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I’m now on 41 Marriott Bonvoy elite status nights (after staying one night)

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Exactly a month ago, I wrote an article telling you check your Marriott Bonvoy account.  Earlier than expected, Marriott Bonvoy had posted your ‘bonus’ elite nights to your account.

All Marriott Bonvoy members were getting elite night credits equivalent to 50% of the status they earned in 2019.  Whilst Marriott Bonvoy has already rolled over status to 2022, giving out elite night credits was meant to encourage members to still use Marriott because higher status was within reach.

This meant that if you were Platinum Elite in 2019 but only did enough nights to earn Gold Elite for 2020, you received 13 elite night credits.

Marriott Canary Wharf

The full list was (this is based on the status you earned in 2019 for 2020):

  • Ambassador Elite – 50 elite night credits
  • Titanium Elite – 38 elite night credits
  • Platinum Elite – 25 elite night credits
  • Gold Elite – 13 elite night credits
  • Silver Elite – 5 elite night credits

This offer got me thinking

I am current Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite.  I am guaranteed this status until Spring 2022 thanks to Marriott’s status extension.

Being Platinum Elite, I was gifted 25 elite night credits.

I now had a grand total of 26 elite nights credits!  I reviewed the new Courtyard by Marriott Inverness Airport back in March (hotel website is here, it’s good) plus I got my 25 bonus credits.

However, could I get to 50 elite nights?

I have a handful of Marriott stays booked in for later in the year.  This led to wonder whether I should get the Marriott Bonvoy American Express credit card again which comes with 15 elite night credits.

Why would I want to reach 50 elite night credits?

At 50 nights, Marriott Bonvoy gives you a Choice Benefit.

There are a few options but the only valuable option is five Suite Night Award certificates.  These would allow me to request suite upgrades in advance for five nights during 2021, albeit that not all brands and hotels offer this.

Some people struggle to use their Suite Night Awards.  It doesn’t help that Marriott won’t start looking for availability until 5 days before you arrive.  However, I though it was worth a try.

A couple of days after publishing the earlier article on 18th July, I (re)applied for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express credit card.

In theory you are meant to wait 60 days to see the 15 elite night credits on your Bonvoy account.  However, mine have already arrived. I now have 41 Marriott Bonvoy elite night credits for 2020, despite only staying one night.

It still isn’t certain that I will hit 50 nights by 31st December.  My existing plans will get me most of the way there, but existing plans aren’t worth much at the moment.  I will do what I can, however.

JW Marriott Maldives

Would the 15 Marriott Bonvoy Amex elite night credits work for you? 

If you’re Gold Elite this year ….

You were given 13 elite night credits in July.  If you got the Marriott Bonvoy American Express, you’d receive a further 15 nights.  This gets you to 28.  You’d then need 22 paid or reward nights in 2020 to earn the 50 nights required for Platinum Elite.

If you’re Platinum Elite this year ….

You were given 25 elite night credits in July.  If you got the Marriott Bonvoy American Express, you’d receive a further 15 nights.  This gets you to 40.  You’d need 10 paid or reward nights in 2020 to earn five Suite Night Awards.  You’d need 35 paid or reward nights in 2020 to earn the 75 nights required for Titanium Elite.

If you’re Titanium Elite this year ….

You were given 38 elite night credits in July. If you got the Marriott Bonvoy American Express, you’d receive a further 15 nights.  This gets you to 53.  You immediately trigger a ’50 night bonus’, of which the five Suite Night Awards are by far the best option.  You’d then need a further 22 paid or reward nights to trigger a ’75 night bonus’ – choose from five Suite Night Awards, a Free Night Award, gift Gold Elite status, five Elite Night Credits or a $100 charity donation.

Don’t underestimate what a good deal this is for a Titanium Elite.  The 15 elite night credits from the Amex card will trigger your ’50 night bonus’ (the best option being the five Suite Night Awards for 2021) even if you don’t do a single night in a Marriott property this year.

If you think getting the credit card makes sense, our full review of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card is here and you can apply here.

New cardmembers will receive their 15 elite night credits within 60 days of applying, although I had received mine within 30 days.  In subsequent years, the 15 elite nights will be credited by 1st March.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.

Category

Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott Bonvoy American Express

Comments (25)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Gtellez says:
    18 Aug18 August 05:48

    I’m now at 74 nights, after staying 21 nights this year thanks to the CC and been Titanium.
    However I’m quite pissed off with Marriott; during my last 4-5 stays, I’m receiving always less points than I should (usually around 1-3k points). So, now after any stay I have to call and waste 30 min on the phone explaining the situation. Last weekend I stayed one night in the W Barcelona (BTW- amazing hotel and really good fares nowadays). After spending around €300 (excl taxes), I just received 2,383 base points, while I should have received almost 4K. If you take into account the 75% titanium bonus, I’m almost 3k short. Exactly the same has happened to me multiple times, I don’t know if the reason is that they only give me the points for the room and not the meals, or if it is due to an extremely poor exchange rate. Anyway, I know that I have to check it every time I stay at a Marriott and then call them.
    Many could say that for 1-3k it is not worth it to call them, but if you do as many nights/stays as me every year, it can be a very significant amount of points. I think Rob you could do an article about it, and maybe it could help many readers to get some extra points if they keep the invoices.

