Marriott Introduces Nightly Upgrade Awards in Place of Suite Night Awards

Marriott Bonvoy is revamping its Suite Night Award program for Platinum and Titanium Elites. The program is expanding to include more rooms but will include some downsides, such as only clearing 3 days prior to check-in. There are a few changes in-store, so let’s dive in and take a look.

New Nightly Upgrade Awards

When you earn Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite or Titanium Elite status, you get to choose from several choice benefits, one of which is the former Suite Night Awards, now rebranded as Nightly Upgrade Awards. Traditionally, these certificates were meant to upgrade you to a suite in advance of check-in and were a carry-over from the old Starwood Preferred Guest days prior to the merger with Marriott Bonvoy.

Marriott Bonvoy is changing how these certificates work:

• The awards are changing to Nightly Upgrade Awards, which reflect the broad use of these certificates. They’re no longer meant for upgrading just into suites, but also preferred or larger rooms. This means there will be 20% more inventory to pull from for upgrades. If you want a better view room, for example, you can use a Nightly Upgrade Award on that better room. Of course, you’re still eligible for on-arrival upgrades depending on your status, and these upgrades certainly could include those better rooms. The point of using a certificate is to guarantee the upgrades in advance.
• Previously, you could not use a Suite Night Award at Aloft, EDITION, Element, Protea, and The Ritz-Carlton hotels. Effective January 1, 2024, you can use your Nightly Upgrade Award certificates at these brands.
• Nightly Upgrade Awards will now only clear 3 days in advance of check-in, a change from the 5 days that were allowed for Suite Night Awards. This means the hotel has a few more days to potentially sell these better rooms.

Unfortunately, there will likely be a lot of leeway in what rooms a hotel categorizes as an upgrade for these certificates. A room with a higher floor, for example, could be eligible under this program, whereas previously the certificates were designed for suites, so it’s definitely going to depend on the property as to what upgrades might be on offer.

Final Thoughts

The new changes to the Nightly Upgrade Awards are definitely a mixed bag. While more rooms will be available for upgrade, you’ll also see a shorter window in which those upgrades can be confirmed. That said, it will be nice to finally use these certificates at Aloft, EDITION, Element, Protea, and The Ritz-Carlton hotels. If you’re a Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite or Titanium Elite, you’ll want to consider whether choosing these certificates is right for you!