citizenM is a small Netherlands-based hospitality group that operates hotels in Europe, North America and Asia. They have a paid membership program called mycitizenM+ where members get benefits such as discounted rate, room upgrade and late check-out.
A few months ago, citizenM suddenly came into the spotlight, because the group was to be acquired by Marriott! Thinking there might be some upside, I quickly participated in their status match campaign which granted my a year of free mycitizenM+ membership. Unfortunately they quickly terminated the campaign afterwards.
If you also managed to sneak in at the last minute, here’s some good news: mycitizenM+ will soon come with Marriott Bonvoy Gold status.
The announcement is already out, although there’s no official launch date yet. To be fair, Marriott tends to be generous when bringing new brands into the fold. Back when they acquired Starwood, the then-useless SPG Gold suddenly became Marriott Gold (equivalent to today’s Platinum!). This time, many people will again get a “free ride” into Marriott Gold.
Of course, Marriott Gold isn’t hugely valuable: while room upgrades and late check-out are nice to have, the key benefits – breakfast and lounge access – are missing. Honestly, it would’ve been better if they offered elite night credits instead of status, but that’s wishful thinking.
The mycitizenM+ membership itself costs £90 / €100 / $120 a year and it’s not really worth paying just for Marriott Gold. The membership isn’t bad on its own, but once citizenM is folded into Marriott Bonvoy, those benefits overlap and lose most of their appeal.
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