Originally Posted by
littlevoices
Absolutely, so in plain English - "Not in the way you might imagine it" is the easiest way to consider this. It is transparent when you book however which one is free, and aligns with how Marriott describes it, but not how you may simplistically interpret it looking at the advertising.
To be clear, staying for 4 nights and paying for 4 can, and often will be, cheaper than staying for 5 nights "with a free night".
Correct, if you add a 5th day to the stay that costs more points than the lowest of the first four nights. However in almost all circumstances you get a better points per night cost with five given one is zero.