Marriott elite status
Marriott’s elite status program allows frequent Marriott guests to enjoy perks on their stays, including late checkout and room upgrades (based on availability.) However, elite status benefits depend on the level of status you qualify for, so lower-tier members may get only a few basic perks. The Marriott Bonvoy program also allows members to earn more points on paid hotel stays with the brand, which paves the way to more free award nights. If you don’t stay exclusively at Marriott properties, you may also want to consider joining other popular hotel loyalty programs where you often stay, such as:
Co-branded Marriott hotel credit cards offer automatic elite status, from Silver Elite status with the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card to Platinum Elite status with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card*. Automatic elite status can help you get some perks right away, and make it easier to climb to higher status tiers with paid hotel stays.
*Enrollment required for these benefits
Marriott Bonvoy elite night credits
As a Marriott Bonvoy member, you get an Elite Night Credit for each qualifying night you stay. You also can get Elite Night Credits annually as a benefit on some Marriott credit cards, and you can stack credits from one personal and one business card. If you accumulate enough Elite Night Credits, you may reach a higher level of status the following year. For example, to get to Gold Elite Status, you need 25 to 49 Qualifying Nights and to get Platinum Elite Status, you need 50 to 74, while 75+ gets you Titanium Elite Status.
Free night certificate
A free night certificate is an exclusive benefit on select Marriott cards. This benefit is redeemable for one night at a Marriott hotel, although these certificates limit the number of points a free night award can cost.
Free night certificates are awarded on your card anniversary with a 12-month expiration date, and unused certificates don’t roll over from one year to the next.
The cost of one night at a Marriott varies by location, property and season. One example: a free night certificate worth up to 50,000 points saves you $282 if used to book a king room at the Westin Chicago River North in November 2025. That’s more than the annual fee on most Marriott cards.
Stay for 5, Pay for 4 offer
The Marriott Bonvoy program has a “Stay for 5, Pay for 4” promotion that helps members stretch their rewards points. Essentially, this program lets members redeem points for five consecutive award nights for the cost of four award nights. If you book five nights at a property that costs 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night, for example, the stay would set you back only 200,000 points instead of 250,000.
You’ll have to spend the five consecutive nights at the same property, although it can be a traditional Marriott hotel or resort or an all-inclusive property. However, the free night award will be the one that costs the fewest amount of points during your stay. This is important, since free nights over the course of five consecutive nights may all require different point values.
Marriott Bonvoy airline transfer partners
While free night awards are always going to be the best redemption for Marriott Bonvoy points, members do have the option to turn their rewards into airline miles. The Marriott Bonvoy program will even add 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points you turn into frequent flyer miles. The exception is with the United MileagePlus program, where you’ll get 10,000 additional miles for each 60,000 points you transfer.
There are currently 38 participating frequent flyer programs, and most come with a transfer ratio of 3:1. This means that 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points turn into 10,000 frequent flyer points with most programs.
- Aegean Airlines
- Aer Lingus
- Aeromexico
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air France-KLM
- Air New Zealand
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- ANA
- Asiana Airlines
- Avianca
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- China Southern Airlines
- Copa Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Emirates
- Etihad Airways
- Frontier Airlines
- Hainan Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Iberia
- InterMiles
- Japan Airlines
- LATAM Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Qatar Airways
- Qantas
- Saudia Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Vueling
Free Wi-Fi
Marriott cardmembers are automatically enrolled in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, which includes free in-room Wi-Fi for all members.
Member rates on rooms and late checkout
Marriott cardholders, as Marriott Bonvoy members, will automatically get discounted member rates when booking a stay. They also get priority for late checkout (Silver Elite) or late checkout at 2 p.m. (Gold Elite) or 4 p.m. (Platinum Elite.)