Marriott Bonvoy in 2018 introduced Annual Choice Benefit-options for members that reach 50 and 75 nights in a calendar year.
Marriott has not enabled the option yet for 2021, although some have already reached or both thresholds. We have confirmed with the spokesperson that the Annual Choice Benefit options in 2021 are the same as in 2020.
You can access Marriott’s page for choosing Choice-benefit here.
READ MORE: Marriott Bonvoy Rate & Bonus Points And Miles Promotions
You must make your 2021 choice by early January 2022. If a member doesn’t choose, Marriott will choose the Suite Night Awards as a default option (not necessarily the best).
50 nights Choice Benefit-options:
- Add five Elite Night Credits to your 2021 total.
- Save 40% on a bed from your favorite hotel brand.
- Gift Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status to a family member, friend, or colleague.
- US$100 Charity Donation to WE.
- Get five Suite Night Awards™ to redeem for upgrades to suites and premium rooms.
Five Elite Nights Credits-option is useful if it helps you to reach 75 (or 100) nights. Otherwise, there is very little value (they do count towards the lifetime). Note that even if you make the 2021 choice in 2022, the elite nights are added to your 2021 tally.
Silver status doesn’t come with any meaningful benefits, and 40% off your favorite bed is not useful for most.
Suite Night Awards (SNA) can be worthwhile if you stay at full-service hotels and if you can get them confirmed for meaningful upgrades (that you would not have otherwise received).
Donation to WE (the previous partner was UNICEF) is the only option that costs Marriott cash.
75 nights Choice Benefit-options:
- Add five Elite Night Credits to your 2021 total.
- Save 40% on a bed from your favorite hotel brand.
- US$100 Charity Donation to WE.
- Get five Suite Night Awards™ to redeem for upgrades to suites and premium rooms.
- One Free Night Award worth up to 40,000 points.
- Gift Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status to a family member, friend, or colleague.
Five Elite Nights Credits are worthwhile if you wouldn’t otherwise reach 100 nights, AND your eligible spend is 14,000 USD (reduced from $20K for 2021 only) or higher. You would then granted an Ambassador status. The nights’ count towards the status earned in 2021, even if you make the 2022 choice in 2021.
Bedding discount and Gold status are not useful for most. The donation to WE 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.
When to make a choice?
You should not make the 50-night choice before you know the total number of nights you will consume in 2021. If you end up with 70 to 74 nights, the best 50-night choice is 5 Elite Night Credits because:
- You get Titanium-status
- You get another Choice Benefit-option
The Suite Night Award and the Free Night Award-certificate are deposited into your account immediately after choosing. There is a warning that it can take up to two weeks, but the process is instantaneous.
Conclusion
People often are misguided and believe that the Elite Night Credits apply for the membership year when the choice is made, which is incorrect. It applies to the year when they were earned. The credits earned in 2021 will only count towards the status in 2021, even if the actual choice is made in 2022.
The free night award must be used by the end of the following year when it was earned. Again, earned not when the choice was made.
The elite night options-are only useful if they allow you to reach 75 (Titanium) or 100 (Ambassador) nights level, and the latter also requires a minimum of $14,000 eligible spend (in 2021 only). The nights also count towards the lifetime status requirement.
Suite Night Awards (SNA) can be useful for some. I have found them to be most useful only at luxury properties and would instead choose something else at 75 nights (free night award!). They are valid until the end of next year when they were earned (not when selected). All SNAs earned in 2021 are valid until December 31, 2022.
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 could choose a free night award at this level, but Marriott discontinued that option.
A lot of daily advertisements on Marriott, despite the few disappointments in the past, I guess LoyaltyLobby must have some great commissions.
Bonvoy is the largest and most popular hotel rewards program so naturally many people are interested in it. What program would you like to read about?
If you read this blog often, you will find that John is equally critical of Marriott calling out their sins when other bloggers look the other way and enjoy perks handed out by their PR team. I think John is pretty clear that he wont accept ‘gifts’ from Marriott in exchange for praise or looking the other way.
I would choose the 5 elite night credits for my 50 night award.
Having already achieved 58 nights with the ambassadors deposit of 50 nights, the sooner I can get to 75 nights, the sooner I can choose my free night award (up to 40k points)
There is a promotion of booking off-peak points rates until 2/21/2021, so, better get to 75 more quickly.
I would only choose the 5 nights at the 50 nights level IF you otherwise would not reach 75 nights. Wasted really.
SNAs can often be wasted too if you use them at properties that would upgrade you regardless. They are always a gamble. Even when I was a gold member, I got suite upgrades several times, just heavily depends on the property what they like to do.
Where as the nights, sure if you would of hit the 75 anyways, end up at 80+ end of the year, that’s a thing.. But keep in mind they still count towards lifetime status, and there can be value in getting that 40k night a bit sooner.
I just put mine into the 5 nights. I’m at 72, so it puts me over the 75 for the free night, and going to Dubai which has quite a few 40k properties id like so seems a good use.
(plus I already have 8 SNAs i probably wont even use anyways)
Can SNA upgrades be used on award point/night stays?
Possible.
As a Titanium, is there really any point in selecting the Suite Night Awards? Has anyone with this status ever been declined an upgrade, but then given the upgrade when they had a Suite Night Award to redeem? I’ve just gone with the donation since as a Lifetime Titanium, no other choice had any value to me.
I am a Titanium elite and was not given a suite upgrade at the Tampa JW Marriott. The hotel just opened a couple weeks prior so that may have something to do with it as it was the “it” spot for the city and there were some professional sports teams there during my stay. If I was in need of a suite upgrade, I would have had to use my Suite Night Awards. In the end I was given a higher level floor with the best view and not a suite.
Yea but the thing is with SNAs, hotels aren’t required to honor them either. So they could of and most likely would of, denied your upgrade even if you had used an SNA.
Pretty much, if they have the inventory, but are holding it for any reason, almost no hotel will make any distinction between if you used an SNA, or are asking upon arrival (or even early via email/chat)
I think the only cases they can be useful are
a) Hotel has suites 5 days out, and is a cool hotel that will confirm your SNA 5 days out.. But said suites would have sold in those 5 days, thus upon available, unavailable. So yea it’s a gamble, since no way to know that.
b) Some Hotels have some hidden suite types you otherwise might not know about to ask for. Very rare to see this, but some have them as SNA. This is the only time i used an SNA, and worked out well. (you could hack this by starting the SNA process, cancelling it and specifically asking for said suite, but eh, too much work)
If you reach platinum early in the year and choose the 5 suite night upgrade now, will those suite night expire a year from when you choose them or do they let you use them until December 31st 2022?
until dec 31, 2022.
So yea, they can be valid for just under 2 years if you pick them right away (especially since u can get 50+ nights free from the corona bonuses+amex credit cards)
Had mine 3+ years now due to the extensions.