Yes, it is still possible to extend Marriott free night certificates, but it is harder to do now than in the past. Today, whether or not the cert has been extended before matters; the reason you give for being unable to use the cert matters; and, most of all, your persistence matters.
Overview
Marriott free night certificates are awarded annually (sometimes with minimum spend requirements) with a number of Marriott credit cards; they’re often included as part of a welcome offer for a new credit card; they can be earned through miscellaneous promotions; and you can pick one for your 75 night Choice Benefit.
Most free night certificates are good for one year from the date of issue, but promotional free nights often have shorter timeframes (see this targeted promo with a 6 month cert, for example).
To use a free night certificate, it’s not enough just to book your stay before the certificate expires. You must complete your stay before the certificate expires. If you want to use your certificate for a stay that ends later than the certificate expiration, your only option is to try to get the certificate extended. This can be done, with lots of persistence, by calling Marriott Bonvoy.
If you are approved for an extension, your certificate will be extended for 12 months from the date of your phone call to Marriott, not from the expiration date of the original certificate. Example: If you call on October 15, 2023, your certificate will be extended until October 15, 2024. For this reason, if you don’t have firm plans for using the cert, there’s an advantage to waiting until your certificate is close to expiry before calling.
Unfortunately, it appears that most front-line call center reps have been taught to tell customers that certs cannot be extended. Fortunately, asking to speak to a supervisor and calling over and over is usually eventually successful.
Suggested approach
Be prepared to tell your story
Based on a number of reports, it seems that some Marriott reps have the ability to extend certs when their were extenuating circumstances that explain why the certs couldn’t be used within the original timeframe. You might not want to tell your private story to a phone rep, but it can help.
Call Marriott
I don’t think it matters what phone number you use to call Marriott, but readers have reported success with each of the following numbers:
- 800-535-4028 (this is the number most often reported successful)
- 800-627-7468
- 800-228-2100
Ask to speak to a supervisor
When the first agent says no, don’t give up! Ask to speak to a supervisor. Often they’ll have the power to make an exception.
Try again
If your request to the supervisor is denied, don’t argue your case. Thank the agent for their time and hang up. Call again. And again. And again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it matter whether the certificate was extended before?
Yes. It is much harder to extend a certificate that has been extended before. If anyone has had recent success with this, please let us know.
Does it matter where the certificate came from?
Yes. We have reason to believe that certs obtained from targeted promotions may be harder to extend than others. We have also received conflicting reports suggesting that they’ll no longer extend certs provided by Chase cards or by American Express cards or whatever. I strongly suspect that these reports come from misinformed phone agents. Each time we’ve heard a report like this, we’ve later received reports of these same certs being successfully extended. That said, we’re interested in all datapoints that support or conflict with this theory, so please let us know your experience via the comments below.
Does my story matter?
Yes. Some agents have the ability to extend certs as an exception to a general policy against it. I believe that those agents are more likely to extend certs when presented with a compelling reason why you were unable to use the certs in time.
Does elite status matter?
Sometimes. I don’t think that Marriott has a firm rule about whether elite status matters with this issue, but I do think that some Marriott reps are more likely to make exceptions for those with high level elite status.
Does it matter which phone number I call?
Maybe. A number of readers have reported having no luck calling Marriott’s elite phone numbers, but then they had success calling Marriott’s Customer Support Team at 1 (800) 535-4028. I have doubts that the number really matters, but it can’t hurt to try the one that people have found successful.
The phone agent told me that it was impossible. Is that true?
Probably not. It’s incredible how many times people have reported being told things like “it’s no longer possible to extend certificates” (sometimes the reps are even very specific with dates or details about this new rule) or “we can do this one time, but never again with any of your certs” or “we can only extend one of your three certificates” or “it’s no longer possible to extend certificates from Chase credit cards” or… In every case I know of, persistence has paid off. Even after these absolute rejections, people have found other agents that were willing and able to extend the certificates.
Does it help to open a case?
Maybe, but it’s usually not necessary. Sometimes when a rep says they are unable to extend a certificate, they’ll offer to “open a case.” You can always try that, but most people report better success with hanging up and calling again.
How many times should I call?
Keep calling until you’re successful. Try different times of day and different days of the week. Some people report success after one call and some say that it took 10 calls. Most seem to get it done within 3 or 4 calls.
Additional Marriott Bonvoy resources
- Which Marriott Bonvoy card is best?
- Are you eligible for a new Marriott card?
- Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide
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Was able to extend 35k cert expiring in two weeks on the first attempt. Now, need to see if we can do anything about my spouses five 50k certs. A bit more time is left on those.
called 800-535-4028 3 times, finally an agent oked to extend the free night certificat, she asked for the CC number, after a few minutes, she told me she can not extend it, anyone has the same experience, will definitely try tomorrow again
I called 4028 number 3 times and on my 3rd attempt, agent was able to extend the validity for 1 year. Thanks for all the DPs and the number posted here. It was 35k FNC earned from amex.
I just called 800-535-4028 and got one of the 50k free nights extended out of 5. The agent was able to submit a case for me for the rest. Gonna keep trying.
