Till early 2024, Marriott Bonvoy members may choose Suite Evening Awards as Annual Selection Advantages. After I chosen my Marriott Choice Benefits on Jan. 2, I chosen 5 Suite Evening Awards as my 50-night Selection Profit.
Nonetheless, I knew Marriott would convert Suite Evening Awards to Nightly Improve Awards in early 2024. So, I wasn’t shocked when the Marriott Suite Night Award changes went live round Jan. 11. Here is what it is advisable to know concerning the new Nightly Improve Awards, together with what they’re and how one can use them.
What’s a Nightly Improve Award (previously Suite Evening Award)?
Nightly Improve Awards — previously generally known as Suite Evening Awards — allow you to verify an improve earlier than your keep to a normal suite or premium room at most Marriott Bonvoy resorts and resorts. The room varieties you’ll be able to get hold of with Nightly Improve Awards are designated by every collaborating lodge or resort however could embody suites or premium rooms with higher views, balconies, patios or additional area.
You need to apply one Nightly Improve Award per night time of your keep. So, in case you have a five-night keep, you need to use 5 Nightly Improve Awards. Nonetheless, it is necessary to grasp that Nightly Improve Awards can solely be utilized to current reservations for which you have paid an eligible Marriott Bonvoy fee or redeemed Marriott points (together with Marriott points-and-cash charges).
You possibly can request to make use of Nightly Improve Awards till 2 p.m. the day earlier than check-in in your keep. However, even in case you submit your Nightly Improve Award request months earlier than your keep, your request will not be thought-about till three days earlier than check-in (Suite Evening Awards used a five-day window for affirmation). And there is not any assure that your request might be authorized.
Moreover, the Marriott Bonvoy phrases and circumstances be aware you’ll be able to’t use Nightly Improve Awards on the following:
- Ritz-Carlton Reserve, The Ritz-Carlton Membership, The Ritz-Carlton Residences and The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Assortment
- Design Accommodations
- Marriott Government Residences
- All-Inclusive Resorts
- Properties & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy
- Marriott Trip Membership, Marriott Grand Residence Membership, Sheraton Trip Membership and Westin Trip Membership
- The Phoenician Residences, a Luxurious Assortment Residence Membership, Scottsdale
- Properties that don’t take part in Marriott Bonvoy
Fortunately, this implies you need to use Nightly Improve Awards at some manufacturers the place you could not use Suite Evening Awards — together with The Ritz-Carlton, Version Accommodations, Aloft, Aspect and Protea Accommodations.
TPG Director of Content material Nick Ewen checked his upcoming stays at a few of these beforehand excluded manufacturers, and he was pleasantly shocked to see all kinds of room selections for his Nightly Improve Rewards. This included the choice to request full suites at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes; Aspect Miami Brickell; The New York Version; and Aloft Chicago Magazine Mile. And on the Protea Lodge Fireplace & Ice! Cape City in South Africa, he may request some fascinating bi-level lofts together with his Nightly Improve Awards.
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The right way to earn Nightly Improve Awards
You possibly can earn Nightly Improve Awards as a Marriott Choice Benefit when you attain 50 and 75 elite night time credit inside a calendar 12 months. It’s also possible to earn Nightly Improve Awards as an Earned Selection Award if you spend a minimum of $60,000 on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card in a calendar 12 months. Nightly Improve Awards are the default possibility at these three milestones, however you’ll be able to select a special possibility at every milestone in case you favor.
For exercise inside the 2023 calendar 12 months, 5 Suite Evening Awards (not Nightly Improve Awards) had been obtainable at these milestones. However these Suite Evening Awards had been transformed to Nightly Improve Awards round Jan. 11. So you may now see Nightly Improve Awards in your account in case you chosen Suite Evening Awards at any of those milestones based mostly in your account exercise in 2023.
As well as, any earlier requests to make use of Suite Evening Awards previous to the transition to Nightly Improve Awards stay in impact. In that case, Marriott’s help page states, “Current Suite Evening Award™ requests will nonetheless be honored and authorized based mostly upon availability.”
Nonetheless, a Marriott spokesperson confirmed to TPG that the brand new, three-day window for confirming these requests will apply.
