Marriott Free Night Award Top Off
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Thanks to the new Marriott Free Night Award Top Off feature, Marriott Bonvoy cardholders now have more flexibility in paying for hotel accommodations. Now, you’ll benefit more from your loyalty points and make your Free Night Award (FNA) certificates eligible for more places.
Looking for the best ways to use Marriott rewards for travel? We’ll take a look at the recently announced Marriott Free Night Award Top Off and how you can take advantage of it today on your next booking!
What is Marriott Free Night Award Top Off
Marriott Free Night Award Top Off is a new feature added to making reservations with Marriott. Marriott Bonvoy cardholders with Free Night Award certificates can now combine these rewards with loyalty points to apply for a room.
With the Marriott Free Night Award Top Off, FNA certificates can be ‘topped off’ with up to 15,000 Bonvoy points. The Top Off feature allows you to use your FNA certificates to book higher-priced hotels!
Let’s explore what certificates you can supplement with points and how to top off your rewards during the booking process.
What are Marriott Free Night Awards and How to Get Them?
There are many perks to being a Marriott Bonvoy cardholder, especially for travelers! You’ve already been racking up loyalty points by using your card and taking advantage of travel discounts – but what about the highly coveted Free Night Awards?
Marriott Free Night Awards give you a free night’s stay at any of their more than 7,000 Marriott properties around the world. Each certificate is applicable for one night only and is valued in Bonvoy Loyalty points. Hotels and resorts can be booked up to the value of the certificate. Here are the types of Marriott Free Night Award certificates you can earn:
- 35,000 Bonvoy Points/stay certificate
- 40,000 Bonvoy Points/stay certificate
- 50,000 Bonvoy Points/stay certificate
The good news is that there are multiple ways for you to earn Free Night Awards as a Marriott Bonvoy member. You can have multiple FNA certificates at the same time (and use them together to book multiple night stays!). Here are ways you can earn Marriott Free Night Awards:
- Marriott Bonvoy Card Anniversary – Members of qualifying cards will receive ONE Free Night Award certificate on their card anniversary every year. Cards can earn 35k-50k certificates.
- Special Promotion – Marriott has special promotions throughout the year to give away FNA certificates. For example, popular promotions include getting a Free Night Award for your second paid stay. Check for new promotions and certificates vary.
- Qualifying spend limit – Users who spend more than $60,000 in one year with their Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card or Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card will receive a 35,000 certificate.
- Member status – Marriott provides Choice Benefits for cardholders achieving certain status during the year. Users to earn 75 Elite Qualifying Nights will receive a Free Night Award certificate. You can select your reward, which includes up to a 40,000 certificate.
How to use Marriott Free Night Awards
Marriott Bonvoy card holders can take advantage of free night certificates redeemable while booking your hotel accommodation. The simple steps to using your free night awards are:
- Check for awards
- Browse Hotels
- Select Payment Options
- Book
1. Check for awards
Available Marriott Free Night certificates will appear in your account overview. Select your name once logged in and navigate to the ‘Overview.’ Scroll down to find the ‘Certificate’ heading and click it to see what awards you’ve earned. You will be able to see details about the free night award and the number of points it covers. Multiple awards will appear as separate entries with their respective values.
2. Browse Hotels
Now that you know how much your certificate is worth, you can begin searching for a hotel that fits within your limit. Select your destination and choose your dates. Make sure to check the box for ‘Use Points/Certificates.’ Then, click ‘Find Hotels.’
Scroll the results page to see available accommodations with their price listed by points/stay. Choose a hotel with a price equal to or less than the value of your certificate (unless using an FNA top off with loyalty points).
3. Select Payment Options
Click on ‘View Rates’ to see the different offers for room options and the different prices (Double-check that you’re on the Points – Pay With Points tab). Click ‘Select’ for the room you prefer, and you’ll be redirected to the checkout page.
