One of the benefits of earning Platinum Elite status with Marriott is free breakfast, but not at all brands. Some brands, instead, give you only a $10 per day food & beverage credit. And some brands are completely exempt from offering free breakfast. That’s confusing enough on its own before considering that specific rules vary not just by brand, but also sometimes by country. And sometimes specific hotels within participating brands have their own exemptions. Whew. The only thing more confusing than Marriott’s free breakfast benefit is their rules regarding qualifying for their credit cards. For the latter, I did my best to simplify things in the post “Are you eligible for a new Marriott card?” Regarding breakfast, use this post as your guide…
Brands for breakfast
At a high level, Platinum Elites (or higher) can figure out whether they’ll get free breakfast based on hotel brand, as follows:
No Breakfast for You Brands
These Marriott brands do not offer free breakfast for elite members:
- Design Hotels
- EDITION
- Gaylord
- Marriott Executive Apartments
- Marriott Vacation Club
- Ritz-Carlton
$10 Breakfast for You Brands
These brands offer the Platinum Elite member and one guest, $10 per day food and beverage credit (e.g. total of $20 per day):
- AC Hotels*
- Courtyard (except those with a lounge)
- Moxy Hotels*
* Outside of the U.S., Canada, and Europe, AC and Moxy Hotels offer a max of $10 per day instead of $20.
Free Breakfast Brands
The following brands usually offer free breakfast for the Platinum Elite member plus one guest either in the restaurant as a welcome gift choice (e.g. when checking in, you can select free breakfast, points, or sometimes another option as your welcome gift) or in the lounge as a Platinum Elite benefit.
- Aloft
- Autograph Collection *
- Courtyard with lounge
- Delta Hotels *
- Four Points
- JW Marriott *
- Le Méridien
- Marriott Hotels *
- Protea Hotels
- Renaissance Hotels *
- Sheraton
- St. Regis
- The Luxury Collection
- Tribute Portfolio
- W Hotels
- Westin
* At these brands, Marriott differentiates between those that are hotels and those that are resorts. At resorts, the Platinum Elite member gets free restaurant breakfast for self + 1. At hotels, the Platinum Elite member gets lounge access. When the lounge is closed (which is common on weekends and during pandemics), they’ll instead offer daily continental breakfast for 2… unless the hotel is one of the free breakfast exempt properties…
Free Breakfast Exemptions
As described above, at the following hotel brands (but not their resort equivalents), the Platinum Elite member gets free lounge access: JW Marriott, Marriott Hotels, Delta Hotels, Autograph Collection, and Renaissance Hotels. However, lounges are frequently closed on weekends and during pandemics and so you should get free continental breakfast for 2 when that happens. However, here is a list of shameful properties that are allowed to give you nothing but a few points when their lounge is closed:
- The Algonquin Hotel Times Square, Autograph Collection
- Boston Marriott Copley Place
- Boston Marriott Long Wharf
- Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile
- JW Marriott Essex House New York City
- JW Marriott New Orleans
- JW Marriott San Francisco Union Square
- JW Marriott Washington, DC
- The Lexington Hotel, Autograph Collection
- Monterey Marriott
- New York Marriott Marquis®
- Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
- Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel
- Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel
- Renaissance Los Angeles Airport Hotel
- Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel
- Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel
- Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel
- Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Free For All Brands
These brands usually offer free breakfast to all guests regardless of status:
- Element
- Fairfield
- Residence Inn
- SpringHill Suites
- TownePlace Suites
Breakfast Details
The following chart shows my current understanding of the specific breakfast benefit to expect at each brand:
| Hotel Chain | Daily Breakfast Benefit | How to Qualify |
|---|---|---|
| Design Hotels, EDITION, Gaylord, Ritz-Carlton, Marriott Executive Apartments, Marriott Vacation Club | None | N/A |
| AC Hotels, Moxy Hotels outside of U.S., Canada, or Europe | $10 Food & Beverage Credit Per Night | Platinum Elite Welcome Gift choice |
| AC Hotels, Moxy Hotels within U.S., Canada, or Europe | $10 Food & Beverage Credit Per Night for member + 1 guest (e.g. $20 total per night) | Platinum Elite Welcome Gift choice |
| Courtyard | $10 Food & Beverage Credit Per Night for member + 1 guest (e.g. $20 total per night) | Platinum Elite Welcome Gift choice |
| Courtyard w/ lounge Lounge Access (or daily breakfast for 2 if lounge is closed) |
Platinum Elite benefit | |
| JW Marriott, Marriott Hotels, Delta Hotels, Autograph Collection, and Renaissance Hotels | Hotels (Not Resorts): Lounge Access (or daily breakfast* for 2 if lounge is closed) |
Lounge Access is a Platinum Elite benefit |
| Resorts: Breakfast in restaurant per night of Stay for Member +1 |
Restaurant breakfast is a Platinum Elite Welcome Gift choice | |
| St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Tribute Portfolio, Four Points, Aloft, Protea Hotels | Breakfast in restaurant per night of Stay for Member +1 | Platinum Elite Welcome Gift choice |
| Sheraton, Le Méridien, Westin | Lounge Access + Breakfast in restaurant per night of Stay for Member +1 | Lounge Access is a Platinum Elite benefit. Restaurant breakfast is a Platinum Elite Welcome Gift choice |
| Element, Fairfield, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, TownePlace Suites | Breakfast Buffet | Free for all guests |
* In the U.S. and Canada, when the lounge is closed, you are entitled to continental breakfast for you plus one guest. In Europe, there is no “continental” restriction. It’s unclear what happens outside of the U.S., Canada, and Europe when the lounge is closed. See also the list of properties that are allowed to offer points instead of free breakfast in the “Free Breakfast Exemptions” section above.
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