Does Mobile Check-in ruin your Chance at an Upgrade at Marriott International Properties?

Just a couple of months ago, I wrote about how I was getting pre-upgraded for upcoming stays at Hilton properties even though I am just a Gold member. Two days prior to my stay at the JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach, I was invited to complete a mobile check-in for the stay via the Marriott International app and I was a little apprehensive since my previous experience with digital check-ins on the Hilton Honors app have been disappointing (well before they started pre-upgrading elite members anyway). 

My reservation was made for a Deluxe Room (one category above the lead-in room) at the JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach and this is the default room that I book since the Studio Rooms do not have a bathtub (which I value). When I opened up the Marriott International app, I can see that my reservation details are correct and I am given the opportunity to state both my arrival time as well as to request for a late check-out timing. Since I am a Platinum Elite member, I am given the option to request for a late check-out up until 4:00PM. However, for some reason, I have completely missed that option when I first completed it and therefore, I submitted the mobile check-in without selecting a late check-out time. 

I only realised that i did not request for a late check-out on the night prior to my stay and since this is extremely important to me, I decided to pull up my reservation and ask for a late check-out using the chat function (which turned out super well). Honestly, I was not expecting a reply until the next morning but I got a response within minutes - the late check-out time of 4:00PM was also confirmed (Platinum Elite members get guaranteed late check-out at non-resort and conference properties) on the spot which I thought was fairly impressive. 

On the morning of my arrival date, I received a push notification saying that I have been upgraded for the stay. According to what I have read online, a lot of these upgrades are processed overnight by the duty team and therefore, I must have gotten extra lucky this time round (since I was only upgraded to a room with a partial view of the Marina Bay area the last time). 

Once I opened up the Marriott International app, I can see that I have been upgraded into a '1 Bedroom Junior Suite' which I later found out that it mapped to a Deluxe Suite (which is gorgeous and you should head over to my Instagram profile to check it out!) over at the JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach. Therefore, I probably wouldn't say that completing a mobile check-in would ruin your chance at an upgrade at all. In fact, I will definitely be using this feature proactively (especially the chat function) to secure a late check-out timing as well as to try my luck at a future upgrade. I am excited about the year ahead with Marriott International as a Platinum Elite member and it is looking rather promising in this part of the world.