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Marriott Suite Upgrades
Achieving Marriott Platinum or Titanium status isn’t easy, but there are some “suite” benefits waiting if you do. You’ll need to stay 50 nights in Marriott hotels to hit Platinum and a whopping 75 nights to hit Titanium. Since Covid hit, those levels have been a little easier to achieve due to Marriott rolling over Elite nights and even running double elite night promos. As a result, we’ve hit Platinum status and the odds are quite high that we will claim Titanium by year’s end. One of the best perks ( aside from free breakfast ) is the Marriott Annual Gift Choice. We decided to choose Suite Upgrades when we hit Platinum status, and will likely choose the same at Titanium. Here’s how Marriott’s Annual Gift Choice works, and how to use the Suite upgrade certificates.
Just to put things in perspective – IHG and Hilton don’t include guaranteed suite upgrades for their top tier status at all. Hyatt gives you 2 Suite upgrades certificates at 50 nights, and another 2 at 60 nights. Each of Hyatt’s certs are good for up to a 7 night booking. Marriott slides in somewhere in the middle with Hyatt clearly being the most rewarding to its members.
Check out this incredible Empire Suite at the St Regis Doha… St Regis Hotels are eligible for Suite Upgrades!!
Marriott Annual Choice Platinum and Titanium options
As you can see below, the choices are pretty much the same; however, you can gift Gold status as Titanium vs Silver as Platinum. You could also choose a free night award ( up to 40k points ). Personally – I’d go suite upgrades every single time.
Choosing a Marriott Annual Choice benefit
Once your account reflects your new status it’s super simple. You’ll see the following menu pop up in your account.
Choosing the 5 Suite Night Awards
Personally, I don’t think there is a real competition in choosing these benefits. If you’re going to be taking a vacation in the future, having the option of upgrading to a suite can transform that stay.
- You can request the suite night upgrade as soon as your reservation populates your account
- Starting 5 nights before your reservation, the suite can confirm
- Every night of your reservation must have a suite upgrade attached and clear in order for it to work
- They work on paid stays, free night award stays, and cash + points
You’ll get a quick disclaimer saying that you can’t undo this choice:
Confirmation that your Marriott Annual Choice Benefit was selected
You’ll receive a confirmation email shortly thereafter
You’ll also see them in your account looking like this:
Booking a Marriott Suite Night Upgrade
You can put in a request for a Marriott Suite Night Upgrade as soon as your confirmation hits your account. A few things to keep in mind.
- You may cancel a suite award up to 2pm, local time, the day before you arrive
- Once a suite has been confirmed…the only way to cancel is to cancel the entire reservation not just the suite upgrade
- If you cancel after 2pm the day before arrival, you’ll forfeit all award applied to the reservation
- Suite upgrades don’t work at: Edition, Ritz Carlton, Ritz Reserve, Protea, Alofta, Element, Design, Marriott Executive Apts, Execustay, Ritz Destination Club, Grand Residences, and some Vistana
Adding the Marriott Suite Upgrade
Here’s a look at a reservation I made at a Luxury Collection Hotel. Once your reservation is made, click “View/Modify” and you’ll see the option to upgrade the room.
You’ll then be given a list of room upgrade choices:
5 nights before you check in, your reservation becomes eligible to confirm, so keep an eye on your account. If it confirms, the suite is yours for the duration of your stay. Each day, it tries again to confirm, up until check-in.
The St Regis NYC is an incredible experience…and eligible for Suite Upgrades!
Overall
I’m really looking forward to enhancing a few stays in the future. It’s unfortunate that the Ritz and Edition arne’t included in the program, but I’m sure I’ll find some exceptional ways to put these first 5 suite nights to good use.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
$300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- $300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel℠. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel℠ purchases within your first year
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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