Free Night Award �Top-Off�

• When using an FNA, you may spend up to 25,000 points beyond the certificate value, which is called a Top-Off. The difference is paid from your personal points balance.
• If you book a room using Top-Off, and the room price later decreases, you can modify the reservation to rebook the same date and immediately recover the difference in top-off points.
• Other links: Top-Off Discussion, 2021 program updates, and Marriott FAQ
• Between 4/30/22 and late March 2026, the maximum top-off was 15k.

Extending an Expiring Certificate
Not possible as of 12/7/2023 since Marriott removed the internal tool for extensions. Historical information found at the end of this page.

Gifting a Certificate
Points reservations can be gifted to another person, but according to Marriott's terms, certificates earned from a credit card cannot. This means the certificate owner (cardholder) must check-in even if someone else is also listed as a guest on the reservation. In some cases a property has given leeway and allowed just the guest to check-in anyway without the certificate owner present, but it can be risky to depend on this.

Canceling a Free Night Award Reservation
If you cancel a Free Night Award reservation, the FNA certificate may sometimes disappear from your account. It can be re-instated by calling Marriott.
A way to avoid this is the following technique:

• Before cancelling anything, first modify your existing FNA reservation and select points payment instead, assuming you have enough points to entirely cover the cost. Confirm that change.
• Once complete, the original Free Night Award will be available in your account again for use. Your old reservation will show as being paid with points.
• Now cancel the points reservation to recover your points. (Point reservations are refundable, but as usual check for any special cancelation rules at your property.)

Things to know

1. The certificate expires one year after it is issued. You must complete your stay by the expiration date.
2. Can be used for a standard room only.
3. Cannot be used for "redemption with cash upgrade" or any points and cash combination
4. Cannot be combined with a 3-night award to get a "Stay for 5, Pay for 4" award
5. Amex credit card free night certificates are issued 2 months after the anniversary date of the credit card. For example if the Brilliant fee posts 7/1, the certificate is available in your Marriott account on 9/1. Chase FNA certificates can appear much sooner, within 1 week.
6. If you made a reservation with a FNA and want to know its expiration date, you can find it by editing the reservation as described at this link.
7. If you downgrade the Amex Brilliant to the $95 Amex Bonvoy card, you can still get your anniversary FNA.

How to use

1. Search for a points booking at an eligible hotel. During the booking process an option appears to use the certificate as a replacement for some of the required points. Click that button and continue the reservation.
2. If it�s more than a 1-night stay, you can also choose the night on which to spend the certificate. It will display a button and price next to each night. You may want to select a specific night if the price varies during your stay.
3. Some have had trouble booking certificates from the credit card offer to get 5 free nights (specifically starting in 2020). In that case, try this webpage for booking.
4. If you have 2 certificates of different value and try to redeem only one, the Marriott website offers the one expiring first. If that's not what you want, work around this issue by making a dummy booking with that certificate. Then book the real reservation with the desired certificate. Then cancel the dummy. Be sure to pay attention to any cancellation terms since a few properties are more strict than others.
5. If the reservation is for someone else, see the note above regarding, �Gifting a Certificate.� Marriott does not officially allow this.

Free Night Award Certificate Value
Titanium Elites may obtain a Free Night Award worth up to 40,000 points as an annual choice benefit
Nine co-branded credit cards offer an annual free night worth up to 85,000 points:

• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card (formerly Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury Credit Card from American Express) - up to 85K (Second with $60k spend)
• Ritz Carlton Rewards - up to 85K
• Marriott Bonvoy Bevy - up to 50k (with $15k spend)
• Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful - up to 50k (with $15k spend)
• Marriott Bonvoy from American Express (formerly Preferred Guest) - up to 35K
• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (formerly Rewards Premier Plus) Credit Card - up to 35K
• Marriott Bonvoy Business from American Express (formerly Preferred Guest Business) - up to 35K
• Marriott Rewards Business Premier Plus Credit Card - up to 35K
• Marriott Bonvoy Premier (formerly Rewards Premier) - up to 25K

Older archived notes below:

EXTENDING AN EXPIRING CERTIFICATE:

• A blogger reported that as of 12/7/2023 Marriott removed the internal tool to extend an FNA, so it may or may not still be possible.
• Your best chance for an extension is to call Marriott within 1 month of the expiration and consider having a specific property and date in mind to book. It's not necessary but even without one in mind, pick something you might use and change it later. 1-800-MARRIOT
• Most importantly, have a good reason for needing the extension, like illness or injury.
• If granted, the new expiration date is 1 year from the date of the request. You cannot get a 2nd extension on the same certificate, meaning the maximum life of a certificate is 2 years.
• If not granted, some have luck by calling later a few times.
• In 2022, Marriott seemed to deny all extension requests except a few exceptions such as here, here, and here. They may be allowing some again in 2023.

Before 18 Aug 2018, Chase issued certificates good for specific categories of hotels. Post 18 Aug 2018, all certificates have been converted or will be issued at a specific level of points. SPG AMEX and Ritz Carlton credit cards have also begun to issue certs.

25K points - lower level certificates
35K points - higher level certificates
50K points - luxury level certificates

Marriott will introduce peak and non peak levels for hotels after 1 Jan 2019. Certificates will be capped at the points level where they can be redeemed rather than for a specific category of hotel. Thus, if a hotel is 25K at the non peak level and the peak level is higher, it cannot be booked in the peak level window.

NEW EXTENSION OF CERTIFICATES announced in October 2021:

• Free night awards, Suite night awards, and travel certificates will be given a new expiration date of June 30, 2022
• The Marriott Bonvoy app shows the original issue date of your free night certificates. Go to Account -> Free Night Certificates to find the issue date in small print above each certificate. It's unlikely you have a certificate that won't be extended. If you don't see the issue date in the app, you'll have to wait for the actual extension to happen to check the new expiration.
• Expiration of points is paused through December 31, 2022. At that time, your points will only expire if your account has been inactive for at least 24 months
• In March 2022, Marriott will eliminate hotel categories and use variable point pricing for awards. Only a small number will be affected at first, so you won't see an immediate sweep of all properties at once.

PREVIOUS EXTENSION announced May 2021:

• "Starting May 6, members who had a FNA with an original expiration date in 2020, or which will expire before January 2, 2022, as part of their Cobrand Credit Card Benefit, Annual Choice Benefit, promotions or travel package will be able to redeem it through January 3, 2022.
• Please note that FNAs with an original expiration date before 2020 will not be eligible for the additional extension. Members do not need to take any action because the system will automatically update their account with these extensions on May 6, 2021."
  

PREVIOUS EXTENSION announced in 2020:
The expiration date on certificates this year is pushed to 1/31/21.

• �...Members who currently have an active Free Night Award (FNA) expiring in 2020 as part of their credit card benefit, annual choice benefit, promotions or travel package will be able to use it through January 31, 2021.�
• Expiration dates will be updated by the end of April, giving priority to those expiring soonest.
• If yours will expire within just a couple days, contact a Marriott representative here by private message.