Suite Night Awards changed to Nightly Upgrade Rewards with Marriott Bonvoy in a phased system which were first officially announced back on Thursday, November 2, 2023 and became effective as of January of 2024.
Suite Night Awards Changed to Nightly Upgrade Rewards With Marriott Bonvoy
Nightly Upgrade Rewards was the new name that was selected to better align with the benefit, which are one-night confirmable upgrades to a premium room or suite. Upgrades are now confirmed starting at three days prior to arrival rather than five days prior to arrival with Suite Night Awards.
Benefits of which Nightly Upgrade Rewards have over the former Suite Night Awards include:
- Access to nearly 20 percent more premium rooms and suites across all participating brands within the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio are available for upgrades with features such as oceanfront rooms, balconies, and extra space.
- This upgrade benefit is now available at hotel and resort properties of the following five brands:
- The Ritz-Carlton
- EDITION
- Aloft
- Element
- Protea
- The choice of preferred room type when requesting and redeeming Nightly Upgrade Awards; and the mobile software application program will need to be updated in order to see the changes
Nightly Upgrade Awards cannot be purchased; but they can be earned in two ways:
- Eligible members have the opportunity to select five Nightly Upgrade Awards as one of their Annual Choice Benefit options when they achieve 50 Elite Night Credits and again when they achieve 75 Elite Night Credits.
- Members who spend $60,000.00 in United States dollars on eligible purchases on their Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card in a calendar year will get the Brilliant Earned Choice Award and may choose to receive five Nightly Upgrade Awards.
Should members in either group choose to forgo an active selection of their Annual Choice Benefit or Earned Choice Award selection, they will receive a default selection of five Nightly Upgrade Awards.
Nightly Upgrade Awards cannot be redeemed at the following properties and brands:
- All-Inclusive Resorts
- Bulgari
- Design Hotels
- Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy
- Marriott Executive Apartments
- Marriott Vacation Club
- Marriott Grand Residence Club
- The Ritz-Carlton Club
- Ritz-Carlton Reserve
- The Ritz-Carlton Residences
- The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
- Sheraton Vacation Club
- The Phoenician Residences, a Luxury Collection Residence Club, Scottsdale
- Westin Vacation Club
- The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
- MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy
Members will receive notification regarding the status of their Nightly Upgrade Awards request closer to check-in, starting three days prior to arrival. Nightly Upgrade Awards can only be requested or secured up until 2:00 in the afternoon hotel time the day before arrival.
Existing Suite Night Award requests will still be honored and approved based upon availability. The expiration date of any existing Suite Night Awards will not be extended.
Learn more about Nightly Upgrade Awards by clicking here to access the frequently asked questions.
Final Boarding Call
That upgrades are confirmed starting at three days prior to arrival rather than five days prior to arrival theoretically reduces the chances of securing the upgrade, as inventory can significantly change in two days.
Now that Nightly Upgrade Awards have been in effect, members of FlyerTalk report mixed results: some have only been given the lowest tier of upgraded room; while others have enjoyed the highest tier of suite; and still others report inconsistent results with various degrees of upgraded rooms and suites.
I personally have not had any experience as of yet with Nightly Upgrade Awards. If you have experienced Nightly Upgrade Awards, please share it in the Comments section below — along with your thoughts and opinions about this benefit.
Photograph ©2023 by Brian Cohen.
