Marriott Nightly Improve Awards: TPG’s final information

In early 2024, Marriott changed Suite Night time Awards with Nightly Improve Awards. Now, you need to use Marriott Nightly Improve Awards at choose properties to verify a collection or different upgraded room sort. This is what it’s worthwhile to learn about Nightly Improve Awards, together with learn how to earn and use them.

What are Marriott Nightly Improve Awards?

Marriott Nightly Improve Awards allow you to affirm an improve to an ordinary suite or premium room at most Marriott Bonvoy inns and resorts earlier than your keep. Every taking part lodge or resort designates the room sorts you improve to utilizing Nightly Improve Awards. Nonetheless, these room sorts normally embody suites or premium rooms with higher views, balconies, patios, further area or different particular facilities.

You will need to apply one Nightly Improve Award per night time of your keep. So, if in case you have a five-night keep, you have to use 5 Nightly Improve Awards. Nonetheless, you possibly can solely apply Marriott Nightly Improve Awards to current reservations for which you have paid an eligible Marriott Bonvoy charge or redeemed Marriott factors (together with Marriott factors and money charges).

You’ll be able to request to make use of Nightly Improve Awards till 2 p.m. the day earlier than check-in in your keep. However, even when you submit your Nightly Improve Award request months earlier than your keep, your request will not be thought-about till 5 days earlier than check-in at most manufacturers (three days earlier than check-in for stays at Version, Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis properties). What’s extra, there is no assure that your request might be authorised.

Moreover, the Marriott Bonvoy phrases and circumstances be aware you could’t use Nightly Improve Awards on the following manufacturers and properties:

• Ritz-Carlton Reserve, The Ritz-Carlton Membership, The Ritz-Carlton Residences and The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Assortment
• Collaborating Design Motels
• Sonder by Marriott Bonvoy
• Marriott Govt Flats
• All-inclusive resorts
• Marriott Trip Membership, Marriott Grand Residence Membership, Sheraton Trip Membership and Westin Trip Membership
• Phoenician Residences, a Luxurious Assortment Residence Membership, Scottsdale
• MGM Assortment with Marriott Bonvoy
• Grand New Century Lodge, Hangzhou Boao, a Tribute Portfolio Lodge
• Wonderland Resort, Hangzhou Jiande, a Tribute Portfolio Resort
• Motels that don’t take part in Marriott Bonvoy

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Tips on how to earn Marriott Nightly Improve Awards

You’ll be able to earn Nightly Improve Awards as a Marriott Annual Selection Profit when you attain 50 and 75 elite night time credit inside a calendar 12 months. You can even earn Nightly Improve Awards as an Earned Selection Award if you spend no less than $60,000 on the Marriott Bonvoy Sensible® American Specific® Card in a calendar 12 months.

Nightly Improve Awards are the default possibility at these three milestones, however you possibly can select a distinct possibility at every milestone till Feb. 1 of the 12 months following the calendar 12 months by which you earned the profit when you want.

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Tips on how to view your Marriott Nightly Improve Awards

You’ll be able to see what number of Marriott Nightly Improve Awards you’ve got 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 drop-down menu. Doing so will take you to your default account homepage. Scroll to the “Earned rewards” part, and you may see Nightly Improve Awards listed in a field if in case you have any in your account.

Click on “View Awards” underneath your Nightly Improve Awards to verify the expiration dates.

Nightly Improve Awards expire Dec. 31 of the 12 months following the one by which you earned them. So, when you selected 5 Nightly Improve Awards as a Selection Profit for incomes 50 or 75 elite night time credit in 2024, your Nightly Improve Awards will expire Dec. 31, 2025.

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Tips on how to use Marriott Nightly Improve Awards

You’ll be able to apply Nightly Improve Awards to current reservations inside your Marriott Bonvoy account. As soon as you have logged into your Marriott Bonvoy account, click on on “My Journeys” alongside the highest menu bar, increase your reservation (if wanted) by clicking the arrow on the right-hand facet of the tile after which click on the “Begin improve request” button.

