12/8/23: It sounds like Marriott has, indeed, ended the expiration of free night certificates on 12/5/23.
12/4/23: We’ve been getting multiple data points of readers calling in to have their Marriot certs extended and being told by supervisors that, starting tomorrow 12/5/23, extensions will not be allowed for any reason.
I called in myself and spoke with a supervisor who was very friendly and extended my 85K cert without question, but then mentioned that she was really happy that I called today because, starting tomorrow, they would no longer be able to do anything. She didn’t agree with the change, but said that her hands would be tied.
This could be another chapter in the Bonvoy cert extension runaround, but the consistency of the information makes me think that this is legit. If you have a certificate that you need to extend, I’d call today. – Tim
~ Original post follows
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.
Insider Update: Many call center reps simply do not have the ability to extend Free Night Awards. There is no button on their screen to do so. Supervisors and Loyalty Care representatives, though, do have this capability.
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.
Insider Update: Marriott associates have been instructed to extend certs only when there are “extenuating circumstances.” Examples of valid extenuating circumstances that Marriott gave to these reps are:
- Serious health/illness issues (Member or Family Member)
- Maternity (pregancy/birth of child)
- Military deployment
- Death of a family member
- Planned/booked travel cancelled due to severe weather and/or natural disaster
The above list is a set of examples that Marriott has posted to their reps. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list.
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
Insider Update: It is possible that some phone numbers are more likely to reach Loyalty Care representatives who have the power to extend certs. That may explain why people have reported more success with the top number listed above.
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.
Insider Update: Supervisors should have the ability to extend certs even when the first line agent does not.
Do NOT open a case
Insider Update: Opening a case may work, but if the case request is denied there will be a record of that fact and so future agents may be unwilling to go against that decision.
Try again, by phone
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.
Insider Update: Agents have been clearly instructed that certs can only be extended once. It is therefore challenging to find an agent who will go against this rule and extend a certificate again. To be clear: if they have the ability to extend any certs, then they have the ability to extend a previously extended certificate, but most reps won’t do so.
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.
Insider Update: Certs that come from different credit cards are all treated the same. It doesn’t matter if they were issued by Chase or Amex or from the Ritz card or the Brilliant card or whatever. All of that said, certs issued through targeted promotions (such as “get a free night after two stays”) may be treated differently. Our insider had never tried to extend any such certificate.
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.
Insider Update: Marriott associates have been instructed to extend certs only when there are “extenuating circumstances.” Examples of valid extenuating circumstances that Marriott gave to these reps are:
- Serious health/illness issues (Member or Family Member)
- Maternity (pregancy/birth of child)
- Military deployment
- Death of a family member
- Planned/booked travel cancelled due to severe weather and/or natural disaster
The above list is a set of examples that Marriott has posted to their reps. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list.
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.
Insider Update: Marriott used to extend certs for high level elite members regardless of whether there were extenuating circumstances. Now, though, the following note is found under the instructions for which types of extenuating circumstances apply:
Please Note: The Exception for a ‘High Valued Member’ has been removed from this list because it was not clearly defined and led to confusion for Associates and Guests.
I think it’s important to note that few reps who knew about the elite exception before are likely to notice that it has changed.
What else matters besides elite status?
It sounds like it is helpful to have ongoing credit card activity and Marriott stays…
Insider Update: Agents are instructed to “consider the following”:
- Does the member still have the credit card?
- Does member use card on a regular basis?
- Does member stay regularly at Marriott hotels?
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.
Insider Update: It is possible that some phone numbers are more likely to reach Loyalty Care representatives who have the power to extend certs. That may explain why people have reported more success with the 1 (800) 535-4028 number.
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.
Insider Update: Opening a case may work, but if the case request is denied there will be a record of that fact and so future agents may be unwilling to go against that decision.
Does it matter whether I choose to answer a survey at the end of the call?
No.
Insider Update: Reps cannot see whether or not the caller intends to take the survey.
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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I called several times, spoke to several agents, and tried all the numbers listed. No one was available to help. Our family of four are all still testing positive for COVID after 10 days, but they all said they cannot extend free night certificates for any reason as of 12/5/23.
Just wondering if anyone has any success recently?
I recently had multiple back surgeries and didn’t get the clearance to travel again until this week only to find out my 3 free nights expire in 5 days. I’ve called multiple times up to a supervisor and nobody willing to help. I was told to open a ticket and hope for the best but even with my medical issues and inability to travel, they most likely won’t extend.
Hey, I hope you are doing well. I was wondering if you have any update on this? This seems to be a very reasonable ask for extension.
Denied time after time after time, argument after argument after argument. Email and phone call, customer service claiming she’s the supervisor and all knowing etc. They claim from the bottom to the top they have no way of extending and then told me that the issue is concluded because there is no conclusion and closed the cases.
Now that some time has passed, I’m curious why the insider info was posted in the first place.
We already gleaned how some of this works anyway, so I was surprised to see the details, especially referring to a “story.”
Is it because maybe it had already been posted somewhere like Reddit, so the genie was out of the bottle? Don’t take this the wrong way, but on the surface this Bonvoy looks like more than a coincidence. Could be totally wrong. Feel free to delete.
