Status: checked against official sources; automated independent review
GUIDE
How to Book Marriott Bonvoy Awards
Booking a Marriott Bonvoy award means paying for a stay at a participating Marriott property with points or a free night award instead of cash. You run a hotel search with the “Use Points/Awards” option selected, compare the award rates the property shows for your dates, and apply the award when you book [1]. Which hotels appear, what a night costs and which charges the award covers vary by property and by date [1] [2].
Facts checked: 18 October 2026
Key takeaways
- Award stays are booked inside the ordinary hotel search: select “Use Points/Awards”, then choose from the rates the property displays for those dates [1].
- Free night awards are redeemable at thousands of properties worldwide with varying point values, and the redemption site advertises free-night stays starting at 12,000 points per night [1].
- Cash + Points and PointSavers are separate rate types that appear in the same search, and only at participating hotels that show them [1].
- Marriott may change redemption levels and award availability with or without notice, so a figure you see is a quote for one property and one set of dates [2].
Searching with points
The redemption site places “Use Points/Awards” in the hotel search form alongside destination, dates and rooms and guests, so the award search starts the same way as a cash search [1]. With that option switched on, participating hotels show the award rates they hold for the chosen dates, and the results also flag Cash + Points and PointSavers rates where the property offers them [1]. The programme describes redemption across more than 30 hotel brands and 10,000 destinations [1].
“Participating” matters here. Marriott’s programme rules name properties and a brand that do not take part — Bulgari Hotels and Resorts at all locations, The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore and a short list of others — and treat them as excluded unless the rules say otherwise [2]. Some brands take part only in a limited way: Design Hotels, all-inclusive resorts and MGM Collection hotels are each governed by their own separate terms, which control the redemption detail for those stays [2].
What an award night costs
Free night awards are described as redeemable at thousands of properties worldwide with varying point values, and Marriott advertises free-night stays from 12,000 points per night [1]. Two pricing variants sit alongside the standard award rate at participating hotels:
- Cash + Points. A rate that combines cash and points for the same stay; you book it by selecting the “Cash + Points” rate from the list once a property displays one [1].
- PointSavers. Discounted award rates advertised at up to 20% off, available only at participating hotels that show a PointSavers rate for your dates [1].
Room upgrades are priced separately again: at select hotels and resorts, members can trade points for a better view or a larger suite, and the upgrade is applied while booking [1]. Award availability and redemption levels sit inside the programme rules Marriott can change with or without notice, even where a change affects the value of points [2].
Booking, certificates and after booking
Free night awards and point upgrades are applied during booking, before you confirm the reservation [1]. Nightly Upgrade Awards work the other way round: they are requested after the stay is booked, from the Confirmation or Reservation Details page, and are open to Gold Elite members and above [1].
The free night certificate guide covers the certificate side in more detail.
Cancellation has a points consequence. An award redeemed before a points forfeiture remains valid unless it is cancelled after the applicable points expiration date, and if it is cancelled after that date without qualifying activity to extend the date, the points used for the award expire [2].
Exceptions and limits
- Fees at named properties. At Atlantis, Paradise Island, an award redemption stay covers the standard room rate and room tax only; extra-person charges, resort fees, service charges and other property charges are the member’s responsibility [2]. The Reef, The Beach and Harborside at Atlantis do not participate, and points cannot be redeemed for reservations booked through AtlantisBahamas.com [2].
- Properties that leave. If a participating property exits the programme, awards stop being valid after the exit date, even for reservations made before that date [2].
- Keeping the points alive. Members need qualifying activity at least once every 24 months; after 24 consecutive months without it, all accumulated points and awards are forfeited and cannot be reinstated, and gifting, transferring or receiving points does not count as qualifying activity [2]. Points in lifetime elite status accounts are not currently subject to expiration, though the programme may apply an expiration policy to those accounts in the future [2].
- Other uses of the same balance. Points can also be transferred to airline programmes — 38 of them, most at a 3:1 ratio, in transfers of 3,000 to 240,000 points a day — so an award night is one use of the balance rather than the only one [3].
Sources
Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. It covers Marriott Bonvoy only; other hotel programmes, including Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt and IHG One Rewards, are not covered here.
- Marriott Bonvoy — Redeem your points (free night awards, Cash + Points, PointSavers, upgrades), checked 18 October 2026
- Marriott Bonvoy Loyalty Program Terms & Conditions, checked 18 October 2026
- Marriott Bonvoy — Transfer points to airline miles, checked 18 October 2026