Marriott Nightly Upgrade Awards (formerly Suite Night Awards) are one-night confirmable upgrades to a premium room or suite, and you get five of them by choosing them as your Annual Choice Benefit after reaching 50 or 75 Elite Night Credits in a year. You request them on a reservation you've already booked, Marriott starts checking availability as early as five days before you arrive, and an email tells you whether the upgrade is confirmed. If it isn't, the awards go back to your account.
The rules matter more than the headline. You need one award for every night of the stay, you can't use them for part of a stay, and one late cancellation can cost you every award on that reservation.
How You Earn Nightly Upgrade Awards
Nightly Upgrade Awards come from the Annual Choice Benefit. Marriott's program terms say Platinum Elite members and above who reach 50 Elite Night Credits in a calendar year can pick one benefit from a list. Titanium Elite members and above who reach 75 get one additional pick. Five Nightly Upgrade Awards is on both lists.
The 50-night list also includes a U.S. $1,000 bed discount from a Marriott retail brand, a U.S. $100 charity donation, Silver Elite status for a friend or family member, or five Elite Night Credits. The 75-night list has the same options, with Gold Elite status as the gift and a Free Night Award (redemption value up to 40,000 points) added.
You make the pick on choice-benefit.marriott.com by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on February 1 of the following year, and not through Member Support. Selections are final, and if you miss the deadline, the terms give you the five Nightly Upgrade Awards by default. After you select them, they're placed in your account within 48 hours.
The awards expire on December 31 of the year after you earned them and can't be extended. Marriott's example: earn them in 2026 and they must be used on stays on or before December 31, 2027.
How to Request an Upgrade
Book the stay first. Then, from the Confirmation page or the Reservation Details page, use the Start Upgrade Request link. The terms also allow requests by calling Member Support. You can ask any time after the reservation is confirmed, up until 2:00 p.m. hotel time the day before arrival.
Marriott's FAQ says the awards work on eligible paid stays, Free Night Award stays and Cash & Points stays. They apply only to the premium rooms and suites a property designates, and some suite types may not be available for them. If a property offers several room options, you can change your choice until 2 p.m. hotel time the day before arrival, as long as the award is still unconfirmed.
One award covers one room for one night, and you need one for every night of the stay, even a night that's free. Say you book three nights: you'd need three awards for that reservation. The awards can't be transferred or gifted, and they can't be used on a multiple-room reservation.
Marriott's member benefits page also lists an Enhanced Room Upgrade for the entire length of your stay, which includes select suites for Platinum Elite members and above. We also covered Marriott's app upgrade list beta in our report on the test.
When Marriott Checks Availability
After you request, Marriott's program terms say checking begins as early as five days before arrival. At EDITION, The Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis, it begins three days before arrival. The FAQ page says the same. The system keeps checking each day until around 2 p.m. local hotel time the day before arrival.
Treat the award as unconfirmed until the email arrives. Marriott says it will tell you either way, and if it can't confirm the upgrade, the awards are credited back to your account if they haven't expired. You can withdraw an unconfirmed request until 2 p.m. hotel time the day before arrival.
What Can Cost You Your Awards
Once an upgrade is confirmed, you can only cancel it by canceling the entire reservation, and only up to 2 p.m. hotel time the day before arrival. Cancel after that and you forfeit every award applied to the reservation.
You can't add awards to a reservation after check-in, and if you leave early, the confirmed awards you didn't use are forfeited. To extend a stay, book the extra nights as a separate reservation and request the awards on Marriott's website or through Member Support, since the hotel can't process it. Separate back-to-back reservations may mean changing rooms.
Where You Can't Use Them
Not every participating property takes part. Marriott's program terms list these as not redeemable:
- All-Inclusive Resorts, Marriott Executive Apartments, and StudioRes
- Marriott Grand Residence Club, Marriott Vacation Club, Sheraton Vacation Club, and Westin Vacation Club
- Ritz-Carlton Reserve, The Ritz-Carlton Club, and The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
- The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach
- The Phoenician Residences, a Luxury Collection Residence Club, Scottsdale
- Trailborn, Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy
- Participating Design Hotels
- MGM Collection hotels and Tribute Portfolio properties that are part of the partnership with Delonix Group
Properties that don't participate in the loyalty program are out, too. Marriott's separate Nightly Upgrade Awards terms page also lists Homes and Villas by Marriott Bonvoy.
Your Next Step
If you're approaching 50 or 75 nights, make your Annual Choice Benefit pick by February 1, because it's final. These awards suit a stay where the room matters and you can live with a late answer, since Marriott's checks start as early as five days out. If you'd rather have certainty, one of the other options may fit better. For what each tier gets, see our Marriott Bonvoy elite status guide, and for how to use your points and status, our Marriott Bonvoy guide.
