annually.

IHG is even more a hotel group that I only stay with if the brand has the best (by some metric) property at the destination that I’m visiting, or when I have a credit card free night award to redeem.

Virtuoso & other programs

The truth is that you don’t actually need to be loyal to a hotel group to receive elite-like benefits. There are all kinds of programs offering room upgrades, breakfast, hotel credits, and more, all based on the method you use to book.

These include programs like Accor Preferred, Belmond Bellini Club, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Hilton for Luxury, Hyatt Privé, Mandarin Oriental Fan Club, Marriott STARS, Oetker Collection Pearl Partner, Peninsula PenClub, Rosewood Elite, Shangri-La Luxury Circle, Virtuoso, and more.

I find myself booking through these programs quite often, regardless of whether I’m staying at a luxury points hotel, or whether I’m staying at an independent hotel.

Bottom line

My hotel elite status situation and strategy in 2026 looks very similar to how it did in 2025. Specifically, I have lifetime World of Hyatt Globalist status, and I have Hilton Honors Diamond status and IHG One Rewards Platinum status through credit cards. On top of that, while I have lifetime Marriott Bonvoy Platinum status, I’ve also qualified for Ambassador status for the second year in a row.

In the coming year, I think I’ll continue to be largely focused on Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt, since those are the two programs where I have the highest status, and generally have the best experiences (well, I appreciate Marriott more for its huge footprint than great elite recognition, but still…).

What’s your hotel loyalty strategy for 2026? Does it differ from past years?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (Rates & Fees).

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