Marriott Bonvoy Choice Benefits (Reminder: Choose by Saturday)

If you have earned 50 elite qualifying nights with Marriott Bonvoy within a calendar year, then you are eligible to pick a “Choice Benefit”. A second Choice Benefit is available for those who complete 75 nights. The question then, of course, is which benefit to pick. You’ll find my recommendations below.

Note that if you acquired Platinum status through a status challenge, having the Bonvoy Brilliant card, Ritz credit card spend, etc., you won’t get to pick a Choice Benefit unless you also complete 50 nights within a calendar year. Nights given automatically or through spend from Bonvoy credit cards do count towards Choice Benefits. For example, most Bonvoy cards automatically give you 15 elite nights each year (and the Brilliant card gives you 25). If you pair a consumer Bonvoy card with a business Bonvoy card, you’ll automatically get 30 nights (or 40 if your consumer card is the Bonvoy Brilliant card) towards Choice Benefits each year.

Selection Deadline: February 1, 2025

If you don’t make a choice by the selection deadline (11:59 p.m. ET on February 1, 2025), you’ll get the “5 Nightly Upgrade Awards” choice automatically.

Here’s the website for selecting your benefit: choice-benefit.marriott.com/en-us/marriott-rewards/benefits.

50 Night Choices

• 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards (Previously known as Suite Night Awards): Each Nightly Upgrade Award is a one-night confirmable upgrade to a standard suite or select premium room, depending on the hotel’s availability of those rooms. The number of Nightly Upgrade Awards used must match the entire length of stay; it cannot be used for part of a stay (e.g., the first two nights of a five-night stay). Once Nightly Upgrade Awards are requested to be applied to a stay, Marriott will begin checking upgrade availability 3 days in advance of your stay, up until 2pm on the day of your arrival. If your Nightly Upgrade Award request doesn’t clear, you’ll get the awards back to be used later. Caution: some Marriott brands and many individual Marriott hotels do not allow you to use Nightly Upgrade Awards and so these can be frustratingly difficult to use.
• 5 Elite Night Credits: If you earn a Choice Benefit selection in 2024, then this choice adds 5 elite nights to your 2024 total even if you wait until January 2025 to make the selection. The only good reason to select this choice is to get to the next level of status (75 night or 100 night, but 100 night status also requires $23K Marriott spend). For example, if you earned 70 elite nights in 2024, this selection would bring you to 75 nights and you’d get Titanium status plus the opportunity to get another Choice Benefit. Unless you are trying to earn lifetime status, there’s no other reason that I can think of to make this choice.
• $1,000 off a Marriott mattress: Get $1,000 off retail prices for any Marriott retail brand (Westin Heavenly Beds, St. Regis beds, etc.)
• Gift Silver Elite Status
• $100 Charity Donation: Make a $100 (USD) donation to UNICEF, the Arne M Sorenson Hospitality Fund, or the World Wildlife Fund.

75 Night Choices

• 1 Free Night Award (Up to 40K Points): Valid through December 31st of the year following the year in which the benefit is earned. e.g. if you earn 75 nights in 2024, the certificate should be good through December 31, 2025.
• Gift Gold Elite Status

The rest are the same as the 50 night choices:

• 5 Elite Night Credits
• 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards
• $100 Charity Donation
• $1,000 off a Marriott bed

Which Marriott Choice Benefits are Best?

50 Night Choice: Elite Nights or Nightly Upgrade Awards

In my opinion, the two most valuable 50 night choices are 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards and 5 Elite Night Credits. If you are close to 75 Night Titanium Elite status and if picking the 5 Elite Night Credits would get you there, then that is the better choice. Once you get to 75 nights, you’ll get another Choice Benefit selection plus you’ll have a higher level of elite status which includes (among other things) free United Premier Silver elite status.

If the elite night credits won’t make the difference in getting you to 75 night status, then choose 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards. Yes, these can be frustratingly difficult to use, but when they work out, they can be extremely valuable.

75 Night Choice: 40K Night or Nightly Upgrade Awards

The best 75 night choice, in my opinion, is the 40K Free Night Award. That has tangible value and can often be used at a hotel that would have cost more than $300 for the night. The Nightly Upgrade Awards, meanwhile, are a gamble. If you value suites or preferred rooms, the potential upside of getting upgraded for a 5 night stay (or multiple shorter stays) can be much more than getting a free 40K night. However, there’s a very real possibility that you won’t be able to use the upgrades at all before they expire.

More About Nightly Upgrade Awards

FAQ

I have the Bonvoy Brilliant card which gives me Platinum Elite status, do I get to pick a Choice Benefit?

Not automatically. Platinum status alone doesn’t qualify you for a Choice Benefit. In order to earn a Choice Benefit, you have to acquire 50 elite qualifying nights within a calendar year. The Brilliant card automatically gives you 25 elite qualifying nights but you’ll still have to get 25 more nights to get a Choice Benefit. You can get 15 more nights automatically every year by signing up for the Bonvoy Business card and then you’ll only need to stay 10 nights each year at Marriott hotels in order to get a Choice Benefit each year.

I have Lifetime Platinum Elite status, do I get to pick a Choice Benefit?

Not automatically. Platinum status alone doesn’t qualify you for a Choice Benefit. In order to earn a Choice Benefit, you have to acquire 50 elite qualifying nights within a calendar year.

I earned Platinum Elite status from a status match, do I get to pick a Choice Benefit?

Not automatically. Platinum status alone doesn’t qualify you for a Choice Benefit. In order to earn a Choice Benefit, you have to acquire 50 elite qualifying nights within a calendar year.

Why don’t you recommend gifting Silver or Gold elite status?

With Marriott, only Platinum status and above offers meaningful benefits, in my opinion. Plus, it’s easy to get Silver or Gold status simply by having a Marriott card or an Amex Platinum card.

Here’s a summary of elite benefits by elite level:

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