Marriott "Taste of Platinum" Challenge

I have an upcoming trip to Europe this fall, and although I have Hyatt Diamond Status, Hyatt does not have a big global footprint.

With the negative changes to the Hilton HHonors program, and a somewhat limited footprint with SPG, I was looking for other options.

Marriott has a large footprint globally, and I had already had plans for several stays with them during my upcoming trip, primarily due to the Virtuoso benefits with some of their properties.

Add to that the recent promotion from Ritz Carlton, in which you get one free night for every two stays, up to two free night from a Tier 1-3 property, and I thought this was good time to take the plunge.

I have had several stays with Marriott this year, due to their promotion along with having the Taste of Platinum Challenge in mind.

I called up Marriott Rewards and asked for the Taste of Platinum Challenge.  I was asked how many stays I had planned in the upcoming year.  I had also signed up for a Ritz Carlton Rewards number previously, but per the Terms and Condition of the program, you cannot have both a Marriott number and a Ritz Carlton number.  You can switch between the two as often as you like, but can't have concurrent enrollment.

I explained to the customer service representative my desire for the challenge along with my interest in the Ritz Carlton promotion.  He merged my Marriott and Ritz Carlton accounts, and switched me over to the Ritz Carlton program since I was interested in the Ritz Carlton promotion.  He ensured me that I had enrolled in the Ritz Carlton promotion, and told me that I had to complete 9 stays in the current month and the following 3 months in order to qualify for Platinum status until February 2015.

My status was changed online in a matter of hours, and my Platinum status was recognized on my first stay the following day.

Although the benefits of Marriott Platinum status seems lacking compared to Hyatt Diamond status, I was most interested in the extra 50% point bonus per dollar spent since the Hotel & Air package makes the best use of Marriott points.