3rd time’s the charm people!!
I just called the 7468 number at 4 am and was transferred to the loyalty department in Europe where I spoke to a nice man and explained why I wasn’t able to the 50k SUB vouchers (I was unemployed for more than 6 months and going through tough times bc of it). He said they don’t really do this but after putting me on hold for 2 mins he extended the rest of the 4 nights!! I’m so happy!
Just keep calling and don’t listen to the “reasons” why they can’t extend it. Try random days/times. The last guy didn’t give any of me some reasons the other reps gave as to why they are not “allowed” to extend. I was planning on calling at least 20 times before I give up but just the 3rd time I got it! Definitely don’t give up, my 5 vouchers are worth more than 1k USD easily.
Oh yeah and the case the other agent submitted. I didn’t want to wait for a response cuz it was gonna take 3-5 days and my voucher was expiring in 7 days so I decided to just keep calling agents on the phone.
Awesome, have to try to extend these for my spouse as well. Hope you find a new job soon and be able to make use of your certs.
Called 4 times to 7468 and 2100 on Sunday and none of the agents know how to do it. One of them transferred me to a loyal department and they are not willing to extend it but said they could make reservation for me if I want to book something past the cert’s expiration date.
Just called again Monday’s morning and the agent extended within 2 mins.
Called on Sunday, to 4028 number, asked me reasons, put me on hold, then she came back to say couldn’t do it. I asked why and she said because it was a credit card FNC. I then called the 4229 number, told she could only extend 1 of my 2 50K nights. I asked if she could do both, and she said no, could only extend 1. I asked her again and she asked me if I had a certain hotel rez in mind, so I gave her a hotel to book for March. She booked it. I then cancelled it and it showed the 2 FNC’s valid 1 year from today.
I called the Gold Elite line 3 times and no agent is willing to extend the one free certificate that’s about to expire. I called the customer service number mentioned in this post and the agent was reluctant to extend at first but I asked to speak to a supervisor. I made a reservation for our upcoming travel plan and she was able to extend the expiration date. I am so thankful for this website.
I called today to extend three free night certificates – and two of them had already been extended a year. No questions asked – took her about a minute to extend all three. Couldn’t believe I got a second one-year extension!
Sounds from other comments like I got lucky – but I almost didn’t do it because I figured it would never happen.
I just called to extend an expiring certificate (t-14) to a date 2 weeks after expiration. Two calls denied, one case filed. Apparently “Amex doesn’t let them do that anymore”, and “you’ll get a new certificate in a few weeks.”
The agent did say that you need an “extenuating circumstance”, so probably best to lead with sick puppies or something.
Humorously, the second agent pulled up a record that I had HUCA. All this as a gold. Transferred to a supervisor and then they pushed it through.
Again, not to press issues, but it shouldn’t be a game of “secret password.”
Had to call 10+ times over a few weeks. Once they opened a case, but it was denied a day or so later. Finally spoke to agent who was able to extend my 3 nights.
I was able to get 5 nights rewards (issued from Marriott credit card promo) extended by a year. They were about to expire in 3 days. I called and spoke to an agent to book a reservation. Took 2 attempts. First attempt I was told there was nothing they could do to extend the certificates. On the second attempt, the customer service rep created a ticket and spoke to a supervisor to get the 5 nights of reward certificates extended.
That’s a great outcome! About how long did it take between creating the ticket and the dates extending?
When I called the second time, the rep mentioned they were creating a ticket during the call. The rep asked for a reason for why I couldn’t travel so make sure to have a good one if asked. The Rep mentioned they talked or escalated it to a supervisor and I was placed on hold for a while this was happening. All 5 of my certificates were extended by 1 year by the end of the call.
They extended 3 of the 5 nights, expiring later this month, the other two are gone from account…I am ok with the 3, but any one have experience about getting the 2 nights back and those being extended as well? Called 800-535-4028
So grateful for this page!
Third call did it. 5 of the Boundless Visa certificates expiring in three days were extended for a year. I did give a true reason involving illness and unemployment, which I think helped.
Thank you so much for posting this! I called and was so happy it worked! Very valuable information – thanks again all!
I’ve called 3 times and have been denied each time, including after opening a case. They are adamant that they are not extending Free Night Awards issued by a credit card company.
Called the number from these comments (800-627-7468) to try to get 4x 50k certificates extended that are expiring next month. The first person I talked to allowed me to extend ONE single certificate and only if I made a reservation for the future. So I did that and made a speculative reservation just in case that was as good an offer as I could get. I’m planning on cancelling it and hopefully the expiration date will be for next year. Then I called back and the person I spoke to extended the other three for a year (a year from today).
Another data point. Called the 800-627-7468 number to extend 5 50k certs from the Chase Boundless deal from last year (they were expiring in just over a month). The first associate wouldn’t help but the second time I called the person extended them for one year.
I just got them extended on the first call. I’d try dialing the number you provided, and when prompted to submit a survey after the call, say ‘yes’. Guessing they don’t want a bunch of angry customers, and that the extension being granted so easily was because of this.
