How To Use A Marriott Free Night + Points
As noted above, you can now expand the value of a Free Night Award with up to 15,000 Bonvoy points from your account. This feature applies to Standard Room Types and PointSaver redemptions only. Unfortunately, you cannot book upgrades or suites by adding points to a Marriott Free Night Award.
Fortunately, the booking process couldn’t be easier. Here is a property that costs a little more than the value of my 35K certificate:
After selecting this hotel and choosing a room type, I am automatically presented with the option to top off my Free Night Award with an additional 2,000 points from my account.
Heres The Offer For The New Marriott Bonvoy Members:
New Marriott Bonvoy members can get a free night certificate after two stays.
The way Marriott deposits various certs to member accounts is very confusing. Why show them with 0 value and canceled?
I would assume that Marriott uses some legacy and outdated systems for managing its loyalty program, and this is the best they were able to come up with. When Marriott purchased Starwood , they chose Marriotts legacy system over a more modern solution that SPG was using.
Where Can You Use A Marriott Free Night Certificate
Once you’ve got a free night certificate, you’ll want to use it wisely. Here are some of our favorite options.
And remember, if you have a certificate that can be redeemed for properties costing 35,000 points per night, you’ll soon be able to apply up to 15,000 Bonvoy points to book a property costing up to 50,000 points per night.
Have a 50,000-point free night certificate from the Bonvoy Brilliant Card? You’ll soon be able to apply up to 15,000 points to book a property that costs up to 65,000 points per night.
But for the purposes of this list, we are focusing on properties that have base rates bookable with either certificate.
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The Coral At Atlantis Autograph Collection
This Autograph Collection hotel is classified as a category 6. So in order to use a Marriott free night certificate at the property, you’ll need to book during an off-peak time or have a 50,000-point certificate issued from the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card.
It has a superb location near Marina Village. If you were paying cash for a night at the property you can expect to pay between $300 and $400 depending on the time of the year.
The Coral at Atlantis. Photo courtesy of
How To Spend The Welcome Bonus
In March, Marriott began pricing its award nights dynamically, meaning the price in points of a night at any given hotel can fluctuate from day to day. But for the rest of 2022, most Marriott properties will keep award prices within their former peak and off-peak ranges, making now the best time to lock in stays.
With 100,000 points, cardholders can book some of Marriotts most aspirational propertiesincluding the St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort in the Maldives. There are several award nights priced below 100,000 points throughout the remainder of 2022, and with the ability to top off the 85,000-point free night certificate with up to 15,000 points, the welcome bonus on its own will get you most of the way to two free nights there.
Another option? Use the points for more nights at a less expensive propertyand bring the cards annual free night into the mix. Koloa Landing Resort at Poipu, a member of Marriotts Autograph Collection on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, shows several nights of 50,000-point availability throughout this November and December. With the 50,000-point annual night certificate, the 100,000 welcome points, and the welcome night certificate, you could put together a four-night trip.
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If You Want To Use Your 35000
While its always a bummer when a loyalty program makes customer-unfriendly choices, Marriott has at least softened the blow with the ability to top up your annual free night certificates. By taking advantage of this new option, members can unlock additional value on the free night certificates offered by their co-branded credit cards.
What Is Marriotts Free Night Top Off
Similar to IHGs flexible free nights, Marriotts free night top-off expands the use of annual free night certificates. FNAs from the and Annual Choice Benefit are valid at hotels requiring 35,000 to 85,000 points per night. With the top-off benefit, you can redeem up to 15,000 points per night for a hotel exceeding the value of your free night certificate.
In light of Marriotts dynamic pricing model, top-off awards can offer tremendous value. You wont have to let your free night expire just because you cant find a hotel at the specified rate. The benefit isnt as generous as IHGs because the points co-pay is limited to 15,000, but it still expands the usability of your free night awards beyond a limited category.
For example, award nights at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne Miami range from 50,000 to 61,000 points per night in the summer. With the Free Night Top Off, this property is attainable for those with both a 35,000 or 85,000-point night FNA.
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Track Your Marriott Free Night Certificates With Awardwallet
The only downside of earning Marriott free night certificates is having to keep track of them. Nobody should have to go through the pain of realizing you accidentally let one expire. Thankfully, AwardWallet makes it easy to keep tabs on all of your free night awards.
