Marriott Bonvoy introduced Annual Choice Benefit-options for members that reach 50 and 75 nights in a calendar year to the combined program last year. SPG had these for years while Marriott Rewards members didn’t have anything similar.
Marriott Bonvoy sometimes forgets to email eligible members after they reach the night requirements to select the award, but you can do it using the link below. If a member doesn’t make a choice, Marriott will choose the Suite Night Awards as a default option (not necessarily the best).
You can access Marriott’s page for choosing Choice-benefit here.
READ MORE: Marriott Bonvoy Rate & Bonus Points And Miles Promotions
You must make the 2019 Annual Elite Benefits Choice by 11:59PM ET on January 15, 2020 for both 50 and 75 nights levels.
Here are the 50 nights Choice Benefit-options:
- Five Elite Night Credits
- 40% off your favorite hotel bed
- Marriott Bonvoy™ Silver Elite status for a friend or family member
- US$100 donation to UNICEF
- Five Suite Night Awards
Five Elite Nights Credits-option is only useful if it helps you to reach 75 (or 100) nights. Otherwise, there is zero value. Silver status doesn’t come with any meaningful benefits and 40% off your favorite bed is not useful for most.
Suite Night Awards can be worthwhile if you stay at full service hotels that have them, and if the hotels in question confirm them.
Donation to the UNICEF is the only option of these five that actually costs some cash to Marriott.
Here are the 75 nights Choice Benefit-options:
- Five Elite Night Credits
- 40% off your favorite hotel bed
- Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite status for a friend or family member
- US$100 donation to UNICEF
- Five Suite Night Awards
- One Free Nights Awards (Up To 40,000 points)
Five Elite Nights Credits are only worthwhile if you wouldn’t otherwise reach 100 nights AND your eligible spend is 20,000 USD or higher. You would then granted an Ambassador status.
Bedding discount and Gold status are not useful for most. The donation to UNICEF would be a nice gesture.
Five Suite Nights Awards is again an option with the same caveats as previously. My preferred choice at the 75 nights level is the free night award capped at 40,000 points.
Conclusion
People often are misguided and believe that the elite nights credits apply for the membership year when the choice is made which is incorrect. It applies for the year when they was earned. The credits that are earned in 2019 will only count towards the status in 2019 even if the actual choice is made in 2020.
The free night award, however, is valid through the end the following year when it was earned.
The elite night options-are only useful if they allow you to reach 75 or 100 nights level and the latter one also requires minimum $20,000 eligible spend.
Suite Night Awards can be useful for some, but I have found them to be mostly useless and would rather choose something else.
The free night award at the 75 nights level is my preferred choice. The options at the 50 nights level are not great. Previously, SPG members were able to choose a free night award at this level too, but Marriott discontinued that option.
