With the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, you get to choose from a list of gifts when you hit 50 qualifying nights, which is also the point where you earn Platinum status. We’ve never “earned” status before (and most likely never will again). so I was overly excited when I logged into Sharon’s Marriott account and was able to choose our gift.
Here are the gifts we were able to pick from:
- Five Suite Night Awards™
- Give the gift of Silver Elite status
- 40% off your favorite mattress
- Five Elite Night Credits
- A $100 charity donation
I already knew which one I was choosing – the five Suite Night Awards. They showed up in the account immediately.
Now what to do with them…
We already had a Marriott reservation booked at the New York Central Park Courtyard by Marriott. When I went into the reservation, it offered me a chance to apply the upgrade certificate.
I knew better than to use the upgrade certificate here.
I had another stay planned in New York at a Marriott hotel. I booked a stay for two nights at The Chatwal before the hotel changed to category 8 for 60,000 points a night. This hotel now charges 85,000 points a night. I was still thinking I was crazy to spend 60,000 points a night for a hotel, even if was the last chance to do so at the lower point levels. Getting upgraded to a suite for the two-night stay would take away some of the sting from redeeming all those points.
Since the Marriott Suite Night Awards aren’t confirmed until a few days before your stay, I wouldn’t be sure if we’d get the upgrade until last minute. I also read online that suites at this property don’t often clear. I was still on the fence. Fortunately, another option quickly presented itself. (BTW, I ended up canceling our reservation at The Chatwal, but that’s another post)
Our spontaneous trip to London.
It didn’t take long for us to decide we were going to stay at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London. Everything just fell into place. We were staying for five nights, exactly the same amount of suite night upgrades we had. If our upgrades cleared, we’d be staying in a suite in the Chambers Wing of the hotel instead of the base room in the Barlow Wing, which I booked using Marriott points.
We’d also have access to the Chambers Club, the private lounge that serves breakfast, afternoon tea and pre-dinner canapes along with wine and beer in the evenings. It’s also just a really cool looking space.
As you’ve probably figured out by now, our upgrade cleared. That’s it for our visit to the suite life and we enjoyed it while it lasted. Staying in the Chambers Wing for five nights made the visit a truly unforgettable experience.
But of course, me being me, I can’t help but think there might be even better places I could have redeemed our suite upgrades.
So, did I do a good job redeeming my suite nights or did I waste them? BTW, I don’t think I wasted them.
What’s the best suite upgrade you’re received?
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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