Suite Night Awards

[jmhpsu93]

I'm 2 for 2 now, just got upgraded from 1 BR to 2 BR at a Residence Inn in Baltimore Saturday night (we're going to the Ravens game). 20K points for a 2BR dowtown - pretty good ROI $386 cash rate) though this is certainly off peak here in the mid-Atlantic.

 

[frank808]

Got upgraded yesterday on a one night stay at WESTIN Ft Lauderdale this Thursday. Got upgraded to 1br corner ocean view suite .

FIRST match of SNA since Marriott started this program. Glad we got to use one SNA. Maybe will be lucky this year and use at least 3 of 10 SNA.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[LisaH]

I don’t see any SNA in my account. Called Marriott and was told they will be awarded on Jan 28. Does that mean no reservation can be upgraded using SNAs between Jan 1-27? If so, how come the two previous posts both got upgraded?

 

[Fasttr]

I don’t see any SNA in my account. Called Marriott and was told they will be awarded on Jan 28. Does that mean no reservation can be upgraded using SNAs between Jan 1-27? If so, how come the two previous posts both got upgraded?

You can elect (but you need to do it) SNA's as your benefit of choice (among others) as soon as you reach 50 nights, and again at 75 nights. Are they just assigning you SNA's because you did not make a selection on your own???

 

[LisaH]

Thank you. I obviously didn’t understand the rule.

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[Eli Mairs]

I reached 50 nights in November. I don’t remember receiving an email, but looking back, it was in my email account. Apparently I chose 5 elite night awards, instead of suite night awards, which would have been my choice.
I only had 53 nights at the time, so it would serve no purpose to choose the elite night awards in November.
When I called a Bonvoy, they said there was nothing they could do to change it to suite night awards.
I’m annoyed, but not too upset, as most of my suite night requests in 2019 were denied - for Venice and New Orleans, and I had two left at the end of the year, which were unused.
I guess I can relax and not stress about not getting the suite night award.

 

[Carlsbadguy]

Do people think at 75 nights the 5 SNAs or the free night certificate is a better option? This past year used 4 of my 5 SNAs and had great upgrades but not as much travel planned this year.

 

[jonmaiman]

It is a very personal decision. For me, I'd rather have the free night. We were able to use 3 of 5 SNA's last year and of those, I used one for work since they were going to expire soon. So for me, 5 SNA's is more than sufficient for a year. For other folks, if their travel patterns are such that they are better able to use the SNA's than 5 nights in a suite might be better than one standard room night free.

For your situation, I'd probably go for the free night since your travel will be down for the year. So less chances to even try to use an SNA. Good luck with whatever you choose. Make sure you do it today or the decision will default to SNA. 1/15 is the last day to select your annual choice benefit.

--Jon

 

[Carlsbadguy]

I decided on the free night as planing a night in downtown Los Angeles in March and could use it at a couple of hotels there.

 

[bazzap]

Do people think at 75 nights the 5 SNAs or the free night certificate is a better option? This past year used 4 of my 5 SNAs and had great upgrades but not as much travel planned this year.

I choose the 5x SNAs at 50 nights and the free night at 75 nights.
My SNA requests were not accepted last year, but I received upgrades anyway.
I would choose the free night at 50 nights too, if that had been an option.

 

[Colt Seavers]

My Suite Night Award dreams were recently dashed against the craggy rocks of the cliffs of Bonvoy. We normally get around 30 nights but reached 50 on December 30 and began checking for the award choice notification. A few days later I was informed that credit card reward nights do not count toward the 50 night bonus, meaning it is once again out of reach for the foreseeable future.

 

[Pamplemousse]

Are you sure about that?
I would never ever hit the 50 nights without my cc spend nights and I earned the reward last year.
Maybe its new this year but I have not read a notification.

 

[MichaelColey]

I've had over 75 nights each of the past two years, and selected 5 SNA for both 50 and 75 nights. I've been very hit and miss on the upgrades, and it's frustrating.

On one, I got confirmed for the upgrade, then when I got to the hotel they tried to tell me that the upgraded room wasn't available. After about an hour talking with them, talking with Marriott CS, and talking to the manager, they "found" a room.

On another, the upgraded room showed as available 6 days before check-in, 5 days before (when it should have confirmed), and 4 days before. But I never got my upgrade. It disappeared at 3 days out. I cancelled and rebooked at a different hotel and was able to get an upgrade (without having to use my SNA).

Most of my others went through. For some that didn't, I booked a second room.

The SNA awards are a huge perk for me, and it keeps me fairly loyal to Marriott. (The fact that I'm lifetime Platinum helps, too, but I've been staying enough to hit Titanium.) With a family of 5, used to staying in timeshares, a 2BR is almost a necessity. Most of my travel is without the family, but when I travel with them, we want plenty of room.