If you add your Marriott account to AwardWallet, you’ll receive reminder emails whenever your certificates get close to expiring. This makes using them a lot easier.
Le Mridien Maldives Resort & Spa
One of the newest and nicest Maldives resorts is also one of the best values using a Free Night Award. The Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa can often be booked for under 50,000 points. That means a free night can be booked with a 50K certificate or a 35K certificate plus up to a 15K Bonvoy point top off on many nights.
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Mira Moon Design Hotels Hong Kong
Average cash rate: $250
Standard points rate: Category 5
Legacy SPG Design Hotels often do a great job incorporating local culture into their…well, design, and the Mira Moon Hong Kong is no exception. Dragon motifs and bright auspicious splashes of red are scattered throughout the hotel, which offers easy access to Victoria Peak and some of Hong Kong’s best nightlife.
Alternatively, if you’d rather stay across the harbor in Kowloon, another Design Hotel The Mira Hong Kong is also eligible for free night redemptions and boasts equally artsy and modern decor. I had the chance to stay at both properties during various trips to Hong Kong in 2018 and location aside, I far preferred the design, service and food at the Mira Moon to that of the Mira.
Is Marriott Bonvoy Worth It
Considering the fact that , joining the Marriott Bonvoy program is a no-brainer. You’ll get some instant perks just for being a member, and you’ll get the chance to earn points with each paid stay you complete with the brand.
If you’re a frequent traveler for business or leisure, this program is even better. You have more hotels to stay in when you travel, and you’ll have just as many hotels to consider when it comes time to book your points. You can even skip ahead to Marriott elite status just by having the right credit card, which can lead to more rewards and perks right away.
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How To Get More Marriott Bonvoy Points
Suppose you need extra points for a Marriott top-off award. In that case, you can transfer them at a 1 to 1 ratio from Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. United Airlines elite status holders can also convert their United Mileage Plus miles to Marriott points at a 1 to 1 ratio through.
Remember that transferable rewards from Chase and Amex are often more valuable when redeemed for flights. You can possibly get two or more cents per point out of these currencies. So be sure to compare the cash rates of a Marriott award before transferring points to book a top-off award. If youre redeeming an extra 15,000 points for a top-off award, you could be trading in points valued at $300 or moremake sure the room youre booking is worth the extra cost.
No Refunds For Cheaper Stays
When you book award nights with travel rewards, the cost of the room in points is exactly what youll pay when redeeming. So, if a room costs 30,000 points, you will pay that exact amount.
However, when you use a free night award, you wont get any points back if you use the award for a hotel night that costs less in points.
Lets use Marriott as an example. Depending on which Marriott credit card you have, you might either have a free night certificate worth 35,000 points or 50,000 points. If you use a 50,000-point certificate for an award night that costs 40,000 points, you wont get 10,000 points refunded back to you.
This can make it feel like youre not getting your moneys worth.
Rita King, a traveler who lives in Warrensburg, Missouri, found herself in a similar situation with her IHG anniversary night certificate.
Some of the problem is that I want a great redemption, so I dont think to use the certificates when were staying a night at, for instance, the airport even though I realize saving the money or points is better than missing out on using the perk, she says.
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The St Regis Kuala Lumpur
Photo courtesy of St. Regis Kuala Lumpur
If youre interested in visiting the capital of Malaysia, youd have the opportunity to use your 35,000-point certificate at one of Marriotts more luxurious brands. The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur is conveniently located in the middle of the city, close to the KL Sentral transit station. From here, its easy to explore the sites and landmarks of the city, including the Petronas Twin Towers.
You can also sit back and relax in this Category 5 property and catch views of the Kuala Lumpur skyline as you enjoy the hotels dining options, spa, or a drink at the rooftop bar. You can expect the cash price of a standard room here to be at least $150 per night.
How To Redeem Your Marriott Free Night Certificate
The process for redeeming your Marriott free night certificate is simple and straightforward.
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How To Redeem A Marriott Free Night Award
Fortunately, the actual booking process to use these free night awards is very straightforward. Once you reach your card’s anniversary, the certificate should be automatically deposited into your Marriott Bonvoy account within eight weeks of that date. You can check whether it’s arrived by logging into your account, clicking on “Activity” and finding the “Earned Awards” section.