As famous beforehand, the room sorts obtainable for Nightly Improve Awards differ by property. For an upcoming one-night keep at a Moxy property, I might use a Nightly Improve Award to request a 366-square-foot room with a queen mattress and a settee mattress as an alternative of the 183-square-foot room with two twin beds I booked.

Likewise, I can request two room sorts with Nightly Improve Awards for an upcoming two-night keep at a Fairfield by Marriott property. Every of those rooms could be an enchancment over the one I booked due to the couch mattress.

To request an improve to a selected room sort, choose the verify field subsequent to the room sort and click on “Submit Request.” It’s best to then obtain a affirmation message and an electronic mail titled “We Obtained Your Nightly Improve Awards Request.”

You can even accomplish this by way of the Marriott Bonvoy app. Pull up an current reservation and faucet the bell icon on the prime proper. From there, faucet “Request Nightly Improve Award(s),” assessment the room choices and click on “Submit Request” to verify your improve request.

As soon as requested, the lodge’s system will robotically begin checking for improve availability 5 days earlier than your arrival (three days earlier than check-in for stays at Version, Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis properties) and proceed checking every day till round 2 p.m. at some point earlier than check-in. In case your improve is not confirmed by round 2 p.m. on the day earlier than check-in, Marriott Bonvoy will cancel your request and return the Nightly Improve Awards to your account.

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If you happen to change your thoughts or discover a higher use in your Nightly Improve Awards, you possibly can 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 possibly can solely cancel confirmed Nightly Improve Awards by canceling your whole keep. And you will not get your Nightly Improve Awards again when 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” underneath the be aware stating “Your Nightly Improve Award request is pending.”

You’ll be able to choose completely different room sorts in your improve (if others can be found) or cancel your request on the web page that hundreds.

If you happen to cancel your request, you may see a affirmation of the cancellation in your reservation and get a affirmation electronic mail. Marriott ought to instantly redeposit the Nightly Improve Awards into your account.

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My expertise utilizing Marriott improve awards

I’ve traditionally had good luck utilizing Marriott Suite Night time Awards. In 2021 and 2022, my husband and I used 15 Marriott Suite Night time Awards in 10 months and all have been confirmed.

Maybe considered one of my favourite makes use of of a Suite Night time Award was for a two-story suite at The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa in Phuket, Thailand. That property provided so many several types of rooms by Suite Improve Awards that it appeared not possible to not have my improve clear.

Nonetheless, the JW Marriott Lodge Bogota in Colombia assigned me a worse room sort after my Suite Night time Award cleared in August 2021. A dialogue with the supervisor at check-in — throughout which I confirmed my Suite Night time Award affirmation electronic mail — finally secured me the suite I would initially confirmed. I’ve additionally had Marriott Bonvoy affirm my Suite Night time Award by electronic mail 5 days out for a number of stays, solely to comply with up about an hour later and rescind the improve.

In 2024, my husband and I solely used one Nightly Improve Award regardless of having 10 throughout our accounts. This poor utilization was largely as a result of properties we booked solely having just a few notable improve choices that we might request with Nightly Improve Awards. We might moderately keep the chance to make use of a Nightly Improve Award in a while than use it for an improve we do not need. However ultimately, this resolution led to us not utilizing lots of our Nightly Improve Awards in 2024.

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Different TPG staffers’ ideas about Nightly Improve Awards

Particularly since I solely efficiently used one Marriott Nightly Improve Award in 2024, I requested a few of my fellow TPG staffers about their experiences. Senior director of product Gabe Travers advised me, “It has been a toss-up — a few of my requests have been denied, however others come by. My largest win was an Govt Suite at The Westin Palace, Milan — the primary and solely time I’ve had a full steam room in my suite!”

Engineering supervisor Zoe Jablow stated she used 5 Nightly Improve Awards “to get upgraded to a barely bigger room with extra privateness on the Domes Novos Santorini,” stating it was “completely value it.” Nonetheless, she additionally famous that she will not decide Nightly Improve Awards when she qualifies for Titanium Elite standing sooner or later, stating, “I get extra worth out of the free night time award as a result of I can assure utilization.”