It is certainly possible that the update to this post is what pushed Marriott into this change. I agree that the timing seems like more than a coincidence. We’ll never know for sure. To answer your question: it simply never occurred to me that this info might kill the deal. It seemed like super useful info to share, so I did. Had it occurred to me what might happen, I probably would have presented the info more subtly.
just read the post tonight – called twice and was told “marriott policy” changed as of 12/4 “due to fraud on FNA certs”
SOL.
Called 1 (800) 535-4028 tonight (3rd call, all different numbers) and was able to get a “one-time exception” due to my medical diagnosis. Extended one year to 12/5/24. At first, the associate refused to do anything, but when I mentioned my medical issues, she relented. The good news is associates still can still exercise some discretion.
Now the post will be updated to specifically ask for a one time exception due to a medical condition…
I told them of my medical issue and they told me sorry, can’t help
The certs come with expiration dates. Extensions were an exception, not some rule to rely on. Expecting an extension was a risky proposition. To those bellyaching about “the change” just look at the cert and the expiration date.
Ok, so I said it. Now downvote away lol.
Just tried Calling 6 times, and twice asked for a supervisor. Everyone told me the same thing that it was not possible to extend due to the ‘terms and conditions changing’, but varied from saying that the policy changed on 12/1 to saying that they just got word this morning. Really sucks that they would do this with no heads-up. Probably going to cancel my credit card rather than upgrade to the Ritz card at this point, because I’m tired of getting Bonvoyed.
I had plenty of Marriott certs extended, but I always looked at it as something that was not guaranteed.
Glad to see there are some sensible takes in here. The level of entitlement in the comment section can be quite amusing.
I saw this last night around 8:30 PST. I called right away and the first agent changed my 85k cert without issue. Thanks Frequent Miler for saving my bacon. Sorry to others that weren’t as lucky.
I had an 85k certificate expiring today,12/5/23. I called 1 (800) 535-4028 and reached a supervisor right away. I explained that I couldn’t use the certificate in time and could she extend it? She said an email came out to all associates last week that certificates could not be extended. She then looked to see if she still had the ability to extend and she did. My certificate now expires 12/5/24. She was very certain that this is a one off thing and I would not be permitted to extend ANY additional certificates in the future.
Yay, Kathy, for persevering!!!
I got the e-mail with your article saying yesterday was the last chance today, so too late anyway, what a shame
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Bless your big heart, Greg, for taking the time to write this very important and time urgent post. It really saved me. My husband & I each had a FNC expiring tomorrow (We’re in Hawaii so it is 12/4/23 here although it is 12/5/23 in much of the US right now). I called on the number that you said most people had success with. The CSR was very friendly and said that she wanted to help with the extension due to my particular extenuating circumstance (health issue). However, she immediately stated that Marriott had changed their terms effective today (in her time zone) so she couldn’t promise if the extension would go through. She wasn’t sure when the computers were being re-programmed. She was able to get into the extension process but there was a glitch. She persevered and was able to get us a one year extension. She then processed the extension for my husband’s FNC. She even had me go online to be sure the extension was visible in our accounts. Then I asked her how far out she could extend a certificate because my husband had one expiring in May 2024. She said that she could extend it but only until a year from today. So that was great. I wanted to pass on my experience with your readers so I started this post. Midway, I noticed that my husband had another FNC (for 85K points) expiring in March 2024 that I hadn’t noticed before. So I called Marriott back, got another really friendly rep who said almost verbatim the words of the first rep. She extended that cert until 12/5/24. This was my easiest experience ever extending a FNC!!! I’m not sure if the reps want to be extra helpful because they know we will never get extensions again or if I was just extremely lucky to connect with two very kind, helpful agents. At any rate, I wanted to pass on my two data points and encourage everyone to get those extensions NOW
Thanks for that DP. I woke up after midnight central time here in Istanbul (actually staying at a Marriott) and messaged Marriott Bonvoy Assist on Twitter and Facebook Messenger, was told no twice. Seeing your DP, I decided to call and Johanna told me flat out no on both my 40k Titanium cert and a 35k Amex biz cert. I made the stupid mistake last year and should have waited until after 1/1 to select the 40k cert, bc people were getting those valid until 12/31/24 if waiting until then. Ugh! Leave it to Marriott to announce a policy changed within less than 24 hours. Bonvoyed again! I guess I will try to find the most expensive property I can stay at for 40k and 35k.
I called in at 12:23AM EST, and was told the policy changed 23 minutes ago, and they now cannot change anything, as per the AGENTS time zone.
As of 9PM PST, I was able to extend two of mine that were expiring in Feb 2024. They are now extended to Dec 2024. Took two attempts with number ending in 4028, transferred to supervisor.
Same experience as many others. Called the elite line, and the supervisor said no that the card company doesn’t allow them to extend. Then I called the number in the post and the friendly agent said today is the last day to extend it, and she extended it one year. Thanks Marriott!
You should thank Greg.
Called the x4028 number with a legitimate request because I just had back surgery. At first the rep said she couldn’t extend them because it was too early. They were all 2024. I told her I can provide a Dr. note and she then said let me try and see. She put me on hold came back and move the 4/4/24 date to 12/4/24. I don’t think will be able to move the ones that are in August but doesn’t hurt to try.