Marriott Bonvoy, the world’s largest resort loyalty program, proudly walks the tightrope between rewarding loyal clients and protecting resort homeowners smiling all the way in which to the financial institution. Or no less than, that’s the purpose.
However let’s be actual—us miles and factors fanatics have had our justifiable share of Bonvoyed moments, the place “enhancements” to this system felt extra like a slap than a handshake.
On this submit, we’ll discover what Nightly Improve Awards are, how they work, and easy methods to take advantage of them.
What Are Nightly Improve Awards?
A fast refresher: Marriott doesn’t really personal the resorts below its identify. As a substitute, they observe an “asset-light” enterprise mannequin, which means they handle or franchise properties for resort homeowners. This little tidbit is essential in terms of one of many program’s huge perks for Marriott Bonvoy Elite Members: Nightly Improve Awards (previously often called Suite Night time Awards).
These Awards purpose to take among the guesswork out of upgrades, which, let’s face it, are sometimes extra of a chance. Certain, standing members are often within the working for suite upgrades at check-in, however it’s by no means a positive factor—you’ve obtained to appeal your manner by along with your finest “suite-talking” abilities.
And let’s not neglect how ambiguous the phrase “improve” could be. I nonetheless chuckle in regards to the time a resort entrance workers excitedly knowledgeable me I’d been “upgraded to the best flooring”—in a constructing that was solely 4 tales tall.
Fortunately, Nightly Improve Awards exist to supply a little bit extra readability and a much-needed dose of assurance on your subsequent keep, saving you from relying solely on smooth-talking or optimistic interpretations of “upgrades.”
How Do You Earn Nightly Improve Awards?
Nightly Improve Awards are earned as a part of your Marriott Bonvoy elite standing. Whenever you attain Platinum Elite standing by incomes 50 elite qualifying nights per yr, you’re invited to pick out an Annual Alternative Profit.
When it turns into out there, you’re in a position to decide on one of many following gadgets:
- 5 Nightly Improve Awards
- Present of Silver Elite standing to a buddy or member of the family
- $1,000 (USD) off your favorite mattress
- 5 Elite Night time Credit
- $100 (USD) charity donation
Moreover, in the event you’re in a position to obtain Titanium Elite standing by incomes 75 elite qualifying nights per yr, you’re given a further Annual Alternative Profit with barely totally different choices:
- 5 Nightly Improve Awards
- Free Night time Award value as much as 40,000 factors
- Present of Gold Elite standing to a buddy or member of the family
- $1,000 (USD) off your favorite mattress
- 5 Elite Night time Credit
- $100 (USD) charity donation
Nightly Improve Awards expire on December 31 of the yr following the yr through which they have been earned, so that they’re not one thing you wish to ‘save for sometime’.
If reaching 50 or 75 nights per yr appears daunting, keep in mind that the Marriott Bonvoy American Categorical Card and Marriott Bonvoy Enterprise American Categorical Card present 15 elite qualifying nights per yr, which is a wonderful solution to jumpstart your manner into standing with Marriott.
Marriott Bonvoy American Categorical Card
- Earn 55,000 Bonvoy factors upon spending $3,000 within the first three months
- Additionally, obtain an annual Free Night time Award value 35,000 Bonvoy factors beginning in your second yr with the cardboard
- Additionally, obtain 15 elite-qualifying nights yearly and automated Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite standing
- Bonus Bonvoy factors for referring household and buddies
- Annual payment: $120
In case you have entry to US bank cards, incomes elite qualifying nights turns into a lot simpler. With a mixture of the
US Marriott Bonvoy Sensible® American Categorical® Card and the US American Categorical Bonvoy Enterprise®Card, you possibly can earn as much as 40 elite qualifying nights. The Bonvoy Sensible Card gives 25 nights, whereas the Bonvoy Enterprise Card gives 15 nights, making this duo a strong device for fast-tracking your elite standing.
In case you have different US-issued private co-branded bank cards, such because the US Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Categorical® Card, the Chase Bonvoy Bountiful® Card, the Chase Bonvoy Boundless® Card, or the Chase Bonvoy Daring® Card, in addition to the Amex US Bonvoy Enterprise Card, you then’ll earn a complete of 30 elite qualifying nights (15 from the non-public card and 15 from the enterprise card).
It’s value mentioning the Bonvoy Sensible Card’s distinctive benefit: not solely does it grant 25 elite qualifying nights, however it additionally provides you an on the spot Platinum Elite standing. This implies these additional nights you earn are primarily helpful for buying Annual Alternative Advantages or working towards lifetime elite standing.
That mentioned, in the event you maintain each Canadian and US Bonvoy playing cards, remember the fact that elite qualifying nights don’t stack throughout borders. The utmost you possibly can earn stays 40 nights, achieved with the Bonvoy Sensible and Bonvoy Enterprise Card combo.
We are able to solely hope that, sooner or later, Canadian Bonvoy cardholders may additionally profit from such a setup. It might definitely stage the taking part in subject and be certain that throughout our home travels or staycations, we aren’t outshone by People cruising to elite standing with relative ease.
