Did I Select The Best Marriott Choice Benefit? (2020 Edition)

Having status with a hotel chain is pretty cool. Generally, you’re able to check-in early, check-out late, eat breakfast for free, and/or you’re upgraded to amazing rooms for your “loyalty.”

I would say these perks are pretty amazing recognizing that some hotel credit cards award you with status simply for possessing the credit card.

In addition to these benefits, elite members are able to select additional perks for passing certain benchmarks.

For example, Marriott has a program called “Choice Benefits” where Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members can select a Choice Benefit when they pass 50 elite qualifying nights for the year, and Marriott Bonvoy Titanium members can select a Choice Benefit when they pass 75 elite qualifying nights for the year.

WHAT ARE THE CHOICE BENEFITS?

Depending on the benchmark you were able to meet (Platinum or Titanium), you are able to select from the following Choice Benefits…

Marriott’s 50 Night Platinum Choice Benefit

With Marriott Choice Benefits, those who pass 50 elite qualifying nights in a year can choose from the following rewards:

• 5 Elite Night Credits
• 40% off a hotel bed
• The ability to gift Silver Elite status
• A $100 UNICEF donation
• 5 Suite Night Awards

Marriott’s 75 Night Titanium Choice Benefit

Then those who pass 75 elite qualifying nights in a year can choose from the following rewards:

• 5 Elite Night Credits
• 40% off a hotel bed
• The ability to gift Gold Elite status
• A $100 UNICEF donation
• 5 Suite Night Awards
• A free night award (valid at a hotel costing up to 40,000 points)

SELECTING MY MARRIOTT CHOICE BENEFIT

I acquired more than 50 nights in 2020 (despite never staying in a hotel), so I qualified for Platinum status for 2020.

Having passed the 50 elite night benchmark, I received an email requesting to select my Choice Benefit.

MY THOUGHT PROCESS

Here is my thought process on my five options:

• 5 elite nights: Adding this to my total stays for next year could be helpful but I’m planning to focus my booking stays at Hyatt hotels more often so I’m not sure if this is a good idea.
• 40% off a hotel bed: Hmmm…I’m content with the bed I already have so I’ll pass on that one.
• Gifting Silver Elite status: Silver status sounds cool but when you look at the benefits, it’s not worth anything.
• Support UNICEF: I love kids but I value some of the other options at more than $100, so that may not be a good choice either.
• 5 Suite Nights: Who doesn’t like to be guaranteed a suite!? This doesn’t sound like a bad option given I have some stays already booked for (late) 2021.

So I selected the 5 Suite nights…

…and then I received confirmation…

NOTE: If you’re eligible to select a Choice Benefit but haven’t chosen one yet, you can choose one following this link. Once you’re logged in you’ll be shown your options.

Interestingly, I selected 5 Suite Night awards last year, but I did not stay in a hotel at all during 2020. So now I have a total of 10 Suite Nights.

FINAL STAMP

50 elite nights may seem like a lot of nights but with the co-branded Marriott card [READ MORE], you are given 15 elite nights just for having the card.

Choice Benefits are one of the nice perks offered to Marriott Bonvoy Platinum and Titanium members. If you haven’t yet selected your 2020 Choice Benefits be sure you make your selection soon.

Which Marriott Choice Benefit did you select (or would you have chosen if you were eligible)?

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