Called main customer service, no go. Called the number in this discussion, got 2 nights extended by a year from today.
Just called the 800-627-7468 and the rep said they would not be able to extend my certificates. She said there were about 5 reasons that had where they could do it and not being able to travel was not one of them. I wonder what the other ones were…I will try again.
Wow looks like 7th time is the charm. I got someone from Mexico city who extended it right away – didn’t even ask why and was done in 2 min!
Another data point for the 800-627-7468 number. Had called main number with no luck twice, first call to this number worked. They answered with a line that made it seem like it indicated that it was higher tier of service then quickly granted a “once in a lifetime” extension to a regular credit card cert.
Data point here — was able to successfully extend a 35K cert from my Bonvoy Boundless card for a honeymoon trip planned exactly a week after the cert expired! Took 3 calls–first two to 800-228-2100 with nice reps who politely informed me that they were no longer doing extensions; then I saw this post and called 800-627-7468 and after a brief hold, the rep was able to extend the cert and book our stay! There is still hope for extensions!!
Took me about 10 calls to extend a 50k cert. It’s quite troublesome, but there’s a chance to extend still.
I was able to get my 5 free night certs extended for a year by emailing the Marriott Bonvoy email. I recently was laid off and my certs were expiring in August. I was supposed to use them on a trip back in March that wound up having to be cancelled and knew it would be hard to use them before August with losing my job and flights everywhere being so expensive right now. I emailed on Sunday and they emailed me back Monday morning saying they were extending them this one time!
I am in the same situation. What email did you use? Thank you
Lucked on the 800-627-7468 number! This happened to be the third time calling – first, was told that I would have to call within the month of expiration but that they would be able to extend it. Second time was flat out denied and the third time my rep need to see that “the rules said.” Best of luck!
took me 4 calls and a wonderful man named James helped me extend today. my certificate expires next week & i used this number 800-627-7468.
Took about 8-9 calls today to get a 50k cert extended that expired 3 days ago. I would definitely NOT count on these Marriott extensions happening in the future, seems they are clamping down pretty hard on them. Pretty much got the same line from all agents that they no longer will extend these certs starting this year due to a recent corp policy change. And that I could try contact Amex and asking them to issue a new one……….LOL, yeah right like that would work.
HUCA around 15 times to get 4 night certificates extended (they’d only do one at a time). Used number that was given most recently.
6/1/23 – had a 35k CC certificate expiring tomorrow (6/2). I did actually have a trip in mind to use it on, but changes at work made me need to postpone. I called 800-627-7468 and the 1st rep said that the banks prevent them from extending FNCs. Called back maybe 30 min later and got a wonderful older rep named Dolores, who immediately extended the cert for a year. It may have helped that my birthday was within the past week (she commented on it while verifying my identity)
I had to call 7 times to extend 2 certs, and the person who extended one of the certs was not able to extend the second one in my SO’s account – so its very much YMMV and looks like this is dying out. I have many certs across two accounts with certs coming in at varying times, being able to extend them allowed me to combine a decent amount of certs for a trip but doesn’t look like I can count on doing that going forward.
I had to call 7 times to extend 2 certs, and the person who extended one of the certs was not able to extend the second one in my SO’s account – so its very much YMMV and looks like this is dying out. I have many certs across two accounts with certs coming in at varying times, being able to extend them allowed me to combine a decent amount of certs for a trip but doesn’t look like I can count on doing that going forward.
5/29/2023: First call the rep said they could only extend 1 of my 5 50k free night certs from the Boundless SUB 1yr ago. The next 7 calls all said we no longer do that basically. One did mention something about health reasons being the only reason so on try 9 I exaggerated some health complications which worked, although I think it just happened to be that rep and she probably would have done it anyways. She was able to extend the other 4 individually. I would mention having a trip planned a couple weeks after they expire and ask for a one-time courtesy exception, but they will always extend 1 yr from the time you call. I’ve read that the closer it is to their expiration date the more likely they’ll extend, but this was 3 months before expiration and she still graciously extended them. Don’t give up on that HUCA. Just need the right CSR and it’ll work.
I’ve tried twice and both times the agents told me that during the pandemic they could do it “but that in 2022 there was a change in corporate policy and they can no longer extend them” or that “the credit card companies no longer allow it”
Today I was told the only small chance is by emailing corporate to explain why I would like it extended and ask them. That rep then provided an email address and instructions on what to put in the subject line and body.
I’ll try the email and try calling a few more times. DEFINITELY a YMMV
Ok, a few hours later I called again, this time using the 800-627-7468 number that I saw in the thread below and I got a super helpful agent who proactively extended not just my two certs expiring in 7 and 9 days but also my two certs expiring at the end of next month about 4 and 5 weeks away.
Player 2 wasn’t around so I then logged into her account on Marriott and tried to use the chat feature to extend her two certs that both expire in 7 and 9 days. The agent replied saying “I do apologize I am showing no use of the Bonvoy credit card in the last 6months or Marriott hotel stays I will not be able to extend the free night award.”
