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Your Marriott Bonvoy status and vouchers are being extended – this is how

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Marriott Bonvoy made a big announcement yesterday about moving to ‘dynamic’ redemption pricing. We decided to move that to a separate article.

There were lots of other announcement too about status and vouchers which are covered below.

In general it is good news but you can’t please everyone however you decide to approach these things.

Your Marriott status and vouchers are being extended

Announcement 1: Your status is extended

If you currently have Marriott Bonvoy status, it is being extended to February 2023.

No-one will see their status level drop in February 2022.

This is clearly good news for those people who did not retain status this year due to covid. On the other hand, it offers nothing to someone like myself who earned Titanium status this year – I already have it for 2022 and have no guarantees about 2023.

Last year, Marriott also rolled over 50% of the elite nights you earned in the previous year. If they had done this again, it would have given me some extra value from the extension. Instead, I am no better off than I was before this announcement. Arguably I am worse off because all existing Titanium members are rolled over and will be competing with me for upgrades next year.

Ignore my moans though. For most people this is a big win. It is also a win for me if it encourages IHG Rewards to do the same thing, since my Spire Elite status is at risk.

Announcement 2: Points expiry is suspended for another year

Irrespective of the activity on your Marriott Bonvoy account, no points will expire next year.

All expiry is suspended until 31st December 2022. If you have any activity on your account during 2022, it will push the expiry date out even further by resetting the 24 month clock.

Announcement 3: Suite Night Awards are extended to 30th June 2022

If you are Platinum or above, you can earn Suite Night Awards as an elite choice benefit for hitting 50 nights and 75 nights. We looked at how Suite Night Awards work in this article.

Unused awards will not expire on 31st December 2021 and will get an additional six months.

This is useful to me, because I have five Suite Night Awards heading towards expiry and no real enthusiasm to travel to Europe in Winter to use them.

Announcement 4: Any Free Night Awards are extended

You may have a Free Night Award, either as an elite choice benefit or from credit card spend.

In the UK, you get a free night worth up to 25,000 Bonvoy points for spending £25,000 per year on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card.

Any Free Night Awards due to expire between 3rd January 2022 and 29th June 2022 will be extended to 30th June 2022.

Announcement 5: Free Night Awards will become easier to use

This is something that a lot of people, including myself, have been shouting about for years. Marriott has not gone far enough but it is a start.

From ‘early 2022’ you will be able to top-up your Free Night Award by using up to 15,000 Bonvoy points from your account.

This means that a 25,000 point voucher can be used to book a room costing up to 40,000 points, with the balance taken from your Marriott Bonvoy account.

Whilst this change doesn’t save you any points, it does allow you to use your voucher for a more upmarket hotel than would otherwise be possible.

Let’s be frank – anyone wealthy enough to spend £25,000 per year on the UK Marriott Bonvoy American Express is probably looking for something more exciting than Marriott Northampton from their Free Night Award, which is about the limit of the current voucher. (That is slightly unfair – the excellent University Arms Cambridge, reviewed here, is also covered by the voucher.)

Conclusion

Marriott has done a decent job here which will keep most people happy.

Note that these changes will not show on your Bonvoy account until nearer Christmas, so don’t panic if your Suite Night Awards or Free Night Awards still show an upcoming expiry date.

Of course, you need to see these changes in the context of the coming move to ‘dynamic’ Marriott Bonvoy reward night pricing, which we cover in this article today.

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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

Comments (31)

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

  • MT says:
    27 Oct27 October 04:20

    Marriott trying to bury the fact they just gutted the program with some ‘good’ news. Its actually a bit insulting to those who put the effort in the renew status, 2 months before the end of the year announce actually everyone will still have it thus devaluing the status for those who earnt it next year.

    I get it will make more happy than it will annoy but they already cannot deliver the promised service on Ambassador level so this will not make that any better as I am sure they have no plans to hire more Ambassadors and most importantly train them.

    The little plus points pale in regards to the devaluation of the program and certainly these will not tempt me to stay, next year will be my last as Ambassador as I wont be hitting the required spend , I have a couple of million points to burn then just fall back on Lifetime Titanium.

    Short term good news for long tern very bad news!

    • Ian M says:
      27 Oct27 October 06:50

      I feel very similar. I have Ambassador status and I’ve hit the target to requalify this year. This has meant paying for some stays (in order to hit the $14,000 spend target) I would have liked to use points for. This announcement feels like a kick in the teeth. Surely they have to announce some benefit for the loyal members who have put the work in to requalify?!?