Whenever you hit Platinum Elite standing, selecting the 5 Nightly Improve Awards as your Annual Alternative Profit is often a no brainer. Nonetheless, Marriott’s current standing match with Air Canada, which upgrades Titanium Elite members to Aeroplan 25K standing, provides a brand new layer of worth. Due to this fact, this would possibly make pushing towards Titanium Elite standing worthwhile. In such circumstances, choosing 5 Elite Qualifying Nights as your Annual Alternative Profit might enable you to unlock this perk extra shortly.
At Titanium Elite standing, the choice turns into much more nuanced. The Free Night time Award value 40,000 factors is undeniably invaluable, however does it outweigh the advantages of 5 Nightly Improve Awards—particularly in the event you’ve chosen 5 Elite Qualifying Nights as your Platinum Annual Alternative Profit and end up with none Nightly Improve Awards readily available?
The reply relies upon completely in your journey fashion and priorities. When you’re planning a once-in-a-lifetime journey to locations just like the Maldives or Al Maha, the place suite upgrades can elevate your keep to one thing really unforgettable, Nightly Improve Awards might be the higher selection.
However, in case your journey plans lean extra towards city locations otherwise you’re not notably targeted on chasing luxurious suites, the Free Night time Award would possibly present extra general worth.
The best way to Redeem Nightly Improve Awards
When you fall into the center of this very uncommon Venn diagram, rely your self fortunate.
Right here’s the way you really make use of these hard-earned Nightly Improve Awards when you’ve earned them:
- Make a reservation: To find out which room sorts are eligible for Nightly Improve Awards at a selected property, you’ll must have an energetic reservation. Merely ebook your potential keep on the property you’re concerned about, after which verify to see which improve choices can be found for making use of your awards.Simply watch out in doing so as a result of some resorts have very strict cancellation insurance policies. Triple verify the reserving phrases and ensure you’re choosing a totally refundable fee.
- Discover your reservation:
Whenever you log into your Marriott account, click on on “My Journeys” and discover the reservation you wish to use your Nightly Improve Awards on. As soon as you discover it, click on on “View/Modify”.
- Begin improve request:
In case your resort participates in Nightly Improve Awards, you’ll see a banner that claims “Take an improve. You’ve earned it.” Throughout the banner, click on the button that’s labelled “Begin Improve Request.”
- Select your upgrades:
Right here, you’ll see the improve choices out there to you. The very best and most dear improve possibility is on the high of the checklist, with the worst possibility on the backside.One thing to bear in mind right here is which you can select a number of improve choices. When you solely select the highest possibility and it seems to be unavailable, Marriott is not going to routinely attempt to course of the next-best possibility until you particularly verify it off.
- Wait to see in case your Nightly Improve Award request is cleared:
When you submit your request for an improve, you’re finished – now to attend to see if the improve is processed, which occurs inside 5 days of your arrival apart from EDITION, Ritz Carlton, and St. Regis, the place the system will begin checking for availability at three days previous to arrival.
When you change your thoughts at any time previous to the improve being confirmed, you possibly can cancel the request had have your Nightly Improve Awards redeposited.
A Key Caveat to Preserve in Thoughts
Every Nightly Improve Award is legitimate for simply one night time, which means you’ll want a separate award for each night time of your keep. For instance, in the event you’re planning a six-night keep, you’ll want six Nightly Improve Awards in your account to use them to the reserving.
Sadly, in case your keep exceeds the variety of awards you could have, you gained’t have the ability to apply them to only a portion of your keep. Utilizing the identical instance, in the event you’re staying for six nights however solely have 5 Nightly Improve Awards, you gained’t have the ability to use any of them.
One potential workaround is to break up your keep into back-to-back reservations and apply your awards to the corresponding nights. For example, in the event you’re staying for six nights however solely have 5 Nightly Improve Awards, you might ebook a five-night reservation adopted by a one-night reservation, then apply the Nightly Improve Awards in direction of the five-night reservation.
Whenever you verify in, kindly ask the entrance desk workers if it’s potential to remain in the identical room for all the keep, explaining that you just’d desire to not relocate for the ultimate night time. In my expertise, resorts are sometimes beneficiant and can honour the upgraded suite for the complete length of your keep.
That mentioned, that is positively a “your mileage could differ” state of affairs, so handle your expectations accordingly.
How Do Nightly Improve Awards Work?
When you’ve made a reservation at a resort, you possibly can apply your Nightly Improve Awards to the reserving, as outlined earlier. The resort begins looking for out there upgrades 5 days earlier than your arrival and continues checking day by day till your keep begins.
In principle, Nightly Improve Awards are a implausible perk—who wouldn’t need a assured suite improve sorted out prematurely? When issues go easily, you’ll obtain an e mail confirming your improve as much as 5 days earlier than check-in, leaving no room for uncertainty.
In apply, nonetheless, success generally is a bit hit-or-miss. Denials could be extra widespread than you would possibly count on, particularly in the event you purpose for the resort’s highest-tier suites.