I’ll try our luck calling back later but I’ve not seen any previous DPs citing lack of using the Bonvoy credit card and/or lack of recent Marriott stays as reasoning. Arguably if I had had any Bonvoy stays I would have been able to use the certificates and does Marriott really care if I use the credit card or not? I’d think that’s more a concern for Chase / Amex/
I just called the number you gave above and was able to get my free reward night expanded for 1 year. Before reading your comment and calling, I had chatted and they denied my request. So thank you!
Same experience. Called other numbers. Called your number, and sounded like it might be going through same system, but the agent was able to make a one time extension. Could have been blind luck of getting a different agent, or could be something else, but whatever it was, I’m relieved and wanted to thank you for the info 🙂
Were you able to get your wife’s cert extended?
Yes but it was via an email I sent to an address provided by one of the phone reps who told me the only last hope was by emailing corporate. Every time I called I was told it was no longer possible. Of course it came with the usual verbiage of it being a courtesy one time exception. Sorry, I’m not prepared to share the email address here.
called 6 times today with the 2 numbers, still no luck of extending it…
Called 1-800-627-7468 four different times and was told no every time. Then tried calling 800-228-2100 and got a rep to extend them. Seems to be very agent dependent.
Why bother even to extend Bonvoy free nights? They increased the points of every hotel across the board, you can’t find any hotels ubder 65,000 points per night… Try Miami, the only hotel you can book is Marriott at Airport… Just toss your Bonvoy card in the trash, stop paying annual fee. I thought Hyatt was bad…
Called 1-800-627-7468 just now and the agent quickly gave me a 1-time extension.
I called the Marriott Bonvoy customer service (1-800-228-2100) today and the first associate I spoke with couldn’t extend the expiration date, but he transferred me to another associate who was able to extend the expiration for a year. It took around 20 minutes, but it was worth it!
thanks for the report. A day later, I just called the “platinum elite” CS # 877-739-2737and was told it was no longer possible. (no exceptions she claimed lol) will try again. Any tips on how you got them to transfer you to an associate who could help? (with which department, etc.?)
I’m not sure which department I was transferred to, but I have a medical reason why I can’t use the free night before the expiration date, and both associates were very willing to help. So it’s definitely possible, but maybe the associates were told to make very few exceptions.
Struck out trying to extend an AMEX 50K FNC the night of 3/24/23 in first two calls to “Gold” elite line at 1-844-683-8959; they claimed no longer possible because of a policy change. In a third call right after to 1-800-627-7468 the CSR said of course he could do it and processing a one-year extension took only a few minutes. Definitely call the latter phone number.
I have tried at least 5 times now without success. All agents say they are no longer are able to and to contact Amex. The last agent said this change started from January 2023
I just called this morning and the response was on par with what you said – have you had any luck with calling in again?
Hi Dom. I managed to get it done by chance on the final day before expiry. It was extended for another 12 months. Don’t give up!
Was able to get my 35k free night extended for a year during first call today
Took 4 calls, finally got a rep to extend my Bonvoy Boundless free night certificate to be applied 10 days after it was set to expire, this was 8 months out from expiring in October. I only have Gold status with Marriott.
Another recent DP. My wife called two weeks ago about an expiring Chase Ritz FNA which was due to expire at the beginning of May. We were eying a property to use it during the Memorial Day holiday weekend after the originally intended trip fell apart. First agent was preposterously rude to my wife – flatly saying “No, we don’t do that” then promptly hanging up.
Second agent gave my wife a little bit of time to explain that we had a specific destination and date in mind for the extension, after which the request for an extension was promptly granted. The FNA was extended for exactly one year from the date of the call, for what it’s worth.
Super hit or miss process and really gives credence to the post’s assertion that agents are given factors to consider and have a lot of leeway to grant or deny an extension.
I an a Titanim Lifetime and I was flatly turned down by the agent when I asked to extend. No exceptions. Then she said that Marriott NEVER extended before Covid. I know that they did for a fact. I am very disappointed in Marriot. I spent 20 years traveling to earn status. Now it means nothing. Sad. Does anyone have a loyalty number I could call?
Thank you
Cjd
Don’t be emotional about it. Just call again and hope that you get an agent who’s willing to try! After all, they are doing us all a favour by extending these certificates in the first place. They don’t have any obligations to do that.
Ok will do. Good point.
I just called today to extend my March 1 expiring certificate. First agent said he can’t do anything (didn’t know extension was an option); second said extensions are not possible. Called third time and a nice lady said she couldn’t do anything but would check with loyalty team. She actually transferred me to the loyalty team and they said they can’t do much for CC issued certificates but asked me to hold to see if he can do something. Moments later, I saw the original certificate disappear from my account and then moments later, I saw a brand new one in the account with expiry date of a year from today.
Moral of the story – HUCA until you find the right agent who’s willing to check what the system allows rather than what he/she remembers or was told in the past.
Hey do you have the loyalty number? Thank you!!
