Boardingarea.com’s Gary Leff of View from the Wing recently posted about a change in wording on the Marriott Rewards website regarding room upgrades for elite members. New to the fine print for Platinum members is the following: “… every time you check in, we’ll do our best to upgrade you–at no additional charge–to our best-available guest room in the next room category level. Suites are excluded.” Leff points out that it’s not new that suites are excluded, but what is new is that the program is specifically stating that members will receive a guest room “in the next room category level.”

Bottom line: In the recent past, the wording for elite member upgrades stated that members would be upgraded to the “best available room” other than a suite so this looks like a downgrade for elite members. But as Leff points out, “Individual hotels will often go above and beyond the bare minimum required of them by the program,” so you might still luck out.