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
- Many Marriott hotels do not allow the use of Nightly Upgrade Awards. The only way to find out for sure is to call and ask Marriott Member Services or to book a stay and try to apply your upgrades (but even that approach isn't foolproof).
- You must use a Nightly Upgrade Award for every night of your reservation. If you have 5 awards, for example, you cannot apply them to a 6 night reservation.
- Once you've applied your Nightly Upgrade Awards to a reservation, Marriott begins checking for suite upgrade availability 5 days before your stay (or 3 days prior for EDITION, Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis properties). If you are not upgraded 5 (or 3) days beforehand, Marriott will check again each day up until the day before your stay. If the upgrade isn't successful, the Nightly Upgrade Awards will be credited back to your account.
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:
| Elite Status Level | Requirements Per Year | Key Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Silver Elite | 10 Nights | Late checkout, 10% point bonus |
| Gold Elite | 25 Nights | 2PM late checkout; 25% point bonus; welcome gift (points only); room upgrade; enhanced internet |
| Platinum Elite | 50 Nights | 4PM late checkout; 50% point bonus; welcome gift w/ breakfast option; room upgrade includes suites; lounge access; Choice benefit (such as 5 nightly upgrade awards) when you achieve 50 nights. |
| Titanium Elite | 75 Nights | All of the above, plus: 75% point bonus; United Silver Premier status; Air Canada Aeroplan 25K Status; Ritz-Carlton suite upgrades; Additional Choice Benefit (such as 40K free night certificate) when you achieve 75 nights. |
| Ambassador Elite | 100 Nights + $23K Spend | All of the above, plus: Ambassador Service (dedicated Marriott agent); Your24 (Choose the 24 hours of your stay. For example, choose to check in at 9am after an overnight flight). |
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Expiration date on my 40k Cert has CHANGED and is now showing as Dec 31, 2025. When I selected it on Jan 2nd, it initially showd an expiration date of Dec 31, 2026.
The Bonvoy T+Cs say that,
A. One Free Night Award.
(1) The Free Night Award (with a redemption value of up to 40,000 Points) must be redeemed for a stay that occurs no later than December 31 of the year following the year in which the additional benefit is earned (e.g. if the benefit is earned in 2025, the deadline for redemption is December 31, 2026). The Free Night Award must be used before it expires as it cannot be extended.
I just selected mine but it has 12/31/2025 expiration date. Maybe it was fixed 🙁
Same
Confirmed for me as well
It’s already January 2025, and I’m considering choosing the 5 elite night credits for my 50-night choice benefit for 2024, to get a jump start on Titanium status for 2025 (I already have 40 nights from credit cards). Can I be confident that those 5 nights will be added to my 2025 total, not my 2024 total?
The 5 nights will be added to your 2024 total, not 2025, don’t do this…
A DP from 1/2/25 — my new 40K FNC is also showing 12/31/26 expiration, thanks!
check again. there are several DPs that marriott has changed the expiration date to 12/31/25.
Yep, Marriott IT giveth…and taketh away!
This will apply to fewer people, but I waited until today to choose my Marriott Brilliant $60k award, I chose the 85k certificate, and it does expire in exactly 1 year. Thanks for confirming this, will definitely wait next year.
Yahoo! I just did it and exp is 12/31/26
I chose my 40k FNC today and expiration date is 12/31/26
When does the 1-year expiration for the 40K FNA go into effect? Today (Dec 29, 2024) My wife just selected her 40K FNA Choice Benefit and the expiration is Dec 31, 2025, which follows the old policy.
Does the 40k free night expire one year after issue AND no later than Dec 31? Because the 40k award I got for 2023 was issued Feb 6, 2024 and expires Dec 31, 2024.
No, between last year and now they changed how the expiry works
I just got to 75 on a stay that posted 12/29 and kept checking to redeem for the 40k FNA, and it’s finally allowing me to make a selection. I was getting nervous since I definitely didn’t want 5 useless (IMO) SUAs. Still kicking myself for having so many expire on me when I could have gotten more elite night credits for lifetime platinum.
And this is a great example of why I stopped chasing any Marriott status. The SNAs are just so dodgy.
i selected 5 more elite night credits to try to get a wee bit closer to lifetime.
Question: I’m going after Lifetime Platinum. I’m at 690 nights and 8 years, and though I haven’t paid as much attention as I should, it seems like I’ve been stuck on 8 years for almost 2 years now. Does anyone know when the “new year” starts? Is it the calendar year or an anniversary date? I did get Titanium again this year and should get it in 2024 so I should be good to go for Lifetime Platinum, but it needs to hurry up lol.
Calendar year
Also, by waiting to pick the 40 FNA after Jan 1 gives you two years to use it! (exp. 12.31.25)
[…] from the Wing and Doctor of Credit, Marriott is planning to revamp Suite Night Awards which are Choice Benefits available to those who earn 50 elite nights in a year (and again at 75 nights). This is […]