I had called the general customer are line for IS/Canada at 1 (800) 228-2100. The agent internally transferred me to the loyalty team, so I don’t have direct number. Sorry.
That’s really helpful. Thank you. I will try it tomorrow. I really appreciate your help!
Just called and got my certificate extended one year. Took 2 min.
My free night certificate (annual certificate – Bonvoy Visa) expired yesterday and I called to request an extension. The first representative said they will only extend in the event of a natural disaster or deployment. The second representative said they no longer extend certificates. I asked when that policy changed and she said the beginning of the year. I should have called 30 days prior to extension in mid-December (just now learned that was possible – I thought I had to wait until it actually expired).
UPDATE: After calling, I contacted Customer Care via their online form, making the same request. The next morning, as I was reviewing my emails, I received the following response: “We recognize the impact that various world events have had on different parts of the world and appreciate your loyalty during this time. We currently cannot extend Free Night Award expiration dates further. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause”
Not surprised, I continued to go through my emails, and saw that 7 hours prior to the rejection email, I had received an email “You Have Received a Free Night Award”. Sure enough, it is in my account and is good for one year from the date I called/wrote.
Thanks for this article motivating me to keep trying HUCA. The amount of variation in the excuses given by the reps for being unable to extend is just amazing. Beyond the other comments in this thread, I was told (1) we’re not extending any more after June 30, 2022 (2) I can only extend 1 cert but not 2 (3) you already have another cert in the account that was extended (4) I need to send a message to the awards dept and they will answer in several business days (5) Your cert is expiring tomorrow and it takes 5 business days (6) Your cert expires today, you may be able to see in your account, but it is already gone from the system! No matter that I’m able to use it for a tonight stay booking.
Along the way, I decided to just make dummy bookings to use up other certificates except the one I needed to extend. That helped to focus them on the 1 certificate but new excuses were created.
Data point from 12/30/2022
Had a 75 NIGHT ANNUAL CHOICE BENEFIT:FREE NIGHT UP TO 40,000 POINTS that expired 12/31/2022.
Currently Ambassador and Lifetime Titanium
Called requesting just one month extension so could use over President’s Day and was instantly approved for a one year extension.
Thanks for this article!
Was very pleasantly surprised. Called about two certificates that were expiring with in the next two weeks (35k and 40k). Was asked if I have a redemption in mind and I said yes for later in 2023. The representative looked up my account and saw two more certificates that are set to expire in March and April (another 35k and 50k). She offered to extend all four so that I have flexibility. I gladly accepted. 10 minutes later and all my certificates are valid till December 2023. Not Bonvoyed (this time).
Called platinum number, asked for an extension as I recently started a new job and probably shouldn’t be taking time off. Took maybe 5 mins and 85k cert extended for another year. “We can do a 1 time extension.” Nice
I called ambassador elite line few times, it seems like they are less reluctant to help, called titanium elite. She told me that annual night awards can’t be extended but the certificate you get from your credit card can be extended. Will try a few more times.
Took two tries for a ritz 50k cert. First rep said the bank prevents them from extending these (wtf?) and it probably didn’t help that I had five more in my account from a recent SUB. Second rep was hesitant but got it done.
Had to wait on hold for a bit, but the cert was extended on the first try. Thank you, FM!
Is anyone having trouble attaching a certificate when booking a reservation? Points are the only option I get, both in the app and on a browser.
Are you picking a rate that is listed as a “redemption with points upgrade”? If so, you can’t use a free night cert for that. Also, make sure you’re not looking for a night that is beyond the expiration date for your cert.
It was just a regular night. However, I checked to see if there was an update available, and there was, and this update actually seems to have worked. I can also now book a reservation using a certificate in the app, something I had never been able to do before(had to use a desktop for those reservations)
Called 1-800-627-7468 today. Gold member. 50k certificate from Chase Credit Card SUB extended for 12 months with first rep. I had read somewhere that annual certs are being extended but not the ones that came as part of SUB, but happy to report that is not the case. Thanks Marriott Bonvoy.
Just called and got it extended within 15 minutes with first rep.¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Thanks Bonvoy!
After speaking with 5 different reps, my Amex 50k free night certificate got extended. The first 4 times I was told roughly: “no, Marriott no longer extends certificates now that the pandemic is over.”
The 4th rep transferred me to her supervisor who extended the free night award for an extra year. The supervisor was “unable” to extend 3 expiring suite night awards. I probably don’t have the urge/patience to be the crash test dummy for SNA extensions.
Called 1-800-627-7468. Platinum member, 50k cert from AMEX Brilliant extend 1 year. Took 2 minutes and she just had to check it wasn’t extended before.
Called the normal support line as a lifetime platinum – 1-800-627-7468
I was told by the rep he could not extend as he was not given the option, and instead was able to convert my certificates into points which I very much prefer!
Data Points:
Called and was told “we don’t do that.”
Called immediately again and was told that they could only extend ONE of my two free night certificates. She extended it for a year (she actually deleted the old one and added a new one, since she couldn’t get the original one extended). I’ll call later to try again on the 2nd certificate.