Affiliate bank cards author Chris Nelson advised me he all the time saves his Nightly Improve Awards for when he is touring overseas, noting, “Within the U.S., more often than not, they’re hit and miss, and the upgrades aren’t that substantial in my expertise.” So far, he used three Nightly Improve Awards final month for a large top-floor nook sky backyard suite on the JW Marriott Lodge Beijing. Nonetheless, he additionally submitted a number of Nightly Improve Requests in 2024 for stays within the U.S. and solely obtained his requests authorised for one keep in a junior suite.

Lastly, director of content material Andrea Rotondo stated, “I actually wished to like Marriott’s nightly improve awards, and I do know many individuals have success with them, however I gave up on them final 12 months. After they have been beforehand known as Suite Improve Awards, I attempted for a number of years to make use of them however by no means obtained confirmed into a collection (or perhaps a higher room). The one time I obtained the e-mail saying I used to be upgraded, after I obtained to the lodge, the entrance desk was like, ‘Psych. You are truly not upgraded’.”

Her unfavorable expertise with Marriott improve awards inspired her to give up incomes Marriott standing organically. As a substitute, she now enjoys Platinum Elite standing as a good thing about her Marriott Bonvoy Sensible® American Specific® Card and focuses her efforts on incomes Hyatt Globalist standing annually.

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Suggestions for utilizing Marriott Nightly Improve Awards

Listed here are some ideas for getting good worth out of your Marriott Nightly Improve Awards:

• Go for 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’s worthwhile to redeem a Nightly Improve Award per keep night time, there is no draw back to utilizing these awards to safe upgraded rooms or suites on brief stays.
• Begin early within the 12 months: Do not save your Nightly Improve Awards for a keep (or stays) close to the tip of the 12 months — you may not have one other alternative to make use of them earlier than they expire.
• Search for extra room sorts: The extra room sorts you choose in your Nightly Improve Awards, the upper the prospect they’re going to get authorised. You might need to e-book a property that gives many interesting room sorts with Nightly Improve Awards to maximise your likelihood of an improve.
• Contemplate off-peak dates or locations: Touring throughout off-peak dates or to properties with extra rooms than company generally is a good approach to snag a premium room or suite by Nightly Improve Awards. In fact, you may additionally argue that Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite or Titanium Elite standing would seemingly get you an amazing improve on these stays even with out utilizing Nightly Improve Awards.
• Try worldwide locations: Every of the constructive experiences famous by different TPG staffers was for a keep exterior the U.S. One approach to get your Nightly Improve Awards to clear for a extra notable improve is to use them to stays overseas.

Earlier than reserving, you possibly can’t see what room sorts you possibly can request with Nightly Improve Awards. So, it’s possible you’ll be tempted to make a number of freely cancellable stays in the identical vacation spot to find out which affords the very best Nightly Improve Award choices. Even so, simply because a lodge or resort affords interesting Nightly Improve Award choices doesn’t suggest your request will get authorised. I normally e-book inns or resorts primarily based on the charges and high quality of the bottom room sort. Then, I take a look at what is on the market with Marriott Nightly Improve Awards and resolve whether or not to place in a request.

Lastly, since Marriott Nightly Improve Awards are solely confirmed, at most, 5 days earlier than check-in for almost all of manufacturers, do not depend on utilizing these awards to safe a bigger room or suite. For stays the place you want an upgraded room, take into account reserving it outright utilizing a program like World of Hyatt that permits you to use suite improve awards to verify an ordinary suite at reserving.

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Backside line

Marriott Nightly Improve Awards allow you to affirm a greater room just a few days prematurely. Nonetheless, some vacationers discover it extremely tough to get good worth from these Marriott improve awards, particularly since they not often clear for any notable upgraded room sorts within the U.S. However, when you regularly journey exterior the U.S. or need to affirm a greater view along with your Nightly Improve Award, it’s possible you’ll discover these awards present first rate worth.