Marriott Nightly Improve Awards: TPG’s final information

In early 2024, Marriott changed Suite Night time Awards with Nightly Improve Awards. Now, you should use Marriott Nightly Improve Awards at choose properties to substantiate a set or different upgraded room kind. Here is what it’s worthwhile to find out about Nightly Improve Awards, together with how you can earn and use them.

Marriott Nightly Improve Awards allow you to affirm an improve to a typical suite or premium room at most Marriott Bonvoy resorts and resorts earlier than your keep. Every collaborating lodge or resort designates the room sorts you improve to utilizing Nightly Improve Awards. Nonetheless, these room sorts often embody suites or premium rooms with higher views, balconies, patios, additional house or different particular facilities.

You have to apply one Nightly Improve Award per night time of your keep. So, you probably have a five-night keep, you could use 5 Nightly Improve Awards. Nonetheless, you possibly can solely apply Marriott Nightly Improve Awards to present reservations for which you have paid an eligible Marriott Bonvoy price or redeemed Marriott factors (together with Marriott factors and money 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 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 not any assure that your request might be accredited.

Moreover, the Marriott Bonvoy phrases and situations notice 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 Resorts
• Sonder by Marriott Bonvoy
• Marriott Government 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
• Resorts that don’t take part in Marriott Bonvoy

Associated: The way to redeem Marriott factors for upgraded rooms

You possibly can earn Nightly Improve Awards as a Marriott Annual Alternative Profit when you attain 50 and 75 elite night time credit inside a calendar 12 months. You too can earn Nightly Improve Awards as an Earned Alternative Award once you spend not less than $60,000 on the Marriott Bonvoy Sensible® American Specific® Card in a calendar 12 months.

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

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The way to view your Marriott Nightly Improve Awards

You possibly can see what number of Marriott Nightly Improve Awards you’ve gotten and after they expire by logging in to your on-line account, clicking in your title within the higher right-hand nook and choosing “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 you probably have any in your account.

Click on “View Awards” beneath your Nightly Improve Awards to examine 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 Alternative Profit for incomes 50 or 75 elite night time credit in 2024, your Nightly Improve Awards will expire Dec. 31, 2025.

Associated: An outline of the 35 Marriott lodge manufacturers

The way to use Marriott Nightly Improve Awards

You possibly can apply Nightly Improve Awards to present 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, develop 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 out there for Nightly Improve Awards fluctuate by property. For an upcoming one-night keep at a Moxy property, I may use a Nightly Improve Award to request a 366-square-foot room with a queen mattress and a settee mattress as a substitute 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 can be an enchancment over the one I booked due to the couch mattress.

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

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

As soon as requested, the lodge’s system will mechanically 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. someday 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.

Associated: 5 methods to maximise Marriott Bonvoy award night time redemptions

Should you 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” beneath the notice stating “Your Nightly Improve Award request is pending.”

You possibly can choose completely different room sorts in your improve (if others can be found) or cancel your request on the web page that masses.

Should you 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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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 had been confirmed.

Maybe one in all 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 supplied so many various kinds 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 kind 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 — ultimately 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 observe 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 because of the properties we booked solely having just a few notable improve choices that we may request with Nightly Improve Awards. We would relatively preserve 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 a lot of our Nightly Improve Awards in 2024.

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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 instructed me, “It has been a toss-up — a few of my requests have been denied, however others come by. My largest win was an Government 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 instructed 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.” Up to now, 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 accredited for one keep in a junior suite.

Lastly, director of content material Andrea Rotondo stated, “I actually needed 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 had been beforehand referred to as Suite Improve Awards, I attempted for a number of years to make use of them however by no means obtained confirmed into a set (or perhaps a higher room). The one time I obtained the e-mail saying I used to be upgraded, once I obtained to the lodge, the entrance desk was like, ‘Psych. You are truly not upgraded’.”

Her adverse expertise with Marriott improve awards inspired her to stop incomes Marriott standing organically. As an alternative, she now enjoys Platinum Elite standing as a advantage of her Marriott Bonvoy Sensible® American Specific® Card and focuses her efforts on incomes Hyatt Globalist standing every year.

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• Go for shorter stays: There’s extra more likely 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 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 — you won’t 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 accredited. You might need to ebook a property that provides many interesting room sorts with Nightly Improve Awards to maximise your likelihood of an improve.
• Take into account off-peak dates or locations: Touring throughout off-peak dates or to properties with extra rooms than company is usually a good solution to snag a premium room or suite by Nightly Improve Awards. In fact, you possibly can additionally argue that Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite or Titanium Elite standing would possible get you an ideal improve on these stays even with out utilizing Nightly Improve Awards.
• Take a look at worldwide locations: Every of the constructive experiences famous by different TPG staffers was for a keep exterior the U.S. One solution 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 gives one of the best Nightly Improve Award choices. Even so, simply because a lodge or resort gives interesting Nightly Improve Award choices does not imply your request will get accredited. I often ebook 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 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, think about reserving it outright utilizing a program like World of Hyatt that permits you to use suite improve awards to substantiate a typical suite at reserving.

Associated: Marriott elite standing: What it’s and how you can earn it