As a public service, let me summarize Marriott’s clear policy on this based on the data points posted here in the past two months: yes we can; no we can’t; yes but only one cert; yes but only if you were sick/died; no because your credit card spend wasn’t sufficient; yes but never again; yes for a year; yes for five months; no the system won’t allow it; yes but only if you have a Marriott card and a future reservation. You’re welcome.
Excellent summary
Update: I called back today (using 800-399-4229; last time I called 800-535-4028), and the second certificate was extended with no questions asked.
Took less than a minute.
I had a 25k free night that was set to expire on 10/22/2022 and I wanted to use it on 12/2/2022. The first time this was discussed with an agent, they said to call closer to the expiration date because they should be able to extend the expiration date out one time, so I called today (10/10/2022). I called the Titanium Elite line (same line as before) 800-399-4229 and the agent said they could only extend it if there were life events that had disrupted my travel, i.e. death in the family, health issues, weather related, etc. I said that none of those were the case, but I considered just saying it was health related. The agent wouldn’t extend it unless one of those factors had impacted our reservations. I went on to ask another question and our phone call was disconnected.
I called back, got another agent and they said extensions were no longer being made and that they couldn’t help. I called back a third time, but to 800-535-4028 and explained that I would like to travel in December but noticed one of my free nights expires prior to that and the agent looked up my account and said that she could help me. She said she couldn’t extend the certificate by a few weeks, but she could extend it for one year (great, even better!) Not sure if this was standard procedure, but she had to cancel my certificate and issue a new one which expires a year from today. She did say that this is a one-time extension on this certificate, but made no mention that I couldn’t extend other certificates in the future, like what was implied on a few other posts.
I was able to book my trip for December and use the certificate since the expiration date was set for 10/22/2023.
Thanks Greg for the article and I agree, just call back and keep asking until you get the right person that’s willing to help you. Be nice, be patient, and eventually you will get someone that is onboard with helping you out. Don’t give up!
I just called (oct 10 2022) and asked to extend a FNA from my bonvoy chase card that was expiring oct 25 2022 (the kind of FNA night you get each year). The agent was very helpful and extended for 12 months – yay! She did mention that in order to extend, I need to be spending frequently on the card. That said, I dont spend often on the card and she was able to make exception anyway but just an FYI it might help your case to put some spend on the card.
Worth noting that I tried calling multiple times, multiple agents, in May 2022 about 5 FNAs that I got as part of the promotional offer for opening that same chase card that were expiring June or July 2022 and they denied the request to extend every single time.
Some data points. I called 800-535-4028 on a Sunday and got a knowledgeable/experienced person but they used a bunch of fancy words and elaborate explanations to say ‘how the system’ couldn’t do the extension on my 3 certs because I haven’t been doing any spend recently on the Marriott cards (no incoming point activity from credit cards) and the certs didn’t expire until December/January. She said to try later in the year and try putting at least a thousand spend a month on the cards to have a better shot. I graciously thanked her for the keen insights and then did HUCA (Hang Up Call Again).
2nd call also on Sunday but to the other elite number 800-399-4229. Got a more pleasant person but not as experienced. Said they had to submit ‘a ticket’/get permission but was optimistic. I got an email Monday from bonvoy_program declining the extension -“the system won’t let me/us do it”. I called a third time to the 4229 number on a Tuesday morning (small chance during regular work week to have a more regular type employee? -just speculation) and got a very tactical person, not big talker, but they went ahead and in a couple minutes extended all 3 certs. A few minutes later he had helped me update an existing reservation happening in June 2023 that had used points originally and got the certs applied to the booking instead.
They made me work for it but got the current batch of certs used up! Thanks to the blog and others on it for sharing experiences so I knew to keep at it. I think this will get harder to do over time…
mine was expiring in one month called the 800# got a very nice agent told her a story about wanting to use it to visit a relative on their birthday a couple of months after the expiration date, she put me on hold to see if it can be done. after being on hold for 15 minutes she came back and told me it was extended. I didnt want to burn this one it was an 85k cert
Was able to extend when Chase certificate expired next day. Took 2 tries (first said she wasn’t able to, second was very happy to help but warned it was a one lifetime exception).
Called and asked to extend for a trip next month. CSR extended my cert “so that I could book my trip next month.” Checked my account online and it was extended for a year. No criteria was referenced.
OK, I called “800-535-4028″ number and they extended my certificate for 1 year. She said she is extending this because;
1-) I’m a CC holder
2-) I have a future reservation in the books
It looks like these are the 2 criteria they are looking for
These steps and phone # worked for me today also.
Both of mine that were expiring 8/23/22 and 9/1/22 were extended by 1 year today.
I have 2 Chase certs (one mine, one my wife’s) expiring in 3 weeks. Called to extend it based on the original article that led me to believe that I could do so. Got an agent with all the warmth of a doorknob, but she took my information and put me on hold. Came back a few minutes later and told me there was nothing she could do, that we didn’t qualify for an extension. I asked her what rule, for the future, and she told me she could not tell me why we were denied (to be clear, she knew, just unwilling to pass along the information.
