The Guide to Marriott Award Stays

Marriott Bonvoy offers travelers a way to earn and redeem points at nearly 8,900 hotels and 30 brands. With these points, you can book hotel rooms, enjoy Marriott Bonvoy Moments experiences, book flights and car rentals, buy gift cards and more.

One of the best values for Bonvoy points is to book a hotel room. Learn all about redemption options and how to get the fifth night free when using points.

The number of Marriott points for a free night can range from 5,000 to 100,000 points or more per night. The cost varies by brand, location, room size and when you're traveling.

This uncertainty can make it challenging to know how many points you need to book a free night in advance. Even worse, you may research the cost of your trip only to have the price change after you've reached your goal.

The Marriott Bonvoy points redemption chart was discontinued in March 2022. While Marriott hotel categories still exist, award nights are now priced dynamically based on the destination, room type, time of year and demand.

These kinds of flexible point redemptions make it harder to know how many points you need to save up for a trip. However, they also provide an opportunity to save if you're willing to travel off-peak when demand is lower.

» Learn more: How to score great travel deals in shoulder season

Once you've accumulated enough points, you can redeem them for award nights at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.

You can browse hotels and their point redemption rates on the Marriott website or app. Input your travel details and toggle on "Use Points/Awards" to view your hotel options with award rates.

You can filter your search results by number of points, as well as specific brands, amenities or distance from your preferred destination.

» Learn more: How to use Marriott points

Marriott free night certificates, also known as Free Night Awards, are vouchers you can redeem for a one-night stay at eligible hotels. They come with some limitations, but offer a great way to save on your next Marriott stay.

How to use a free night certificate for Marriott

Booking a stay using a Marriott free night certificate is simple. Start your search by entering your destination and travel dates, then select "Use Points/Awards." Choosing flexible travel dates makes it easier to find an award night that's under your certificate's point cap.

You'll receive a list of the available hotels on your selected travel dates, including a summary of the cost of each property. The prices listed will include cash rates and the number of points for your stay. You can sort and select based on a variety of criteria, including amenities, brands, free breakfast and pools.

Select a hotel to see what room types are available and how much they cost in points, cash or other payment options. You can toggle between cash rates, points and packages to find the best deal for your stay.

When you find a room you want, you can choose to book with points or use your free night certificate. If the room costs more than your free night certificate cap, you can top it off with up to 15,000 more points.

What are free night award top-offs?

When Marriott had a defined award chart, it was simple to find hotels that qualified for your annual free night certificate. Now that the hotel uses dynamic award pricing, the price can fluctuate significantly, making it harder to use the free night.

Marriott Bonvoy members can add up to 15,000 points to their free night certificate to book an award reservation. This enhances the value of these certificates and opens up additional properties to members.

» Learn more: How to redeem 35K-point Marriott certificates at Category 7 hotels with a top off

Combining free night certificates and points for a longer stay

Previously, members needed to book free nights from certificates and points separately.

Now, you can book your entire reservation at once. Marriott will automatically apply your certificates to the highest eligible night to reduce the overall cost of your stay.

If you don't want to use certificates, uncheck the box for the certificates you want to save.

Marriott offers several versions of its consumer and business credit cards through Chase and American Express. The cards offer a variety of annual fees, earning power, elite status and other benefits.

The amount of points you can redeem for your free night award depends on which card you have. Here's a closer look at the card options.

Terms apply.

There are several savvy strategies that reduce the number of points required to book your room.

Stay flexible

When you have flexibility in your travel dates, you can save a lot of points on a hotel stay. Prices can change based on holidays, peak travel days, local festivals and large conferences.

Let's say you want to book a room at the W Bogota in Colombia in December 2024. Rates vary from 30,000 to 44,000 points per night.

In other words, some nights can cost more than 45% more points than others.

Get the Marriott fifth night free

The Marriott fifth night free benefit is available to all Marriott Bonvoy members. With this "Stay for 5, Pay for 4" offer, you'll pay for only four nights when you book an award stay of five consecutive nights under one reservation.

When pricing out the total cost of your stay, you'll receive the lowest-priced night for free. This benefit can be used unlimited times, even for longer stays. For example, if you book a 10-night stay, the two lowest nights during the entire stay are deducted from the total cost.