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The right way to use Marriott Nightly Improve Awards
You possibly can see what number of Marriott Nightly Improve Awards you will have and once they expire by logging in to your on-line account, clicking in your title within the higher right-hand nook and deciding on “Overview” from the dropdown menu. Doing so will take you to your default account homepage. Scroll to the “Watch your rewards add up” part, and you will see Nightly Improve Awards listed in a field in case you have any in your account.
Click on “View Awards” below your Nightly Improve Awards to verify the expiration dates. Nonetheless, know that Nightly Improve Awards expire Dec. 31 of the 12 months following the one wherein you earned them. So in case you select 5 Nightly Improve Awards as a Selection Profit for reaching 50 elite night time credit in 2023, your Nightly Improve Awards will expire Dec. 31, 2024.
Observe that you need to use these upgrades for a stick with a checkout date on (or earlier than) the expiration date. So, in case you’re testing from a property on Jan. 1, 2025, you’ll be able to’t use a Nightly Improve Award that expires on Dec. 31, 2024.
Now that you understand how to see what number of Nightly Improve Awards you will have and once they expire, let’s talk about how one can use them. Briefly, you’ll be able to apply Nightly Improve Awards to current reservations from inside your Marriott Bonvoy account. Click on on “My Journeys” alongside the highest menu bar if you’re logged in to your Marriott Bonvoy account, broaden your reservation (if wanted) by clicking “Particulars,” after which click on the “View/Modify” subsequent to the keep for which you wish to use Nightly Improve Awards.
Scroll down and verify whether or not a piece states, “Take an improve. You have earned it.” If that’s the case, click on “Begin Improve Request” to see the room upgrades you could possibly request.
As famous beforehand, the room varieties obtainable for Nightly Improve Awards fluctuate by property. For an upcoming one-night keep at a Moxy, I solely see one improve possibility that I may request.
To request this Household Sleeper room for an improve, I clicked the verify field subsequent to the room kind after which clicked “Submit Improve Request.” After doing so, a affirmation message appeared, and I acquired an e mail titled “We Acquired Your Nightly Improve Awards Request.”
It’s also possible to accomplish this through the Marriott Bonvoy app. Pull up an current reservation and faucet the bell icon on the prime proper. From there, faucet Request Improve, evaluation the room choices, then click on Submit to substantiate the request.
As soon as requested, because the affirmation message and e mail state, the lodge’s system will routinely begin checking for improve availability three days earlier than your arrival and can proceed checking every day till 2 p.m. sooner or later earlier than check-in. In case your improve is not confirmed by 2 p.m. on the day earlier than check-in, Marriott Bonvoy will cancel your request and return the Nightly Improve Award(s) to your account.
When you change your thoughts or discover a higher use in your Nightly Improve Awards, you’ll be able to cancel your improve request and return unconfirmed Nightly Improve Awards to your account till 2 p.m. on the day earlier than check-in. Nonetheless, you’ll be able to solely cancel confirmed Nightly Improve Awards by canceling your complete keep. And you will not get your Nightly Improve Awards again in case you cancel your keep later than 2 p.m. on the day earlier than check-in.
To cancel an unconfirmed Nightly Improve Award, head to “My Journeys” in your Marriott Bonvoy account and click on “Modify Request” below the be aware stating “Your Nightly Improve Award request is pending.”
You possibly can choose totally different room varieties in your improve (if others can be found) or cancel your request on the web page that hundreds.
I made a decision to cancel my request by clicking “Cancel Request” after which confirmed in a pop-up that I did wish to cancel my improve request.
After canceling my request, I noticed a affirmation of the cancellation on my reservation and bought a affirmation e mail.
After I checked my account after canceling my request to make use of a Nightly Improve Award, it had been redeposited instantly.
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My expertise utilizing Marriott improve awards
I’ve traditionally had good luck utilizing Marriott Suite Evening Awards. In 2021 and 2022, my husband and I even used 15 Marriott Suite Night Awards in 10 months with 100% approval.
Maybe one among my favourite Suite Evening Award makes use of was for a two-story suite at The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa in Phuket, Thailand. That property provided so many various kinds of rooms by way of Suite Improve Awards that it appeared unattainable to not have my improve clear.
