Once you’ve stayed 50 or 75 nights with Marriott in a calendar year, you can claim an Annual Choice Benefit which gives you a few different options varying from night credits, suite night awards and a free night voucher. You have until January 7th to make your selection, otherwise the suite night awards will be deposited into your account by default.
If you have stayed 75 nights and are interested in choosing the free night voucher though, there is an oddity that you should be aware of. Looking at Marriott’s terms and conditions, regarding its expiry it says:
The Free Night Award (up to 40,000 Points) must be redeemed for a stay that occurs no later than December 31 of the year following the year in which the additional benefit is selected
Whereas for the suite night award:
Suite Night Awards expire on December 31 of the year following the year in which they were earned
If it’s not clear enough: for suite night award the time you make your selection is irrelevant, as the award earned in 2021 will expire on December 31st, 2022 regardless. However it makes a difference for the free night voucher – if you select in 2022, then the voucher will have one more year’s life and expires on December 31st, 2023.
It may not be super useful, but a good catch to keep in mind for the future.
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