» Learn more: 5 loyalty programs that offer free hotel nights

Save points with Cash + Points

If you don't have enough points to book a trip or want to save points for another redemption, you can pay for your room with a combination of points and cash.

Cash + Points rates aren't available at all hotels or for all travel dates. Search for your desired location to see if your trip qualifies for this payment option.

At the W Bogota, you can save points by booking a Cash + Points redemption. Instead of paying 44,000 points for a night, a Wonderful King room can be booked for $125 and 22,000 points. Paying $125 for the 22,000-point discount is like buying points for 0.57 cent each, which is below our average valuation of 0.8 cent. This is an excellent deal since the same room would cost $619 per night, including taxes and fees.

» Learn more: Are Marriott Cash + Points rates worth it?

Earn elite status

Marriott Bonvoy awards its most loyal members elite status, which means more points can be earned. The bonus grows depending on your tier level, and sticking with one hotel loyalty program for your travels can expedite points earning.

Elite status members earn upgrades and bonus points:

• Marriott Silver Elites earn 10% bonus points.

• Marriott Gold Elites earn 25% bonus points.

• Marriott Platinum Elites earn 50% bonus points.

• Marriott Titanium Elites and Ambassador Elites earn 75% bonus points.

Book PointSavers hotels

Travelers with flexible schedules and who are open to new destinations can take advantage of Marriott PointSavers hotels. PointSavers are special offers that allow members to book rooms at a discounted price at participating hotels during certain times of the year.

Purchase points during promotions

Members have the option of purchasing points necessary to book a room. However, the cost of these points isn't always a good deal. Periodically, there are promotions where you'll get bonus points on top of your purchase.

Through July 24, 2024, you can get up to 35% bonus points when buying 10,000 or more Marriott Bonvoy points. Even with this limited-time bonus, the purchase price is high, at $1,250 for 135,000 points. That's a price of 0.92 cent per point, which is more than our average valuation of 0.8 cent.

Compare the cost of buying points versus how much value you'll receive when redeeming them. Depending on how you plan on redeeming the points, buying points can be a wise move. Otherwise, buying points is best to top off your account with a few thousand points to book an award reservation.

Although Marriott points are generally best for booking award nights, there are other redemptions available. While you may get a lower value for some redemptions, they can be a good choice depending on your situation.

• Book travel. Use points (or a combination of points and cash) to book flights, rental cars or cruises through Marriott’s travel portal.

• Transfer to airlines. Marriott partners with 39 airlines where you can convert Bonvoy points into airline miles. Points transfer at a 3:1 ratio to most airlines, and you'll get a bonus of 5,000 miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points converted.

• Enjoy Marriott Bonvoy Moments. Members can purchase access to culinary, sports, entertainment and lifestyle events using their points or cash. Some events are complimentary, while others have a fixed price or are sold to the highest bidder at auction.

• Buy gift cards. Use points to buy gift cards at popular retailers. This redemption is hardly the best value for your points, but if you have few travel plans in your future, you can buy gift cards at dozens of retailers: $10 gift cards start at 5,000 points, up to $100 cards for 30,000 points. These include big names like Adidas, Applebee’s, Barnes & Noble, Lowe’s and Sephora.

• Donate points. Support charities by donating points to philanthropic partners in your local community and around the world. You can redeem 2,500 points as the equivalent of $10 in donations, with 125,000 points equating to $500. Beneficiary options include the American Red Cross and UNICEF.

• Shop online. Shop online for various goods and services through the Shop With Points portal.

• Sign up for TSA PreCheck. You can use the portal above to pay for TSA PreCheck. Or, keep your points for a dream redemption and instead get a credit card that covers TSA PreCheck application fees.

When you earn points on Marriott stays or by using a Bonvoy credit card, you may be wondering, "How many Marriott points for a free night?" The answer depends on where and when you're traveling, the room type and other factors. However, there are several steps you can take to reduce the cost of booking a room, including using the Marriott fifth-night free benefit. If you're not ready to book a room, Marriott also offers other redemption options, like Marriott Bonvoy Moments, gift cards and online shopping.

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