BTW, at the beginning of the call, I agreed to the survey at the end of the call (I generally do it to praise or excoriate, and for a plain vanilla call, I do nothing). I stayed on the line, but she cut the connection. Probably knew I would rip her a new one, even though I was nothing but nice (but she was rude and surly).
Fortunately, I am able to burn them at a Fairfield Inn in Michigan next week, better than nothing.
Why not call a few times until you get an agent willing to extend them?
Thought about it, but the cash price on the Spring Hill Suites in Frankenmuth was $445 for 2 nights, so that was a good enough redemption anyway.
Had a cert expiring in 2 months, figured I would call the Titanium line and on the first try I was able to get a 1 year expiry from today.
” please don’t use those exact words ”
that made me chuckle.
My nights were expiring at beginning of December, I called, said I would like to use for a reservation at the end of the month, 3 minutes later, no questions asked, they were extender for another 6 months until Jun/2023.
Best call ever!
My experience with Marriott and/or My Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant has been a PITA for months now. I booked a room in April, for a stay in June. In May (a month before my stay) the Marriott I was going to stay at charged my Amex as if I had checked in a month early. I thought someone had hacked my card and was disputing the charge with Amex who told me that I should contact the hotel. I had to wait a couple days to do so. In those 2 days my yearly $300 Marriott credit kicked in and covered the cost. Then the problems started. I cancelled the stay, but due to the hotel screwing up again they did not issue a refund until after I had supposedly stayed there. Every single chat and phone conversation I have had with them starts with me explaining the hotel charge and refund and my Marriott credit being used, but not refunded and the agents telling me that the credit was used. I at least have case number now, but as my new $300 credit starts soon (at least to be used before 9/22) I can see things going from bad to worse
[…] Marriott Rules for extending free nights (update: rules are squishier than I previously thought) by FM. […]
I called and the hardest part was getting to a rep. They canceled my existing one, I refreshed the webpage and saw it gone. They then issued a new one, refreshed again, and there it is for one year from now.
Not having luck getting it extended. Called 2 x and chatted. Mine expires 7/30 and never extended b4. Is there a certain number to call? It’s for a Ritz 50k FNA.
I don’t think the phone number matters but this is the one I called: (800) 399-4229.
I’m trying to get official word from Marriott about this since some people have reported having to call many times before getting someone to extend their certs
3rd call’s the charm! I called 800-535-4028 which the chat rep said to call. The rep did note that this is a 1 time exception and I can NEVER have another extension since she put a red flag in the notes.
That’s great to hear (except the red flag part).
You can’t have an extension for that particular certificate or ever again on your account even for future certificates?
♀️
Thank you so much ERK! Much appreciated. Tried this number and worked like a charm. My free night (from my Marriott credit,card) was expiring in a about a week,
I have had no luck yet, but will continue to try. 3 phone calls so far.
[…] of free night certificates that expired June 30 Marriott will do a one-time 12 month extension for free night certs. I should’ve taken the 40,000 point free night instead of 5 suite night awards at 75 elite […]
[…] Marriott Rules for extending free nights by FM. […]
I had one expiring next week so I called and after warning me this was a one-time, never to be done again ,never in my lifetime, no no no, not even if I am at death’s door, did I understand what she was saying – NEVER AGAIN – 4 times and it will go into my permanent record … and then she extended it for 1 year. She sounded like she was paying for it herself.
Thanks Greg!! you saved me a free night as I can’t use it. I had trouble using 9 free night all last month. I still have a few expiring in 2023.
Marriott Bonvoy has come through for me this year, converting all my 1-week certs to points at a decent rate.
Now if only Marriott had some decent hotels for 35K that would be something. Great value in Europe … the West Coast of USA not so much here.
No extension on cert expiring end of July unless you meet their requirements like sickness or death of family mmember, military deployment, blah blah blah. Time to ditch my Marriott elite status for something better. Keep getting bonvoyed over and over lately.
Call again. I just got mine extended.
I called Marriott to see if they could extend my certificate expiring August 2. The CSR said that the certificate was issued by American Express so I would need to talk to them. He gave me an 800 number to call. I called it but did not get AmEx, I got Marriott again! But the CSR I spoke to on this call was able to extend the expiration to July 2023. I immediately used it to help book a stay in Sydney early next year. Thanks for sharing this information!!
Thanks, Greg! Any reason to think that this policy wouldn’t apply to free night certs earned from a SUB? Like, if I earned the 5-night offer on the Boundless, do you think it would be safe to count on being able to extend all or some of those for an additional 12 months?
I also have this question got some from the marriot biz card last year
I have the same question; and the 5 FN offer is expiring this Thursday…
I have been considering getting the Bonvoy card with the new 5 x 50k certificate offer, but one of the reasons I was leaning against it is I hate only having 1 year to use the certificates. This might make me reconsider.
Day before this post I called to extend a 35k certificate from a targeted promo (1 cert per stay up to 2 certs). Despite the promo cert expiring in 6wks she extended it that day for about 5 months out – which I thought was totally fair. So apparently even promo certs (not Annual Free Night certs) can also be extended at least a bit with the right agent.
