Suite Night Awards (SNAs) are one of the benefits that Marriott Bonvoy elite members can elect to receive when they reach certain milestones. The concept behind SNAs is pretty neat. You get to select the type of room(s) or suite(s) you want to receive an upgrade for, and if you don't get the upgrade, you get your SNAs back for use on another future stay. SNAs are quite easy to use, so here is our walk-through.
What is a Marriott Suite Night Award
Suite Night Awards provide Marriott Bonvoy members with a one-night, confirmable upgrade, to a “standard suite or select premium room.” SNAs are an annual choice benefit for Marriott Bonvoy members who reach 50 elite nights (Platinum) or 75 elite nights (Titanium). So in one year, you could earn up to 10 SNAs.
SNAs are not free-night awards, such as those earned through the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card (review). Rather, SNAs are used on an existing paid or redemption reservation.
Rules for Redeeming Suite Night Awards
The number of Suite Night Awards used must match the entire length of stay. You cannot use SNAs for partial nights of a stay. Nor can you pay cash to cover the missing nights if your awards do not cover the entire length of stay. For example, if you have a 4-night stay coming up but only have 2 SNAs in your account, you cannot use those SNAs for that upcoming stay.
SNAs cannot be transferred or given as a gift. However, you may use SNAs for additional single-room reservations on your own stay as long as you are present for the stay and the other rooms are under your name.
As expected from Marriott, not all hotels participate in Suite Night Awards. SNAs are not redeemable at the following brands: Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, EDITION, Protea Hotels, Aloft, Element, Design Hotels, all-Suite Hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments, Marriott Vacation Club, Marriott Grand Residence Club properties and Vistana properties.
Requesting Suite Night Awards
To request a Suite Night Award for an existing reservation, log on to your Marriott Bonvoy account and click My Trips at the top of the page to view your existing trips. Select the reservation for which you would like to request an award. If you have SNAs in your Bonvoy account, you should see the option to use SNAs at the bottom of your reservation, as shown below. Click on Start Upgrade Request to begin.
The next page will show you the list of rooms you can request as your upgrade. Options can vary widely by property. These can include different kinds of suites, larger rooms, or simply a base room with a better view. You can select as many kinds of rooms as you wish. To view additional information about the kinds of rooms, click on Room Details for each room type.
Once you have selected your options, click Submit Upgrade Request at the bottom of the page. After submitting your SNA request, your reservation will show the banner above indicating that your request is in the works. You will also receive an email confirmation with the details of your request.
According to Marriott's website, the hotel's system will check for availability automatically beginning five days before arrival. If availability is not confirmed five days before arrival, the system checks each day before arrival, up to 2:00 PM hotel time one day prior to arrival. If your request upgrade is not confirmed, any SNAs associated with that reservation are returned to your account automatically.
You can modify or cancel your request up until 2:00 PM hotel time one day prior to arrival. However, once your upgrade has been confirmed, you can only cancel your SNA request if the entire reservation is cancelled. This may be done up to 2:00 PM hotel time one day prior to arrival.
Final Thoughts
Marriott Suite Night Awards are a great benefit in theory, and very easy to use. The ability to select the type of room or suite you want is quite novel among the major hotel brands. As with all things Marriott, the trick is actually getting SNAs to confirm. Marriott hotels are notoriously stingy with this benefit.
Have you had any good uses of Marriott Suite Night Awards? Come share your experience in our Facebook group!
