Marriott Bonvoy elite status has some impressive benefits. Once you accumulate 50 elite nights in a year, the perks get even better.
An annual choice benefit is one of the perks. You can choose a second annual Choice Benefit if you reach 75 elite nights.
Which choice benefit is right for you? Let's take a look at each option and see if it's worth the money.
You can choose your annual Choice Benefit on Marriott's website. Signing in to your Marriott Bonvoy account is necessary. Pick wisely because you can't change your selection once you make it.
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It's not easy to earn 50 or 75 elite nights in a year. Outside of completing actual nights at participating Marriott properties, Marriott provides a number of ways to reach these thresholds. Award nights are considered to be elite nights. Up to 40 elite night credits can be earned with Marriott Bonvoy credit cards.
You can earn 15 elite night credits each year if you hold a Marriott business card and have a Marriott card. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is an American Express card.
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card are Marriott cards. You will get 30 elite night credits each year through these cards. You would have 40 nights if you used the Bonvoy Business card with the Bonvoy Brilliant.
Does holding multiple Marriott Bonvoy credit cards makes sense?
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You will get your first annual Choice Benefit when you become Platinum Elite. You have options for the Choice Benefit.
The benefits are hard to value. Let's take a closer look at the options There are options that are not likely to work for most elite members.
Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status isn't worth much if you give it to another person. If the person you gift it to doesn't use it, it's worth nothing. There is a 10% points bonus on paid stays and priority late checkout.
If you know someone who wants elite status with Marriott Bonvoy, you could encourage them to apply for a card. The Marriott Bonvoy elite status is given to the following cards.
Which Marriott credit card is best for you?
You can choose to make a charity donation of $100 or more.
If you can't use any other annual Choice Benefit options, the $100 charity donation is a good choice. I would prefer to earn points and miles on a charitable donation to a charity of my choice and keep my ability to choose one of the other benefits.
You can give your points and miles to charity.
You can buy a new Marriott bed for your home if you like it. The Choice Benefit will give you 40% off a Marriott-brand mattress.
Most people don't want a specific hotel bed because of the Choice Benefit. This option is not applicable to a lot of travelers.
Making your home feel like a 5-star hotel is related.
Five elite night credits can be a good option for some travelers. If you're just a few nights short of leveling up to Titanium Elite this year, the elite night credits can be useful.
It might be a good idea to wait until the end of the year to choose your benefit. You might be able to close the gap if you go on a work trip or personal trip in the last minute. You have to choose your benefit by January 8, 2023.
There is a case for burning 80,000 points.
Each Suite Night Award can be used for a confirmation upgrade to select suites and premium rooms. Six Suite Night Award certificates are required to upgrade to a six-night reservation.
Marriott Bonvoy properties are where many members save upgrade for stays. It is possible to identify properties that make higher category suites available for upgrade. Not all Marriott hotels have Suite Night Award upgrades. If you have a particular property in mind, make sure that the property participates in the Choice Benefit.
You have a year in which to redeem your awards, after which they are no longer valid. If you choose five Suite Night Awards as your Choice Benefit, they will end in December of 2023.
Marriott upgrade certificates can be used.
You can earn Marriott Titanium Elite status after 75 elite nights. The 75-night annual Choice Benefit has a number of choices.
The choices here are similar to the ones available after 50 nights. The charitable donation, Suite Night Awards and 40% mattress discount have already been discussed. Since it is relatively easy to get Gold Elite status via credit cards, I won't discuss it further.
Let's look at the other two options.
I thought about how some travelers might choose the five elite night credits as the 50 night annual Choice Benefit to reach Titanium elite status. It makes sense for Titanium Elite members to choose it in order to become Ambassador Elite. Ambassador Elite status requires 100 elite nights and $20,000 in Marriott spending each year.
This option will only work if you have 95-99 elite nights and at least $20,000 a year with Marriott. The only way to get around the spending requirement is to be short on elite nights.
If you fall into this camp, you should wait until the end of the year to choose your benefit.
More Marriott Bonvoy points are being earned by me during the Pandemic.
One free night award worth up to 40,000 points is the last option.
The 35,000 point free night award certificates associated with Marriott Bonvoy cards are more valuable than the free night award.
The Marriott Bonvoy points are worth $336. This is definitely a good option. If you already have a lot of Marriott Bonvoy points and outstanding free night awards, you may want to consider another benefit.
This award will end in December of 2023.
The Marriott Bonvoy program can be used to maximize redemptions.
It makes sense to choose the free night award or suite night awards if you want to travel a lot.
Both options can be valuable. If you can use the Suite Night Awards before they expire and get a lot of value from the upgrade, this is the better option.
If you only have five or fewer elite nights left, the five elite night credits could be a good choice. If you're going to buy a Marriott-brand mattress, the 40% off discount is the best bet.
You might wonder what my husband and I chose for our benefits. Both of us earned Titanium Elite status in the year 2021. Each of us picked free night awards for our threshold benefits.
We decided to give away free night certificates because we haven't figured out how to maximize Suite Night Awards yet.
The Marriott Choice Benefit mistake is related.
Choice benefits are a great way to reward elite members. There are many options to choose from. It is worth considering which benefit will be most useful for you.
The additional reporting was done by Andrew Kunesh and others.
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