Marriott Bonvoy recently announced some new updates to earning higher levels of Elite Status for 2021. Last year Marriott extended statuses that you earned for 2020 through February 2022. A lot of airlines and hotels have been offering extensions and perks to earning statuses faster. Now Marriott has jumped on board to help extend Marriot Bonvoy Elite Status Promotions in 2021. They also came out with reduced rates of some redemptions, as well as opportunities to earn extra points. We detail the Marriott Bonvoy promotions going on in early 2021 and how you can take advantage of them.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
Marriott Bonvoy Elite Night Credit
Before we get into the Elite Night Credits, lets talk about what an elite night credit is.
Elite Night Credits
Elite Night Credits (ENC’s) are a credit of nights for the year to show your membership loyalty. The more ENCs you have, the higher your loyalty status. Note that an actual night stayed is not the only way to earn these ENCs. You can also carry a co-branded Marriott Bonvoy credit cards. These credit cards are the easiest and fastest way to earn some extra elite night credits.
Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards
There are quite a few credit cards out there for Marriott. Whether you are looking for a personal or business card, we have you covered. All Marriott Branded credit cards offer 15 elite night credits. It is important to note though that you can only have 15 elite night credits for a personal card, and another 15 elite night credits for a business card. This is a max of 30 elite night credits from Marriott Co-branded credit cards. Having two personal Marriott Credit cards will only give you 15 elite night credits, while having 1 personal and 1 business will get you to those 30 encs.
Personal Cards
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold (Chase)- no annual fee
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (Chase)- $95 annual fee
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (Amex)- $650 annual fee (See Rates & Fees; terms apply)
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
Business Credit Card
- Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card– $125 annual fee
So what is the Elite Night Credit Promotion they are offering?
Marriott will be making it easier to keep your status that you earned in 2020 to re-qualify for 2022. For all current Marriott Bonvoy Members who earned status in 2020, you will receive half of the elite nights that you need to requalify with your current status. In February, depending on where your current status is, you will receive the below Elite Night Credits:
- Ambassador Elite will receive 50 Elite Night Credits
- Titanium Elite will receive 38 Elite Night Credits
- Platinum Elite will receive 25 Elite Night Credits
- Gold Elite will receive 13 Elite Night Credits
- Silver Elite will receive 5 Elite Night Credits
- Member Tier will not receive Elite Night Credits
Reduced Ambassador Spend
In addition to the elite night credits, the top tier level of Ambassador is getting a spending reduction. Usually, $20,000 is required to reach ambassador status in addition to 100 nights. With this status, you have an “ambassador” to assist you with anything you might need before or during your stay. With this new promotion, Marriott Bonvoy has reduced the spend to only $14,000 for the year. It’s rare to see someone who travels casually get anywhere near this spending threshold. This is typically better reserved as a goal for heavy business travelers.
Marriott Bonvoy has also taken away personal ambassadors as of this year. Now they will use a shared approach like a call center. Therefore, this might not be a goal you would want to achieve this year. Personally, as someone who has carried both of the highest statuses, the differences are truly tough to tell. Without the benefit of an advocate every time you stay at a property, the value of this status is reduced.
What does this mean?
In 2020 I had Titanium Status. Traveling for business over the years I have been been able to uphold my Titanium status and keep my loyalty to the Marriott Bonvoy brand. This will enable to get me 38 elite night credits (or ENCs). I also am a cardholder of the Chase Marriott Bold Credit Card, which gives you 15 elite night credits each year. This means I am already at 53 ENC’s for the year. Typically to achieve Platinum, you need 50 stays per year. Just as a reminder, each category breakdown is below.
| Elite Status | Annual Qualifying Nights |
| Ambassador | 100 Qualifying Nights AND $20,000 spend |
| Titanium | 75 Qualifying Nights |
| Platinum | 50 Qualifying Nights |
| Gold | 25 Qualifying Nights |
| Silver | 10 Qualifying Nights |
| Member | – |
Double points and elite night credits
Another Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status Promotion we can get excited about this double night and points! Marriott is offering double points and elite night credits for ALL members for stays from February 16th through April 27th, 2021. You must register for the promotion and stays will only count for all stays of two nights or more.
I will also note that points redemption stays WILL count IF one of the nights is a paid night. Note you won’t’ earn points on redemption nights and only on paid nights, but you will still get the double ENC’s. According to Marriott, “Only if a redemption stay includes at least one paid night, it will count toward the promotion offer of double points and double Elite Night Credits.”
This promotion is a great way to cut those extra nights you need to earn in half.
Off- Peak Redemptions
A few years back Bonvoy introduced “Off- Peak” pricing. This was to counteract the “Peak” surcharge of the dynamic pricing of its higher-end properties. Now they are offering a 10% discount on any property that’s offering off-peak pricing if you book before February 21st. The off-peak discount is only for stays through September 30, 2021.
Free Night Award Certificates
As a reminder, effective December 11, 2020, Marriott extended Free Night Awards. If you had a Free Night Award that was to expire in 2020 or before July 31, 2021, it will be extended to be redeemed through August 1, 2021. You do not have to do anything for these as your account should have been automatically updated.
Points Expiration
Marriott Bonvoy points have also had a break when they paused the expiration of points until August 1, 2021. At that time, your points will only expire if your account has been inactive for at least 24 months.
Questions?
If you have some more questions, you can visit Marriott Bonvoy’s FAQ’s from the Elite Night Credit boost here.
Basic Breakdown
I am personally excited by these Marriott Bonvoy elite status promotions and will attempt to retain my Titanium Elite status in 2021. I think Marriott is staying competitive to keep elite members happy. Extending points expirations and free night award certificates is just another plus. Do you plan on taking advantage of the double nights and points?
Will these Bonvoy promotions help you stay in more Marriott properties this year?
I’d love to hear in the comments below or over in our 8,700+ Member Basic Travel Facebook Group!
More Basic Reading
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- 16 Side Hustles that can Qualify for a Small Business Credit Card
- Step-by-Step Guide to Completing a Small Business Credit Card Application
For rates and fees for American Express cards mentioned in this post, please see the following links: Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card (See Rates & Fees; terms apply); Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (See Rates & Fees; terms apply);