 

[VacationForever]

My Suite Night Award dreams were recently dashed against the craggy rocks of the cliffs of Bonvoy. We normally get around 30 nights but reached 50 on December 30 and began checking for the award choice notification. A few days later I was informed that credit card reward nights do not count toward the 50 night bonus, meaning it is once again out of reach for the foreseeable future.

If you are referring to the 15 nights for credit card membership, they do count towards elite nights stay. They only award 1 15 nights even if you have more than one Marriott Bonvoy credit card. If you see 50 nights, they are real. You need to call them to get your award choice for 50 nights.

 

[jeff76543]

If you are referring to the 15 nights for credit card membership, they do count towards elite nights stay. They only award 1 15 nights even if you have more than one Marriott Bonvoy credit card. If you see 50 nights, they are real. You need to call them to get your award choice for 50 nights.

I had exactly 50 elite nights this year and 15 of them were from the credit card bonus. I did receive the award choice and choose (and received) the 5 nights suite award.

 

[hangloose]

Looking to grab a few nights in Charleston, SC soon. Anyone know which Marriott hotels might accept or have the best chance to use a SNA there?

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Looking to grab a few nights in Charleston, SC soon. Anyone know which Marriott hotels might accept or have the best chance to use a SNA there?

At this time of year it shouldn't be a problem as it is not prime time. Take your pick of any Charleston location.



.

 

[wackymother]

Do people think at 75 nights the 5 SNAs or the free night certificate is a better option? This past year used 4 of my 5 SNAs and had great upgrades but not as much travel planned this year.

I took the SNAs at 50, and the free night at 75.

We used the SNAs at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto last year, and got a nice 1br suite. We were happy to have the extra room.

 

[Dean]

Looking to grab a few nights in Charleston, SC soon. Anyone know which Marriott hotels might accept or have the best chance to use a SNA there?

I can't speak to that issue though we're headed there this summer for a week staying at Bluegreen's Lodge Alley Inn. If you're looking at the historic district as your main option you might be better off reserving something close and just hoping for the upgrade. Of the 4 closest I suspect the Renaissance will be the most likely to upgrade but again, I have no direct experience with the hotels there. You might also call and speak to a manager at the ones you're looking at.

 

[Wahoo Josh]

I applied for SNA for a 5-day business stay (early November) in Columbus OH at a Courtyard near downtown and got it. Over 700 sq ft - very nice. I'm now Titanium Elite, and had a couple of one-night stays at Fairfield Inns (Jacksonville and Savannah) bumped up into suites during our trip to the Orange Bowl.

 

[Colt Seavers]

If you are referring to the 15 nights for credit card membership, they do count towards elite nights stay. They only award 1 15 nights even if you have more than one Marriott Bonvoy credit card. If you see 50 nights, they are real. You need to call them to get your award choice for 50 nights.

You are exactly right and I called back and the agent fixed it for me with no problem. They were worried that the link to make the choice would not work since it was past the selection deadline but it let me choose the award with no issues. I think the problem was that the last stay was on December 30 and it did not show in my account until after the new year.

I suppose I should insert the standard rant about the declining quality of the Marriott phone support staff. Even more disappointing that the first representative even checked with a supervisor before coming back with the wrong information.

Now on to my next dilemma as the hotel I was hoping to use only offers a slightly bigger non-suite room (worth around $25 more per night) for the award selection even though they have several types of suites listed. Almost seems they should stop calling them "suite" awards if they do not have at least the remote possibility of getting a suite at any hotel that has them available.

 

[BarbmC]

What are the best practices to used suite nights awards?

We were told during a sales presentation to look at the hotels that came from the SPG merger. SPG hotels tend to have many more suites than Marriott hotels.

 

[mjkkb2]

I found that getting an agent on the phone gets you a better chance of having the SNA confirmed. We always use the app for our bookings. My last one was in Nov 2019 at Key largo Beach Resort. Had the request not filled and decided to call 4 days before check-in because suites were available for cash. Agent cancelled my reservation and rebooked while on the phone, and automatically confirmed my upgrade. It was the Thanksgiving weekend too. It's worth a try, especially if you see that the suites are available for your dates....

 

[controller1]

I found that getting an agent on the phone gets you a better chance of having the SNA confirmed. We always use the app for our bookings. My last one was in Nov 2019 at Key largo Beach Resort. Had the request not filled and decided to call 4 days before check-in because suites were available for cash. Agent cancelled my reservation and rebooked while on the phone, and automatically confirmed my upgrade. It was the Thanksgiving weekend too. It's worth a try, especially if you see that the suites are available for your dates....

SNAs are completely automated by corporate and getting an agent on the phone does not change the chance of having an SNA confirmed. There may have been a problem with your SNA but the agent was not able to do anything you could not have done yourself.

 

[mjkkb2]

I don't doubt what you are saying, however my last experience was just like I described. Coincidence, quite possible, but I will definitely try calling next time my SNA are not getting confirmed....