Nonetheless, the JW Marriott Lodge Bogota in Colombia assigned me a worse room kind after my Suite Evening Award cleared in August 2021. A dialogue with the supervisor at check-in — throughout which I confirmed my Suite Evening Award affirmation e mail — secured me the suite I would initially been confirmed into.
In the meantime, Marriott Bonvoy emailed me 5 days earlier than check-in to substantiate my Suite Evening Award request for a three-night keep at Italy’s AC Lodge Milano in November 2023. Nonetheless, 45 minutes later I acquired a second e mail stating Marriott had returned my Suite Evening Awards and a be aware they had been “sorry that you just had been unable to get pleasure from an upgraded room in your latest keep” (regardless of the keep being upcoming). Sadly, this wasn’t a fluke, as the identical occurred to my husband’s Suite Improve Award request for a keep a few month earlier on the Courtyard by Marriott Kuwait Metropolis.
So, though I’ve traditionally had good luck utilizing Marriott improve awards, I do not put a variety of worth in them. I nonetheless select Suite Evening Awards — now Nightly Improve Awards — as my 50-night Selection Profit since there is not any higher possibility for me. However I go for the up-to-40,000-point free night time award as my 75-night Selection Profit. And I attempt to give myself a number of choices every year to make use of Marriott improve awards at properties that provide a number of room varieties for awards and are not in peak season or excessive demand.
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Suggestions for utilizing Marriott improve awards
Listed here are some suggestions for getting good worth out of your Marriott Nightly Improve Awards:
- Shorter stays: There’s extra prone to be availability in your Nightly Improve Award request to clear on shorter stays of only a night time or two. And particularly since it is advisable to redeem a Nightly Improve Award per keep night time, there is not any draw back to utilizing these awards to safe upgraded rooms or suites on quick stays.
- Begin early within the 12 months: Do not save your Nightly Improve Awards for a keep (or stays) close to the top of the 12 months, as then you could not have extra good alternatives to make use of them earlier than they expire if they do not clear as you hope or it is advisable to cancel your keep(s).
- Extra room varieties: The extra room varieties you choose in your Nightly Improve Awards, the upper the prospect they’re going to get authorized. You might wish to guide a property that provides many interesting room varieties by way of Nightly Improve Awards to maximise your improve probabilities.
- Off-peak dates or locations: Touring throughout off-peak dates or to locations with extra lodge capability than friends is usually a good approach to snag a premium room or suite by way of Nightly Improve Awards. After all, there’s all the time the argument that Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite or Titanium Elite standing would doubtless internet you a fantastic improve on these stays even with out utilizing Nightly Improve Awards.
Earlier than reserving, you’ll be able to’t see what room varieties are selectable by way of the Nightly Improve Awards. So, you could be tempted to make a number of freely cancellable stays in the identical vacation spot to find out which provides one of the best Nightly Improve Award choices. After all, simply because a lodge or resort provides interesting Nightly Improve Award choices doesn’t suggest your request will get authorized. So, I often guide resorts or resorts based mostly on the charges and high quality of the bottom room kind. Then, I have a look at what is on the market by way of Marriott improve awards and resolve whether or not to place in a request.
Lastly, since Marriott Nightly Improve Awards are solely confirmed at most three days earlier than check-in, you will not wish to depend on utilizing these awards to safe a bigger room or suite. For stays the place you want an upgraded room, contemplate reserving the room you want or utilizing a program like World of Hyatt that allows you to use suite improve awards to substantiate a normal suite at reserving.
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Backside line
Marriott Bonvoy just lately modified Suite Evening Awards into Nightly Improve Awards. Together with the title change, Marriott Bonvoy added extra room varieties and collaborating manufacturers to its improve awards. However though Suite Evening Awards had been confirmed as much as 5 days earlier than check-in, you’ll be able to solely use Nightly Improve Awards to substantiate a premium room or suite as much as three days earlier than check-in.
Nightly Improve Awards are topic to availability, and a few Marriott Bonvoy members have struggled to make use of Marriott improve awards for prime worth up to now. One Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite member I spoke with even mentioned he by no means used Suite Improve Awards as a result of he believed they would not give him higher upgrades than he’d get at check-in together with his elite standing. However this is hoping Marriott’s shift to Nightly Improve Awards will present a greater expertise for many members.
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