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A Soft Landing for Marriott Bonvoy Elites
Yesterday, the points blogosphere lit up with news that Marriott Bonvoy has decided *after everyone already made their year end push for status* to give everyone a soft landing to one tier below what they had in 2022.
So, if you were Titanium in 2022 and stayed 0 nights or 49 nights or anything in between, you are now Platinum through February 2024 (hope you didn’t get a Bonvoy Brilliant card just for that Platinum status!).
To clarify, if you had the status on the left and didn’t re-qualify, you’ll have the status on the right for 2023 and Jan/Feb 2024 with the soft-landing.
Ambassador –> Titanium
Titanium –> Platinum
Platinum –> Gold
Gold –> Silver
Of course everyone would have loved to know that was the plan earlier (in fact, Bonvoy previously and specifically stated that only Ambassador members that did not re-qualify would receive a soft landing) but it is what it is…
Choosing Your Bonvoy Elite Choice Benefits
If you achieved 50 nights or 75 nights last year, you are eligible for the corresponding Choice Benefit award(s). While we’ve been told that we can expect changes to these to be announced in March 2023, for now they are the same.
The link to choose is here.
If you don’t choose these by January 7th (technically 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (US) on January 7th), you will receive 5 Suite Night Awards for all available selections (which may not be what you want!), so let’s review what your options are. They cannot be changed later.
Most importantly, if you earned 70 – 74 elite nights last year, choosing the 5 elite night credits for your 50 night award will still credit to 2022 and push you to Titanium (and a second Choice Benefit award!).
Do not make the mistake of thinking that choosing the 5 elite nights this week (since it’s 2023) will count for 2023. They won’t. They will definitely count for 2022.
What are the Marriott Platinum (50 night) Choice Benefit Options?
At 50 nights (Bonvoy Platinum), you are offered a choice of:
- Five Elite Night Credits
- 40% off your favorite hotel bed
- Marriott Bonvoy™ Silver Elite status for a friend or family member
- US$100 donation to UNICEF
- Five Suite Night Awards™
What are the Marriott Titanium (75 night) Choice Benefit Options?
And at 75 nights (Bonvoy Titanium), you are offered a choice of:
- Five (5) Suite Night Awards™
- 40% off bed
- $100 Charity Donation
- The gift of Gold Elite status for a friend or family member
- Five (5) Elite Night Credits
- One (1) Free Night Award
As well, the one free night award at 75 nights is for an award night certificate covering a room up to 40,000 points. It should expire Dec 31, 2023, although it’s POSSIBLE it will give you a 2024 expiration date since we are in 2023 already. The rules state it doesn’t matter, but anecdotally last year I chose the 40 night award and it did have an extra year of expiry.
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What Marriott Bonvoy Choice Benefits Should You Choose?
I can only share my opinion. The Suite Night awards (you get 5 per choice) will be good through the end of this year. Some people have great luck getting upgraded into fantastic suites (generally in Europe and Asia), while others never have their SNAs accepted. I used 3 SNAs for a fantastic suite at the Gritti Palace in Venice in 2019 and 2 nights expired. Remember Suite Night Awards are only confirmed 5 nights before you check in and are subject to availability. At least they are controlled by Marriott, and not the property, which somewhat limits games.
Personally, I achieved Titanium this year and chose the 5 elite nights for my 50 night choice benefit and I’m still deciding between 5 SNAs or the 40k award for my 75 night award.
All 5 of my Suite Night Awards expired worthless in 2022 and I could immediately put the 40k cert (worth easily $250+) to good use. That said, we will be in Europe and South America at some nice properties where SNAs could come in handy.
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