Marriott Bonvoy free night awards are getting a little more valuable if you have extra points to tack on. Starting now, Marriott Bonvoy members can “top up” free night awards with up to 25,000 points.
Back in 2022, the company began allowing members to combine up to 15,000 points with a free night certificate to unlock award stays with the awards alone.
These certificates come in a series of denominations, including 35,000 points, 50,000 points and 85,000 points, and are earned through:
Now, members can use up to 25,000 extra Marriott Bonvoy points to make those certificates worth up to 60,000 points, 75,000 points and 110,000 points, potentially easing member frustration when a hotel prices out slightly above the threshold, as certificates cannot be used if the total price is even one single point above the top-out maximum.
For example, topping up a 35,000-point certificate with the current 15,000 limit only to find hotels out of reach at 51,000 points per night (a practice some believe is a pricing tactic from certain properties to avoid accepting the certificates, and something we’ll continue to monitor as the new, elevated top-out rules roll out).
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The easiest way to earn free night awards is through Marriott’s cobranded credit cards, like the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card (see rates and fees), which comes with a 35,000-point certificate each year; the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, which offers an 85,000-point certificate each year; and the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, which offers a 35,000-point certificate each year. Certain hotels have resort fees.
You can dig into more information about the best Marriott credit cards on TPG’s dedicated landing page.
We’ll take our wins where we can get them, and we’ll count being able to further top-up free night awards as one of them. Would it have been nice to see the actual awards themselves increase in value rather than having to dip more into your own points bank? Absolutely. But these changes are a net positive, especially considering 2025 saw a “serious devaluation” across some properties, leaving many out of reach with free night awards (topped-off or not).
Bottom line
Marriott Bonvoy members can now top up free night awards with 25,000 points, up from 15,000. This change will allow members with certificates to book more expensive properties, but only if they have — and are willing to part with — points earned on their own.
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