      The Ambassador service has been dreadful the last few months. It takes days to receive a response to emails. When I call to chase answers they explain they’re extremely busy at the current time. So this decision to extend status for everyone will hardly help!

      I called the Ambassador team last week to ask if a 7 night certificate I have which is due to expire in early January could be extended. They said no it could not. So I’m currently in a hotel using the damn certificate just so that I don’t lose it. Now this announcement!

  • MrIO says:
    27 Oct27 October 04:37

    What is not mentioned in this article is revenue based points for Marriott will also begin. This is a huge blow!

  • meta says:
    27 Oct27 October 04:41

    The extension of SNAs is only for those earned in 2020 (and 2019?). All SNAs earned this year are valid until 31 Dec 2022 anyway.

  • Phillip says:
    27 Oct27 October 05:33

    My IHG status was already quietly extended to 2023 early on this year – not sure what the criteria were! I assumed it was extended for those who in 2020, despite free extensions, still managed to hit their targets.

  • Dominic says:
    27 Oct27 October 05:50

    Thank goodness I hadn’t yet take out the 15 night Amex to top up for this year…

    Are elite nights resetting to 0 next year?

    • Tariq says:
      27 Oct27 October 06:05

      One would assume so in the absence of any announcement to the contrary. Could always change of course.

      • Dominic says:
        27 Oct27 October 06:42

        Assumed the same. Just seems an odd decision with the Christmas period coming up. Maybe a minority, but no incentive to push on for plat this year

        • TGLoyalty says:
          27 Oct27 October 07:51

          5 more SNA’s? A free night.

          • Dominic says:
            27 Oct27 October 08:10

            Tempting, but need to pick between the Marriott card an BAPP (investment planned sooner, not such two new cards and one cancellation will look great on the credit report!).

            40k avios is probably more tempting than 5 SNAs

        • Tariq says:
          27 Oct27 October 07:52

          Indeed. I’m on 89 nights and have another 8 or so booked for the rest of the year. Not going to make it to $14k spend, so I’m incentivised to book any further stays with Hilton for the nights carryover into next year to make Diamond requalification easier.

          I certainly hope for something extra for those that have qualified for status with Marriott this year, but not expecting it.

  • ASEAN Traveller says:
    27 Oct27 October 07:02

    Hi Rob. Does this extension of a year also count for purposes of lifetime status calculations?

  • Andrew says:
    27 Oct27 October 07:06

    Let’s hope that IHG follow now that Bonvoy and Hilton have extended.

  • Bertster says:
    27 Oct27 October 07:22

    On a Marriott / SNA theme. I currently have SNAs applied to a stay this coming weekend at Renaissance St Pancras. The exact room type I have requested for the upgrade has been showing as available for three days, but SNAs have not been processed.

    Hotel is not answering emails or the phone (recent reviews in the Marriott site suggest this is common practice at the moment),

    Here’s the rub – Marriott Customer Care say they can’t do anything as “hotel leadership have the final determination” about whether to apply SNAs. Nothing about this in the T&Cs, and it’s the first time I have ever heard this (having used SNAs quite often before).

    There is no point extending the expiry date on these if they have effectively become useless. Yet more guttingnod the legacy SPG benefits.

    • Ken says:
      27 Oct27 October 07:35

      Just because the room is currently available doesn’t mean it will be given to you as a SNA – certainly not while there is still a chance / prediction that it will be sold.

      Just treat it as a bonus, SNA are not guaranteed and I doubt kicking up a fuss will in anyway help.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      27 Oct27 October 07:52

      Used mine for a great suite at St Regis Venice for 5 nights

      Also had the clear at the St Pan Ren before.

      But as per reply above if they think they might sell it then they won’t accept the SNA. Never know you might get upgraded anyway.

      • Phillip says:
        27 Oct27 October 08:32

        I have had SNAs declined before but at check in was still upgraded to the same room applied for with the SNA, due to last minute cancellations. They acknowledged that I had applied for the SNA upgrade and that it wasn’t initially available. Win some, lose some!

    • Dave says:
      27 Oct27 October 10:14

      I rarely get SNAs awarded even when there are suites available. I’ve had more luck getting a suite purely due to Platinum.

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

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