This is huge for me, as I have some expiring later this year that I couldn’t otherwise use. Kudos again to Greg & Nick & crew; FM consistently blows away the competition.
What competition?
Now to Bonvoy us they will change the rule after the unofficial rule is relied on
I had 3 certs expire on June 30.2022. I called to see if I can extend them but they told me now cause they have already extended them multiple times because of COVID. Since they are now expired is their any possibility they can be re-activated for even short time so I can redeem them?
I think that’s very unlikely but it can’t hurt to call and ask. If it works, please let us know!
Does this apply to suite nights that haven’t been extended?
Great question. I don’t know.
I have a free night certificate expiring 8/2. Called to extend it and was told no.
Has the cert been extended before? If so, then that’s expected. If not, call again until you get a rep that will do it. I suspect that many reps don’t understand the rules.
It was issues Aug. 2021 so I don’t think so. I will try again.
I tried again. The agent spoke to a manager and was able to extend it until July 2023. Thanks! BTW, she did check to see if I still had my credit card open.
Great!
I opened a Marriott AMex last Oct 21 with plans on getting to a country that still has some travel restrictions, so I have not used 2 x 50K certs from CC sign-up. They currently expire end of November. Do you think these would get extended? Challenge is to wait and then get a no would not be good. Thanks!
I do think they will be extended, but you’re right that it’s risky. I’ve found in the past that even when they weren’t supposed to extend certificates I could find an agent willing to do it as a courtesy if I had a good story of why it was necessary. I think you have a good true story. It might take a number of calls though. And, of course, there is a risk that it won’t work at all. Personally I’d gamble on it, but only if I really didn’t have a good alternate use for the certs
Like many others who have mentioned, I didn’t have any luck extending my 6/30/2022 expiring certificate last month. I called almost 5-6 times, at different times of the day and different days of the week, and all agents told me the exact same thing – verbatim (they don’t have a button to extend the certificate once already extended (Note: mine was originally expiring on 3/31/2022 but was extended by Marriott as part of blanket extension in Dec 2021), there are no exceptions to this rule, bla bla bla). It was funny that Marriott was consistent in their message this once time when they didn’t need to be consistent!
That is interesting. I guess they were so serious about forcing those certs to expire that they didn’t even allow agents a chance to use their own judgment. Hopefully that was a one time, one-situation thing
-1
I was able to get a 6/30 extended.
I had 6 FNCs expiring on 6/30 and contacted Marriott through their website contact form. I must have got lucky because a week later I got an email letting me know that they were all extended for another year.
My wife had a 50K that was expiring 6/30 (had been extended due to COVID). We tried to extend and the CS rep said no way.
Yep, the 6/30 certs had been extended before so they weren’t eligible
No such luck with me about a month ago with 35 k certificate expiring 6/30/22.
Yep, the 6/30 certs had been extended before so they weren’t eligible
I think when it comes to extending free night certificates, not all certificates are =. I think free nights earned for titanium requalification are harder to get extended then ones earned through cc.
That’s certainly possible
Did you have to give a reason? And was it that you had a good agent?
No reason required. My impression was that these are the new rules (as I outlined in the post)
I called a number of times to extend my free nights (I had two and my wife two) and they refused. It is possible that they were extended once before. I even spoke to a supervisor and they said they don’t extend them anymore. I explained I had major surgery recently and it’s impossible for me to go anywhere now. It didn’t matter. They also said I can’t give them to my kids or anyone else. They expired 6/30/22.
I believe the 6/30/22 had been extended numerous times due to Covid. I think these are for regular expiration.
I think that’s exactly why they should extend them again. They did it for Covid when travel was impossible. So it’s almost like starting over. After that they should allow an extension. Another thing. I get free rooms that are up to 25k, which are pretty much in the lower scale of rooms. Unless I’m wrong, my IHG free rooms are for any room. I honestly didn’t check that in a while but I think that’s the case.
Have a great weekend.
IHG had unlimited FN certs last time back in 2019 (expiring in 2020). They may have been extended (depends on expiration) due to COVID.. but the certs issued by IHG after May 2019 are no longer unlimited and capped at 40K. Also the certs from old Select card cannot be topped, when the certs from the new Premier (but only anniversary certs, not from the SUB) can be topped (with unlimited number of points though)
Sorry to hear that. The certs that expired 6/30 had all been extended before and they had a hard rule against extending them again.
Hi Greg, I have 2 Marriotts certificates that will expire on August 5th, is there any way to extend them?
Yes call Marriott and ask. If they say no, call again until you get someone helpful. Try telling them how you plan to use the certs to get them invested in helping you do so.
I had a 7 night category 6 certificate which was going to expire June 30, 2022 and I was told all I could do was receive points for it (420,000). I was told it could not be extended. Is there any way to reverse the points and revive the certificate?
The travel certificates are no longer a Marriott thing since Marriott ditched their award charts. I think you made out like a bandit with getting 420K points. I’d much rather have those points over a 7 night certificate.