Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here
For members who earned more than 50 or 75 Marriott Bonvoy elite qualifying nights in 2022, there are days left to select Marriott annual Choice Benefits.
Marriott Bonvoy elite status offers some impressive benefits to frequent travelers. But the perks get particularly compelling once you accrue 50 elite nights in a calendar year to reach Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status.
One of those perks is the ability to choose an annual Choice Benefit. If you reach 75 elite nights in a calendar year, you’ll be able to select a second annual Choice Benefit.
Which Choice Benefit should you choose? Let’s examine each option and see which one may offer the best value.
Related: The award traveler's guide to Marriott Bonvoy
Overview of Marriott Bonvoy annual Choice Benefits
To select your annual Choice Benefit(s), visit this page on Marriott’s website. You’ll need to sign in to your Marriott Bonvoy account before choosing your benefit. However, note that you can’t change your selection once you make it, so choose wisely.
Related: Battle of the hotels: Why Marriott is the best
How to accrue Marriott Bonvoy elite nights
Earning 50 or 75 elite nights in a calendar year may sound daunting. However, Marriott provides multiple avenues to reach these thresholds outside of completing actual nights at participating Marriott properties. For starters, award nights count as elite nights. You can also earn up to 40 elite night credits by holding select Marriott Bonvoy credit cards.
Specifically, you can earn 15 elite night credits each year by having a personal Marriott card and another 15 elite night credits by holding a Marriott business card. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card now offers 25 elite nights.
So, suppose you have a personal Marriott card like the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card and a business Marriott card like the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card. In that case, you’ll get 30 elite night credits each year through these cards alone. Meanwhile, you’d have 40 nights if you paired the Bonvoy Business card with the Bonvoy Brilliant.
Related: Free nights and easy status: Here's why I have 4 Marriott Bonvoy credit cards
Platinum Elite (50 nights)
As noted above, you’ll unlock your first annual Choice Benefit when you qualify for Platinum Elite status. Your options for the 50-night annual Choice Benefit are:
- Five elite night credits.
- Five Suite Night Awards.
- 40% off a mattress.
- $100 charity donation.
- Gift of Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status for a family member, friend or colleague.
Most of these benefits are pretty tough to value. So, let’s take a closer look at each option. I’ll start with the options that are unlikely to make sense for most elite members.
Gift Marriott Silver Elite status
Giving status to someone else might initially sound like a good option, but Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status isn’t worth much. In fact, TPG only values Silver Elite status at $45 — and it’s worth $0 if the person you gift it to doesn’t end up using it. After all, the primary perks of Silver Elite status are a 10% points bonus on paid stays and priority late checkout.
So, if you know someone who wants elite status with Marriott Bonvoy, you may instead want to encourage them to apply for a card. This is because cardholders of the following cards get automatic Marriott Bonvoy elite status:
- Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card ($250 annual fee, see rates and fees): Gold Elite status.
- Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card ($125 annual fee, see rates and fees): Gold Elite status.
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card ($95 annual fee): Silver Elite status.
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card (no annual fee): Silver Elite status.
- The Platinum Card® from American Express ($695 annual fee, see rates and fees): Gold Elite status, including for Platinum Card authorized users. Enrollment is required.
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express ($695, see rates and fees): Gold Elite status. Enrollment is required.
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card ($650 annual fee, see rates and fees): Platinum Elite status.
Related: The best Marriott credit cards
Make a $100 charity donation
You can select a $100 charity donation to a choice of three charities as your annual Choice Benefit:
- UNICEF.
- World Wildlife Fund.
- Arne M. Sorenson Hospitality Fund.
The $100 charity donation is a nice touch and could be the right decision if you can’t use any other annual Choice Benefit options. However, I’d prefer to earn points and miles on a charitable donation to a charity of my choice and maintain my ability to select one of the other benefits.
Related: How you can donate your points and miles to charity
Get 40% off a mattress
If you love the bed at a particular Marriott brand, you can buy a new one for your home. If you’re going to buy a Marriott mattress for your house, you should select the annual Choice Benefit that provides 40% off a Marriott-brand mattress.
Although this annual Choice Benefit can be a great value, relatively few people are in the market for a specific hotel bed. As such, this option doesn’t apply to many travelers.
Related: How to make your home feel like a 5-star hotel
Receive 5 elite night credits
One option that can make sense for some travelers is five elite night credits. In particular, the elite night credits can come in handy if you find yourself just a few nights short of leveling up to Titanium Elite status this year.
However, it might be worth waiting until the end of the year to select your Choice Benefit. If a work or last-minute personal trip arises, you might close the gap toward Titanium Elite. Just note that you must select your Choice Benefit by Jan. 7, 2023.