Jw Marriott Anaheim Resort
Photo courtesy of JW Marriott, Anaheim Resort
Its hard to get much closer to Disneyland than by staying at the JW Marriott, Anaheim Resort. This newly opened JW Marriott Category 7 hotel typically takes 60,000 points on a standard-priced night, but in the offseason, you can snag a night for 50,000 points. This will put you in one of Marriotts more luxurious hotel brands and give you the perfect location for your Disneyland adventure.
If you have flexible dates, its not hard to find 50,000-point availability in the months leading up to summer and the high season. For cash prices, you can expect to pay around $500 for a standard room.
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Combining Marriott Awards Certificates And Paid Nights In A Single Booking
The latest Marriott promotion offers double points and double elite nights on stays of two nights or more provided you register for the promotion in advance . The catch is that in order to get double elite night credit, at least one night must be paid. We have received many reader questions about how to go about combining paid and award nights. While weve been pointing readers to an old post written by Julian Kheel that explains how to mix paid nights with award nights , I came to realize that many readers were still confused, particularly when it comes to combining paid and award nights with free night certificates. Given the ability to stretch extra value out of free night certificates that in many cases may be set to expire on August 1st this year, it felt worthwhile to refresh Julians old idea with a new post .
Note that you cant combine free night certificates with a spouse, but you can combine points
This post is about how to combine your own points and free night certificates issued under your own account with nights paid at the cash rate.
On the other hand, keep in mind that Marriott allows you to share points with any other member . The terms used to state that such a transfer was free as long as one member had Gold elite status or higher, but it seems that there is no longer an elite status requirement . This can be done over the phone with Marriott customer service . In my experience, the transfer is instant and the points can be used right away.
Jw Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa
Average cash rate: $320
Standard points rate: Category 5
After bouncing several times between category 5 and category 6, Marriott ultimately decided to leave the JW Marriott Phu Quoc as a category 5 property, eligible for free night certificate redemptions. This is incredible news for anyone traveling to Southeast Asia.
Set on the island of Phu Quoc off the south coast of Vietnam, this hotel combines French colonial architecture with some vibrant and lively colors. Originally built as a French university in the 1890s, each of the 234 guest rooms and suites is entirely unique, adding to the hotel’s charm. With five on-site restaurants and bars and a massive stretch of private beach, the JW Marriott Phu Quoc effortlessly blends comfort and relaxation.
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Great Uses Of Marriott 35000
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Sometimes it’s harder to justify paying the annual fee on cobranded hotel credit cards that offer relatively fewer perks. That’s especially true during the pandemic, when some benefits offered by premium credit cards have become less useful. A notable exception to this rule of thumb is a hotel card that offers an annual free night upon account renewal. Marriott has extended the validity of its free night awards through Aug. 1, 2021, which is hopefully enough time for most folks to put them to good use after the coronavirus vaccine has been distributed.
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In the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, there are four primary co-branded cards offering an annual free night worth up to 35,000 points:
Let’s take a look at six of my favorite redemptions with this certificate — to help you plan for when travel gets back into high gear.
Now Live: Top Up Your Marriott Free Nights Using Up To 15000 Points
We’ve seen a lot of Marriott Bonvoy news recently, and a change announced four months ago is finally here.
Last year, announced plans to eventually shift to fully-dynamic pricing for its 8,000+ properties. And last month, this change went live for some hotels. However, the loyalty program did announce that that you would soon be able to add up to 15,000 points to your free night certificates that come with select . This would open up properties that cost more points.
While there was no date in the original announcement, the ability to “top up” your Marriott free nights is now live.
Here’s how it works.
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How Much Are Marriott Points Worth
While this value is low compared with flexible rewards programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards®, it’s a very good redemption value for hotel loyalty points. In fact, we value Hilton Honors points and IHG Rewards points are just $0.005 each.
Generally speaking, hotel points are valued lower because they’re so easy to earn. With an abundance of hotel credit cards and opportunities to earn hotel points, this drives down the value of each point.
But when you use Marriott Bonvoy points strategically, you can increase their value.