    • Yuff says:
      18 Aug18 August 06:43

      That’s the one thing with Hilton membership, you always got the right points and on many occasions more than expected.
      Which is great when you stay somewhere like Conrad rangali and get large points posting to start with…😄

      • Ian M says:
        18 Aug18 August 07:20

        I’ve found with Hilton that they never post the correct amount of points for a stay if you book extend your stay. For instance if you book 7 nights and then 1 night. They’ll only give you points for the 1 night (the 8th night). This has happened to me every single time I’ve had a stay which was made up of more than 1 booking.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      18 Aug18 August 07:40

      Save your sanity and contact the twitter team, they’ll fix it without long phone calls.

    • Harry T says:
      18 Aug18 August 07:49

      I was accidentally given half the points I should have been for a stay at W Amsterdam – submitter a missing points claim and they credited the points within 24 hours. Took five mins of my time.

      I’m jealous you stayed at W Barcelona. I booked a very cheap stay during their flash reopening sale, but then the UK government pulled the plug on that plan (rightly so but still a shame).

  • BJ says:
    18 Aug18 August 06:25

    Having set the trend for the early part of the pandemic, Hilton now trails both Marriott and IHG. Both have caught up or more with Hilton on status etc and surpassed them on rates and promotions to get business moving again. I’m really frustrated with Hilton in this respect, if they don’t up their game soon then I’m going to be doing the Marriott challenge when my travels pick up again.

  • Lee says:
    18 Aug18 August 07:20

    Are you credit checked by Amex, even if you hold an Amex card?

  • Lee says:
    18 Aug18 August 07:27

    No, forget that. They have a checked on their site on their Eligibility Checker and I only rate 4.5 on the scale 🙁

    Guess I will not be applying……..

    Got 915 on my credit report – I’ll eek that a bit higher and then see again….

    • John says:
      18 Aug18 August 07:41

      You have three credit reports and none of those credit agencies offer Amex cards, so don’t take their scores too seriously.

    • ScienceTeacher says:
      18 Aug18 August 07:43

      I recall doing the eligibility with them, and being told I am not eligible.

      However, I then went ahead and applied for the BAPP and it has a limit half my income.

      Personally I’d take the eligibility checkers with a pinch of salt…

    • Harry T says:
      18 Aug18 August 07:50

      I’ve never been declined when applying for an amex Card, whilst already being a customer. They care more about your record with them than your credit score or eligibility checker results.

  • Harry T says:
    18 Aug18 August 07:51

    All going well, I’ll be on 44 nights by September, and Platinum by Sept/Oct. I’m a big fan of the extra elite nights from Marriott, and the 15 from the credit card are a great deal too.

  • HM says:
    18 Aug18 August 08:13

    I got the Bonvoy Amex back in late-April but have still not received the 15 nights – have spoken to both Bonvoy and Amex and am going around in circles… Does anyone know of a reliable Bonvoy contact (e.g. a BAMissingAvios style equivalent) that I can contact on email/FT – the nights are obviously not a major but it’s annoying me! Thanks! 🙂

    • TGLoyalty says:
      18 Aug18 August 13:14

      There are Marriott Lurkers on the FT thread that can help.

      • HM says:
        18 Aug18 August 18:33

        Great thank you – spookily they came through this afternoon despite my inaction!

  • YC says:
    18 Aug18 August 08:24

    Extra elite nights from Marriott + credit card has definitely swung a few more (hopefully) nights to Marriott for me.

    Quick question – Is it safe to book a special rate (healthcare or corporate) under your account if its your travelling companion that is the eligible person. Companion will be present at check-in/staying in room, ID can be shown, etc.

  • Dave says:
    18 Aug18 August 14:11

    Is there really much benefit of these suite nights. Anyone Platinum or above will still have that status next year without needing to do any more nights.
    Room upgrade status benefits (for Platinum and above) include suites.
    As the suite nights are not guaranteed aren’t you just as likely to get a suite being platinum, especially if hotels remain quiet next year.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      18 Aug18 August 15:35

      SNA’s look within 5 days of our stay and if one of the suites you have chosen are available its guaranteed.

      Using one of these will have more success than asking for a suite at check in because you’re a Plat or above

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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