Opinion: Best Marriott Annual Choice Benefit for Platinum Elite

As you climb higher on the Marriott Bonvoy Elite ladder, you will receive more benefits that will entice you to stay loyal to the Marriott brand. From lounge access to complimentary breakfast, some compelling perks will enhance your travel experiences. Once you spend 50 nights at Marriott properties in a calendar year, you will qualify for the Platinum Elite status, and Marriott will award you with an Annual Choice Benefit. If you were to spend 75 nights in a calendar year, then you would receive another Annual Choice Benefit. Once you qualify for the Annual Choice Benefit, you would have to choose one from a list of possible options, and it could be intimidating to choose one since you aren’t allowed to change your selected option. Let’s learn what each option entails, and I will tell you which Annual Choice Benefit I select year after year. 

• How to Earn Elite Nights Fast

• Five Elite Night Credits

• $100 Donation to Charity

• 40% Discount on a Marriott-branded Bed

• Gift of Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite Status

• Five Suite Night Awards

• Summary

How to Earn Elite Nights Fast

Before you think about what you will choose for the Annual Choice Benefit, you would need to spend 50 nights at Marriott properties in a calendar year to qualify for the Platinum Elite status. However, unless you are a travel blogger or a consultant, spending 50 nights at hotels in a calendar year could be challenging. The best and the most efficient way to accumulate Elite Nights is to utilize co-branded credit cards by American Express (AMEX). There are three Marriott Bonvoy personal credit cards and one business credit card on the market. By simply holding on to one of the three Marriott-branded personal credit cards (AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business, and Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless), you will earn 15 Elite Night credits, and you can earn another 15 Elite Night credits by holding the AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business card. The maximum number of Elite Nights you could earn is 30, and no matter how many personal Marriott credit cards you carry, you can only earn 15 Elite Nights from personal credit cards. Therefore, it is optimal to hold one personal and one business Marriott-branded credit card to receive all 30 Elite Night credits. 

Expedite your road to Platinum Elite status by getting personal and business Marriott credit cards from AMEX.

Once you accrue 50 Elite Nights and qualify for Platinum Elite status, you will get an email from Marriott congratulating you that you could select your Annual Choice Benefit. If you don’t receive the email, you could visit Marriott’s Annual Choice Benefit website and make a selection. You could choose from the following options:

• Five Elite Night credits

• $100 donation to charity

• 40% discount on a Marriott-branded Bed

• Gift of Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status

• Five Suite Night Awards

If you don’t make a selection by January 7 of the following year, Marriott will automatically choose the five Suite Night Awards on your behalf. So if you don’t want Suite Night Awards, choose your preferred option before the deadline. Let’s go over each option for Platinum Elite status and see which one is the best option for your travel style.

Five Elite Night Credits

Earning five additional Elite Nights wouldn’t benefit most people since you wouldn’t earn any perks with it. However, since you can earn Titanium Elite status after spending 75 nights at Marriott properties in a calendar year, those looking to qualify for Titanium Elite status may want to choose this option. Titanium Elite status will award you with the second Annual Choice Benefit, and you will earn 75% more Marriott Bonvoy points than 50% more points for Platinum Elites. Also, even though you could technically choose your Annual Choice Benefit until January 7 of the following year, don’t assume that additional five Elite Nights will be added to the next year because they will be added to the year you qualified for your Annual Choice Benefit.

If you are going after Titanium Elite status, it may be worth selecting five Elite Night credits as your Annual Choice Benefit. Photo by Marriott.

$100 Donation to Charity

You can donate $100 to one of the three charitable organizations: UNICEF, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Arne M. Sorenson Hospitality Fund. Supporting children through UNICEF, protecting wildlife through WWF, and building hospitality industry leaders through the Arne M. Sorenson Hospitality Fund are noble reasons to select this option. However, you could receive more benefits in return when selecting some other available options, and if you would like to donate your points and miles to charity, you could utilize organizations like JustGiving, American Red Cross, No Kid Hungry, and many more.

40% Discount on a Marriott-branded Bed

If you’ve slept at one of Marriott’s properties and particularly enjoyed the mattress, this is your chance to replicate the experience at home. You could save 40% on a mattress and box spring from Marriott brands such as EDITION, The Ritz-Carlton, and W Hotels. It is unlikely that you will get a new mattress every year, but this money-saving benefit may be for you if you really want a specific mattress. 

A king-sized mattress from the EDITION brand will cost you $3,495 before the discount, taxes, and fees. Photo by Marriott.

Gift of Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite Status

Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status is the lowest Elite status you could earn after staying ten nights at Marriott properties. With Silver Elite status, you earn 10% more bonus points on stays and can request priority late checkout, which is subject to availability. In my opinion, Silver Elite doesn’t make much difference, and you are better off getting one of the Marriott co-branded credit cards from AMEX to earn 15 Elite Night credits, which will automatically qualify you for Silver Elite status.

Silver Elite status doesn’t offer valuable perks. Photo by Marriott.

Five Suite Night Awards

The last benefit and the option I would personally choose is five Suite Night Awards. The Suite Night Award can be used for stays booked with cash or points, and it gives you an opportunity to be upgraded to one of the suites at the property you are staying at. The hotel will start checking for availability five days before arrival, and in case the property can’t secure a suite for you, the Suite Night Award will be returned to your Marriott Bonvoy account. Every year, I choose five Suite Night Awards because I generally receive a good return when I use one at aspirational properties. For me, a hotel is more than just a place to sleep; it is where I discover neighboring communities, perceive new design elements, and connect with one another by sharing extraordinary experiences. Suite Night Awards can elevate your lodging experience to a whole new level and unlock the property's true potential. 

For 2022, I chose five Suite Night Awards as my Annual Choice Benefit. Photo by Marriott.

If you plan on choosing this benefit, make sure you can actually use Suite Night Awards at hotels you’d like to stay in because not all hotels participate in Suite Night Awards. The following Marriott brands are excluded from Suite Night Awards:

• Ritz-Carlton

• Protea Hotels

• Aloft 

• Element

• Design Hotels

• All-Suite Hotels

• Marriott Executive Apartments 

• Marriott Vacation Club

• EDITION

• The Ritz-Carlton Reserve

• The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club

• Grand Residences by Marriott

I used my Suite Night Award at W Austin, and it was a great spot for staycation.

Each Suite Night Award is required per room per night, which means if you booked three nights, you must redeem three Suite Night Awards. This rule also applies when you book four nights with points and receive your fifth night free; you must use five Suite Night Awards for the entire duration of the stay. Lastly, Marriott will automatically choose five Suite Night Awards for you if you don’t make your Annual Choice Benefit selection by January 7th of the following year. 

Summary

Annual Choice Benefit can be a great motivator to reach Platinum Elite status. Once you reach Platinum Elite status by staying at Marriott properties 50 nights in a calendar year, you could choose five Elite Night credits, a $100 donation to charity, a 40% discount on a Marriott-branded bed, a gift of Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status, or five Suite Night Awards. While there is no right or wrong answer, I would choose five Suite Night Awards. Although not all Marriott brands participate in Suite Night Awards, it could deliver the most value by unleashing the hotel’s true potential and significantly elevating your lodging experience.