Related: The case for burning 80,000 points to earn Marriott Titanium status
Receive 5 Suite Night Awards
Each Suite Night Award is valid for a one-night, confirmable upgrade to select suites and premium rooms designated by each property. So, you’d need six Suite Night Award certificates to request an upgrade for a six-night reservation.
Many members save these upgrades for stays at luxury Marriott Bonvoy properties. It also may be worth trying to identify properties that make higher-category suites available for upgrades. However, not all Marriott hotels offer Suite Night Award upgrades, and some may restrict availability. So, if you have a particular property in mind when selecting this annual Choice Benefit, check whether the property participates before making your selection.
Remember that these awards expire on Dec. 31 in the year following the one in which you earned them. So, if you reached 50 nights in 2022 and chose five Suite Night Awards as your Choice Benefit, they’ll expire on Dec. 31, 2023.
Related: How and when to use Marriott upgrade certificates
Titanium Elite (75 nights)
After you reach 75 elite nights, you’ll earn Marriott Titanium Elite status and get a second annual Choice Benefit. The choices for the 75-night annual Choice Benefit are as follows:
- Five elite night credits.
- Five Suite Night Awards.
- Free night award worth up to 40,000 points.
- 40% off a mattress.
- $100 charity donation.
- Gift of Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status for a family member, friend or colleague.
As you can see, the choices here are relatively similar to the choices available after hitting the 50-night threshold. I’ll skip over the charitable donation, Suite Night Awards and 40% mattress discount since I’ve already discussed these options in the previous section. Likewise, I won’t discuss gifting elite status since it’s relatively easy to obtain Gold Elite status via credit cards, as previously discussed.
However, let’s take a closer look at the other two options.
Receive 5 elite night credits
Earlier in this article, I considered how some travelers might select the five elite night credits as the 50-night annual Choice Benefit to reach Titanium elite status. However, it could also make sense for Titanium Elite members to choose it to earn Ambassador Elite status. After all, Ambassador Elite status typically requires 100 elite nights and $23,000 in annual Marriott spending to qualify.
However, this option will only make sense if you end the year with 95 to 99 elite nights and at least $23,000 in annual qualifying spending with Marriott. Unfortunately, there is no way to get around the spending requirement, making this worthwhile only for big spenders short on elite nights.
Again, you may want to wait until the end of the year to select your Choice Benefit if you fall into this camp.
Related: Why I’m earning more Marriott Bonvoy points during the pandemic
Get a free night award worth up to 40,000 points
The final option, unique to the 75-night annual Choice Benefit, is one free night award worth up to 40,000 points.
This free night award is slightly more valuable than the 35,000-point free night award certificates associated with many of the Marriott Bonvoy cards.
Based on TPG’s valuations, 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points are worth $336. So, this is undoubtedly a valuable option. However, if you already have lots of Marriott Bonvoy points and outstanding free night awards to cover your future travels, you may want to choose another benefit.
Keep in mind that this award will expire on Dec. 31, 2023.
Related: 7 ways to maximize Marriott Bonvoy award night redemptions
Which annual Choice Benefit should you choose?
If you expect to travel a lot this year, it will likely make sense to choose the free night award or Suite Night Awards. Both options can provide significant value, but if you can use the Suite Night Awards before they expire and get considerable value from these upgrades, this is likely the more valuable option.
However, if you are only five or fewer elite nights shy of qualifying for Ambassador Elite or Titanium Elite status, the five elite night credits may be a great choice. Likewise, if you plan to buy a Marriott-brand mattress, the 40% off discount is likely your best bet.
You may wonder what my husband and I selected for our annual Choice Benefits. After all, in 2021, we both earned Titanium Elite status. We both picked five Suite Night Awards for our 50-night threshold benefits and each selected free night awards for our 75-night threshold benefits.
We haven’t mastered how to maximize Suite Night Awards yet — and there’s a lot of variability across Marriott’s properties — so we decided the free night certificates would provide more value.
Related: How to avoid my big Marriott Choice Benefit mistake
Bottom line
Marriott’s annual Choice Benefits are a great way to reward elite members. There are ample options to choose from at both the 50- and 75-night thresholds. The options aren’t created equally, though, so be sure to carefully consider which benefit will be most valuable for you before making your decision.
Additional reporting by Andrew Kunesh, Ethan Steinberg, Nick Ewen and Kyle Olsen.
For the rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy, click here.
For the rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex, click here.
For the rates and fees of the Amex Platinum, click here.
For the rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum, click here.
For the rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex, click here.
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.