Users logged in will see a designated section prompting to ‘Select the reward you want to use.’ Here, you’ll see your list of available FNA certificates automatically populated. Be sure you’ve selected a certificate; otherwise, the balance will be deducted from your points balance.
4. Book
Once you’ve confirmed your details, click ‘Book,’ and you’re all set! If you check back in your account overview, your used certificate will not appear.
How to Top Off a Marriott Free Night Award?
The announcement of the Marriott Free Night Award top off simplified the booking process for holders of the certificates but was slightly out of range for their hotel of choice. Marriott has implemented a user-friendly fictionality to automate the process and do most of the heavy lifting for you when making reservations!
Two things to confirm in your account are:
- Certificate for a free night award
- Marriott Bonvoy loyalty points
Follow the steps to using your Free Night Award up until Step 3 when selecting your payment options. In the past, even those with a free night award certificate would see it unavailable if booking a hotel room valued at more than the certificate. Now, if the price falls within the 15,000 top off limit, you will see the available certificate option, which also shows the number of loyalty points you will use in the transaction.
For example:
Hotel price: 45,000 points/night
FNA Certificate Value: 35,000 points
Total payment*: FNA Certificate + 10,000 loyalty points top off
*Keep in mind that resort fees and taxes are still applicable.
Suppose you’re booking a hotel room for two nights…
The same process applies when applying your free night award certificate to your reservation. The payment options will show options for both nights to use a free night award for either night and/or combine them with points. The top off values are also displayed next to the FNA certificate if needed.
You must have multiple FNA certificates to use on multiple night bookings.
What Marriott Credit Cards can you use?
The Marriott Bonvoy Free Night Awards Top Off is only available to cardmembers. To use the certificates and top-off features, you must log in and book directly on Marriot. These are three Marriott Cards that earn your Free Night Award Certificates:
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card ($95 annual fee) – earns FNA certificates valued at 35,000 Bonvoy Points/stay
- Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card ($125 annual fee) – earns FNA certificates valued at 35,000 Bonvoy Points/stay
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card ($450 annual fee) – earns FNA certificates valued at 50,000 Bonvoy Points/stay
Each card gives users a Free Night Award on their credit card anniversary.
Tips for using Marriott Free Night Award Top Off
Marriott continues to make the booking process easy and transparent for its users. The top off feature is automated with applying and making the calculations on its own, so you don’t have to input any information. However, there are still a few things to keep in mind to ensure you’re getting the full value from your certificates.
- Use your free night award certificates before their expiration date. Any unused certificates will go to waste. However, with the top off feature, you can use the certificates for booking a wider range of accommodations.
- The FNA Top Off cannot be used with Marriott’s Fifth Night Free program. The Fifth Night Free allows users to ‘stay for 5, pay for 4,’ however, Free Night Awards can’t be used for one of your “paid” nights.
- The Marriott Free Night Award feature is only available when booking on the desktop. Logged-in users booking via mobile will not see the top off feature when confirming a reservation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Bonvoy Points can I use to top off my Marriott Free Night Award?
Users can use up to 15,000 Bonvoy Points to top off their Marriott Free Night Award.
What’s the difference between a Free Night Award vs. Suite Night Awards?
When looking in your Marriot Bonvoy Account Overview, you’ll see Free Night Awards (FNA) and Suite Night Awards (SNA), both listed under the certificate section. FNA certificates give you a free night, while an SNA only allows you to upgrade your room free while booking. Top off is only available for Free Night Awards, not SNAs.
If I use two FNA certificates, can I top off one or two certificates?
The Marriott FNA Top Off feature applies to each certificate. When making your booking, you will have options based on each night. Select the top off feature for each option, and Marriott Bonvoy Points will be added to each certificate.
What happens if I cancel my reservation booked with a Marriott Free Night Award Top Off?
Canceling a reservation is as simple as going into your bookings and following the prompts to cancel. If you cancel within the deadline, you’ll receive your FNA award back, and your Bonvoy Points will be credited to your account
