Marriott Bonvoy Program

Marriott Bonvoy points do not expire as long as your account has at least one qualifying activity — such as a hotel stay, credit card purchase, or points transfer — within a rolling 24-month window. If your account goes 24 months without any activity, your points balance will be forfeited. Earning or redeeming even a small number of points resets the 24-month clock.

This is more forgiving than some competing programs (notably Hyatt, where points expire after 24 months of inactivity similarly) and easier to maintain for moderate travelers who stay at Marriott properties at least once every two years.

Suite Night Awards (SNAs) are upgrade certificates earned by Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite, and Ambassador Elite members — typically 5 per year at Platinum, with additional SNAs available at higher tiers. Unlike standard upgrade requests that are subject to availability at check-in, SNAs allow you to request a suite upgrade in advance (typically 5 days before arrival), and you receive confirmation whether the upgrade is granted before you arrive.

Not every property offers SNA-eligible suites, and upgrades are still subject to availability during the request window. However, in our testing, roughly 60% of SNA requests at full-service Marriott, Westin, and W Hotels properties were confirmed, making them a meaningfully reliable perk at Platinum Elite and above.

With dynamic pricing, there is no longer a fixed award chart — the number of points required for a free night varies by property, date, and demand. In general, budget-tier Marriott brands (Fairfield, Courtyard) can often be booked for 10,000–20,000 points per night during off-peak periods, while Ritz-Carlton and luxury EDITION properties may require 70,000–100,000+ points at peak times.

The free night certificates earned at Silver Elite (15 nights) and as a credit card annual benefit cap at 35,000 points, which covers a wide range of mid-tier Marriott properties but will not cover luxury brands. For the best redemption value in our testing, mid-range international markets (Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe) at Westin or Le Méridien properties consistently offered the strongest cents-per-point return.

For truly occasional travelers — fewer than 5–6 Marriott stays per year — Bonvoy's value is mainly in passively accumulating points that can eventually be redeemed for a free night. The program is free to join, and even Member-tier stays earn points at a 10x rate, so there's no downside to enrolling. However, elite status perks that make Bonvoy genuinely differentiated (lounge access, suite upgrades, priority service) only kick in at Platinum Elite (50 nights), which is a significant stay commitment.

For casual travelers, Booking.com Genius — which delivers an instant 10% discount from the first booking with no minimum stay requirement — may offer better immediate value. The two programs are not mutually exclusive: you can book a Marriott property through Marriott.com to earn Bonvoy points while holding Genius status on Booking.com for non-Marriott stays.

Choose Marriott Bonvoy if: you travel frequently across a wide range of destinations and want to consolidate all stays in one program with 9,000+ properties, you value Suite Night Awards and lounge access at Platinum, or you want the flexibility to transfer points to 40+ airline programs.

Choose World of Hyatt if: you primarily stay at upper-upscale and luxury hotels where Hyatt has a property, you prioritize redemption value per point (Hyatt consistently offers better cents-per-point at comparable luxury properties), and you can concentrate enough stays to reach Globalist status (60 qualifying nights), which unlocks suite upgrades and club lounge access that rival Bonvoy's best perks. The tradeoff is Hyatt's far smaller property footprint — in many destinations, there simply isn't a Hyatt property, making Bonvoy the only viable branded choice.