The advantage of Marriott Elite Status’ Selected Layer is that it’s free to check in, with room upgrades available. However, for some accommodations, you may need to guarantee a specific view or a larger booking room instead of wishing to upgrade.
You can book the paid rate for the required room type. However, sometimes you can redeemed Marriott Points for upgraded room types. This is what you should know.
Redemption of Marriott Point Upgrade Room: What to Know
Marriott Bonvoy offers two main ways to upgrade with points. You might be able to book an upgraded room with more Marriott points, or you can redeem the standard room reward cost and then pay for the cash sale to make the upgrade. However, you won’t earn Marriott points on cash copay, nor will you meet ambassador spending requirements.
If you want to redeemed the point upgrade, it must be done at the time of booking. Unfortunately, you won’t see the option of upgrading every property on Marriott Point. So if you want to secure an upgraded room with a little bit of an upcoming point, you might need to check multiple attributes before you can find properties that will allow you to redeem Marriott points for an upgraded room.
In the rest of this guide, I will discuss how to redeem Marriott Points for upgraded rooms. These options are available online so you can check your options when making your reservation on Marriott’s Bonvoy website.
Related: 5 Ways to Maximize Marriott Hotels
How to use Marriott Point for upgraded rooms
You will see the option of booking a little room type with a bit of upgraded room type in some Marriott hotels. When booking these properties, you can choose whether to fully pay for the upgrade or redemption points of the standard room and pay cash for the upgrade.
For example, consider spending five nights next year at the Marriott Mena House in Cairo, Egypt. I could book a luxurious room with garden views and balcony to 114,000 Marriott points.
If I want to get a partial pyramid view, I can pay $500 in cash for copay or redeem 100,000 additional Marriott points.
Reward your inbox with TPG Daily Newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG experts
I gained access to the executive lounge to take advantage of my titanium elite identity. However, if you don’t have a Marriott Platinum Elite status or higher, you may need to pay 550 or 110,000 points of Copay to upgrade to a garden view deluxe room with executive lounge. Earlier this year, when I lived in the Mena Mena House in Cairo, the executive lounge offered a buffet breakfast and an impressive buffet with beer and wine every day.
You can also pay $1,050 or 210,000 points of upgrade COPAY to ensure you have partial pyramid views and access to the rooms in the executive lounge.
Marriott knows that many guests stay in the Marriott Mena House in Cairo to enjoy the views of the pyramids. So while rooms with premium pyramid views are not cheap, you can pay cash or points to secure one when redeeming your accommodation.
It’s great that Marriott allows its members to redeem highs or pay cash upgrade rates when redeeming points. However, this price is very high compared to the paid price for some real estate and certain room types. Plus, many Marriott hotels don’t have the ability to redeem points for cash or point upgrade options.
Related: You’ll get a complete guide to Marriott Hotels
Use Night Upgrade Awards in Marriott Awards
If the upgrade rate is too high, or the property does not offer redemption for cash or points upgrades, another option is to book a standard reward and then ask for the night upgrade reward.
However, there are several drawbacks to using the nightly upgrade reward instead of the type of upgraded room you need to book. First of all, there is no guarantee that your nighttime upgrade award will win your stay. Secondly, you won’t find the upgrade until you stay (stay in the version for three days, Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis Properties). You can’t upgrade the awards ceremony at every Marriott hotel, either, so this might even be an option.
You can choose rewards every night when nightfalls for 50 or 75 each calendar year, as Marriott selections are beneficial. If you have Marriott HotelYou can also choose to upgrade the nightly award as the choice award you receive, and you spend at least $60,000 per calendar year using the card if you are eligible to purchase.
Related: 7 Ways to Get Hotel Room Upgrades
Bottom line
As a Marriott Titanium Elite member, I never redeem Marriott points for upgrading rooms. Instead, I have always wanted to upgrade based on my Marriott Elite status or nightly upgrade awards. I often have good luck when traveling abroad and often encounter at least one room that is better positioned as a benefit to my Marriott status.
However, if I want to keep an upgrade room with Marriott points, it’s nice to know that points or cash upgrades are available.
