Marriott Bonvoy Choice Benefits Guide: How It Works, Which Options To Choose

One of the valuable perks of Marriott Bonvoy elite status is being able to select Choice Benefits, which can be earned after passing 50 or 75 elite nights in a calendar year. In this post, I’d like to go over everything you need to know about this program, given that many people work toward elite status with the goal of unlocking these rewards.

What is the Marriott Choice Benefits program?

In addition to the standard published program benefits that apply with every stay, Marriott Bonvoy elite members are able to select additional perks for passing certain milestones.

Elite members — in this case Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador members — can select Choice Benefits when they pass 50 and 75 elite qualifying nights in a calendar year.

Even elite nights not earned through stays qualify toward these thresholds. This includes that Marriott Bonvoy members can earn up to 40 elite nights per year with co-branded Marriott credit cards. For example, I have the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (review) and Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (review), and they offer 25 and 15 elite nights annually, respectively.

It sure is helpful to be able to start the year with 40 elite nights, as that gets you most of the way to the two Choice Benefits thresholds.

However, note that lifetime Marriott Bonvoy elite members don’t automatically get these perks, unless they pass the required elite night threshold in a particular year.

Marriott’s 50 night Platinum Choice Benefits

With Marriott Choice Benefits, Bonvoy members who pass 50 elite qualifying nights in a year can choose from the following rewards:

• Five Nightly Upgrade Awards
• Five Elite Night Credits
• Ability to gift Silver Elite status
• $1,000 off the purchase of a Marriott Bonvoy retail bed
• $100 charitable donation

Marriott’s 75 night Titanium Choice Benefits

Then Marriott Bonvoy members who pass 75 elite qualifying nights in a year can choose from the following rewards (as you can see, this offers two elevated choices):

• Five Nightly Upgrade Awards
• Five Elite Night Credits
• Free night award (valid at a hotel costing up to 40,000 points)
• Ability to gift Gold Elite status
• $1,000 off the purchase of a Marriott Bonvoy retail bed
• $100 charitable donation

How do you select Marriott Choice Benefits?

Marriott Bonvoy typically emails members to prompt them to select Choice Benefits. In addition to that, you can follow this link, and if you’re eligible to select Choice Benefits, you’ll see the options listed. Note that:

• Once you select your rewards you can’t change them
• For status that you qualifies for in 2025, you need to make your selection by February 1, 2026
• It can sometimes make sense to wait to make your selection if you don’t have an immediate use, since you might change your mind on what makes more sense over time
• If you don’t make a selection, you’ll automatically receive Nightly Upgrade Awards as your choice

Which Marriott Choice Benefits are most valuable?

Everyone will value the various perks differently. Personally I’ve always selected Nightly Upgrade Awards as my benefit. These can in theory unlock the most value — I say “in theory,” because they won’t be equally valuable for everyone.

Nightly Upgrade Awards can be used to unlock premium rooms at virtually all Marriott brands, and upgrades confirm up to three to five days before arrival, depending on the brand (it’s five days for brands except EDITION, Ritz-Carlton, and St. Regis). It essentially gets you a leg-up when it comes to upgrades, which is valuable, given how many Marriott Bonvoy elite members there are.

Over the years, I’ve used these to confirm upgrades at all kinds of properties, and in many cases have gotten suites that retail for $1,000+ over the room that I booked. So last year, I also selected Nightly Upgrade Awards as my benefit. Now, I don’t always have luck with these clearing, but when they do, they add a lot of value to my stays.

Just to share a bit more on why the other options don’t appeal to me as much:

• There’s usually no value in adding five elite nights to one’s total in a particular year, unless that would get you over the next elite threshold
• Gifting Silver or Gold status isn’t worth much, as the status doesn’t offer many benefits
• While a donation is a nice thing to do, realistically, I value some of the other options at more than $100, so that wouldn’t be a good way to maximize value
• Selecting a free night award worth up to 40,000 points could be a solid option, especially if you don’t otherwise get value out of the Nightly Upgrade Awards

Bottom line

Choice Benefits is one of the nice perks offered to Marriott Bonvoy Platinum and Titanium members. For passing 50 or 75 elite nights in a year, members can select from several valuable perks. I’ve always gotten good value with Nightly Upgrade Awards, though it also comes down to having realistic expectations.

What Marriott Choice Benefits do you select, assuming you’re eligible?