My technique?
I usually choose the highest-tier suite and the second-highest suite when making use of Nightly Improve Awards. For lower-tier suites or deluxe rooms, I typically go away it to probability and depend on suite-talking technique.
In case your request is denied, you’ll obtain an e mail confirming that you just weren’t profitable, and the Nightly Improve Awards will probably be routinely deposited again into your account.
The extra problem round Nightly Improve Awards is that there’s an enormous selection amongst resorts by way of which suites can be found for request.
For instance, you might even see an choice to improve to one of many higher-level suites, which might undoubtedly be a rating if it have been to be confirmed. However, the choices could be for a room with a greater view, which doesn’t actually look like a worthwhile use of Nightly Improve Awards.
Because you solely have a restricted variety of Nightly Improve Awards out there every year, the very best apply is to be selective about which stays you select to redeem them on. Your expertise is more likely to be elevated by utilizing them at aspirational resorts, even when competitors is perhaps increased.
When you’re denied, take a look at another upcoming reservations and apply your Nightly Improve Awards to a special keep.
Motels Not Collaborating in Nightly Improve Awards
As if clearing Nightly Improve Awards wasn’t sufficient of a problem, there’s an inventory of resort manufacturers that don’t take part in Nightly Improve Award redemptions in any respect. These resorts manufacturers embody:
- Ritz-Carlton Reserve®
- The Ritz-Carlton Membership®
- The Ritz-Carlton Residences®
- The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Assortment
- Design Motels taking part in Marriott Bonvoy®
- MGM Assortment with Marriott Bonvoy
- Marriott Govt Flats
- All-Inclusive Resorts
- Marriott Trip Membership
- Marriott Grand Residence Membership
- Sheraton Trip Membership
- Westin Trip Membership
- Houses & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy®
- The Phoenician Residences, a Luxurious Assortment Residence Membership, Scottsdale
Motels Collaborating, However Not Collaborating in Nightly Improve Awards
There are additionally occasions when Nightly Improve Awards aren’t out there for redemption, even when the resort model does usually take part in them. In different phrases, some resorts can merely select to not take part in this system.
Each resort has the flexibility to designate dates after they consider that suites will probably be occupied by paying company. That clearly leaves a number of wiggle room for resorts to not supply Nightly Improve Award redemptions below the auspice that the suites will probably be occupied, even when they find yourself not being occupied throughout your keep.
That is additional borne out within the catch-all language in Marriott’s Phrases and Circumstances:
Not all Collaborating Properties take part in Nightly Improve Awards.
There will probably be many conditions through which you both don’t see Nightly Improve Award redemptions out there, or they’re merely denied, solely to search out out later within the app that suites have been certainly out there throughout your whole keep. That is clearly fairly irritating and opposite to the unique intent of Nightly Improve Awards.
Why Don’t Motels All the time Honour Nightly Improve Awards?
Why don’t resort homeowners honour Nightly Improve Awards extra persistently? Whereas there’s no definitive reply, right here’s an informed guess.
Motels are compensated by Marriott for every certificates they honour, however the payout is probably going minimal. From the attitude of a resort proprietor, honouring these awards might imply leaving potential income on the desk.
If a set is upgraded for a Nightly Improve Award, it turns into unavailable for buy. Even when there’s solely a slim probability—say, 1-in-100—{that a} excessive curler visitor walks in final minute and pays full value for the suite, it’s nonetheless a extra profitable possibility than what Marriott possible pays out for the award redemption.
And that doesn’t even issue within the increased value of cleansing and servicing a set in comparison with a typical room.
One other disincentive is the character of Nightly Improve Award redemptions. They’re typically used at aspirational properties or throughout trip stays, the place the chance of a visitor changing into a repeat buyer is decrease.
For resort homeowners, this implies much less long-term worth in comparison with a enterprise traveler who would possibly return usually and contribute extra persistently to the resort’s backside line.
Whereas these upgrades construct loyalty to the Marriott Bonvoy model, they don’t at all times align with the monetary pursuits of particular person properties.
Conclusion
Marriott Bonvoy’s Nightly Improve Awards supply elite members an opportunity at securing suite upgrades with extra certainty, however their sensible use can typically fall wanting expectations. From restricted suite availability to inflexible software guidelines, they require a strategic method to unlock their full potential.
When you’re a Platinum Elite member, selecting Nightly Improve Awards as your Annual Alternative Profit is smart in the event you don’t plan to push for Titanium Elite standing or can already attain it with out the assistance of 5 Elite Qualifying Nights.
For Titanium Elite members, the Free Night time Award value 40,000 factors is usually the higher selection. Nonetheless, when you have a full five-night keep at an aspirational property on the horizon, choosing Nightly Improve Awards might add vital worth to your expertise.
Whereas Marriott’s efforts so as to add certainty by this program are commendable, there’s nonetheless room for enchancment. With some refinements, Nightly Improve Awards might turn out to be a very indispensable device for Bonvoy members sooner or later.
