Marriott Bonvoy is making an update to the upgrade instruments that elite members can earn, partially reversing a change that was made earlier this year.
Nightly Upgrade Awards now clear up to 3-5 days out
Nightly Upgrade Awards (NUAs) are Marriott Bonvoy’s upgrade certificates, each of which can be used to request a confirmed upgrade several days in advance. These are awarded as part of the Choice Benefits program, and at both 50 and 75 elite nights in a year, you can select five of these (for a total of up to 10 per year).
This is separate from Marriott’s complimentary upgrade benefit, with Bonvoy Platinum members and above receiving complimentary suite upgrades at most brands at check-in, subject to availability (there’s usually not much availability, given the number of elite members).
Anyway, Marriott Bonvoy has just made a change to when Nightly Upgrade Awards can start to clear. Up until now, NUAs have cleared up to three days before arrival. Thanks to this update, NUAs now clear up to five days before arrival, except at EDITION, Ritz-Carlton, and St. Regis, where they clear up to three days before arrival.
As before, that upgrade window starts at 2PM local time at the participating property. If the upgrade doesn’t clear then, Marriott will keep checking for upgrade inventory at 2PM on subsequent dates. If the upgrade can’t be confirmed, it’ll be credited back to the member’s account.
What makes this upgrade update so interesting
What’s noteworthy is that in early 2024, Marriott Bonvoy made major changes to these upgrade instruments. They were rebranded from Suite Night Awards to Nightly Upgrade Awards. At the time, the changes were a mixed bag.
Nightly Upgrade Awards are valid at more brands than Suite Night Awards were, and upgrade requests can also be made for a wider variety of room choices, improving flexibility, and the odds of them clearing.
The biggest negative change is that Suite Night Awards could clear up to five days in advance, while Nightly Upgrade Awards could clear up to three days in advance (up until now). But now that reduced window is slightly being reversed:
- Upgrades at most brands can be confirmed up to five days in advance, as was the case with Suite Night Awards
- Ultimately we’re still better off with EDITION and Ritz-Carlton properties, since upgrades can clear up to three days in advance, when these upgrades weren’t possible under the old program
- St. Regis is the only brand where we’re worse off than last year, since upgrades there used to clear five days out, but now only clear three days out
Bottom line
Marriott Bonvoy Nightly Upgrade Awards now clear up to five days in advance at most brands, and up to three days in advance at EDITION, Ritz-Carlton, and St. Regis. This is a positive development that largely undoes the negative changes that we saw to these upgrades earlier this year.
It’s rare to see Marriott Bonvoy make genuinely positive changes without taking anything away, so color me impressed!
What do you make of this change to Marriott Bonvoy Nightly Upgrade Awards?
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