How to redeem Marriott points for upgraded rooms

One benefit of select tiers of Marriott elite status is complimentary, space-available room upgrades at check-in. However, for some stays, you may want to guarantee a specific view or a larger room at booking instead of hoping for an upgrade.

You can book a paid rate for the room type you want. However, you can also sometimes redeem Marriott points for upgraded room types. Here’s what you should know.

Redeeming Marriott points for upgraded rooms: What to know

Marriott Bonvoy offers two primary avenues for using points to upgrade. You may be able to use more Marriott points to book an upgraded room, or you may be able to redeem points for the standard room award cost and then pay a cash copay to upgrade. However, you won’t earn Marriott points on the cash copay, and it won’t count toward the Ambassador spending requirement.

If you want to redeem points to upgrade, you must do so at booking. And unfortunately, you won’t see the option to upgrade with Marriott points at every property. So, if you’re hoping to secure an upgraded room with points for an upcoming stay, you may need to check multiple properties before you find one that lets you redeem Marriott points for an upgraded room.

In the remainder of this guide, I’ll discuss how you can redeem Marriott points for an upgraded room. These options are available online, so you can check your options when booking on the Marriott Bonvoy website.

Related: 5 ways to maximize Marriott Bonvoy award night redemptions

How you can use Marriott points for an upgraded room

You’ll see the option to book upgraded room types with points at some Marriott Bonvoy properties. When booking these properties, you may be able to choose whether to pay completely in points for your upgrade or redeem points for a standard room and pay a cash copay for the upgrade.

For example, consider a five-night stay next year at Marriott Mena House, Cairo in Egypt. I could book a deluxe room with a garden view and balcony for 114,000 Marriott points.

If I wanted to secure a partial pyramid view, I could pay a $500 cash copay or redeem 100,000 extra Marriott points.

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I get executive lounge access as a benefit of my Titanium Elite status. But if you don’t have Marriott Platinum Elite status or higher, you may want to pay a $550 or 110,000 point copay to upgrade to a garden-view deluxe room with executive lounge access. When I stayed at Marriott Mena House, Cairo earlier this year, the executive lounge offered a modest breakfast buffet and an impressive dinner buffet with beer and wine daily.

You could also pay an upgrade copay of $1,050 or 210,000 points to secure a room with a partial pyramid view and access to the executive lounge.

Marriott knows that many guests stay at Marriott Mena House, Cairo for its pyramid views. So, although rooms with premium pyramid views don’t come cheap, you can pay a cash or points copay to secure one when redeeming points for your stay.

It’s nice that Marriott lets its members redeem extra points or pay a cash upgrade rate when redeeming points. However, the rates are incredibly high compared to paid rates at some properties and for some room types. Plus, many Marriott properties don’t offer the ability to redeem points with a cash or points upgrade option.

Related: Your complete guide to earning Marriott Bonvoy points

Use Nightly Upgrade Awards on your Marriott award stay

If the upgrade rates are too high, or the property doesn’t offer redemptions with cash or points upgrades, another option is to book a standard award stay and then request to use Nightly Upgrade Awards.

However, using Nightly Upgrade Awards instead of booking the upgraded room type you want has several downsides. First, there’s no guarantee your Nightly Upgrade Awards will clear for your stay. Second, you won’t find out until within five days of your stay (three days for stays at Edition, Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis properties) whether you’ll get the upgrade. You also can’t request Nightly Upgrade Awards at every Marriott property, so this might not even be an option.

You can earn Nightly Upgrade Awards as Marriott Choice Benefits each time you accrue 50 or 75 elite night credits per calendar year. If you have the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, you can also choose Nightly Upgrade Awards as your Earned Choice Award each calendar year you spend at least $60,000 on eligible purchases with your card.

Related: 7 ways to get a hotel room upgrade

Bottom line

As a Marriott Titanium Elite member, I’ve never redeemed Marriott points for an upgraded room. Instead, I’ve always hoped for an upgrade based on my Marriott elite status or via Nightly Upgrade Awards. I’ve had decent luck with Nightly Upgrade Awards clearing when traveling overseas, and I’ve often lucked into at least a better-located room as a perk of my Marriott status.

But if I wanted to reserve an upgraded room with Marriott points, it’s good to know that points or cash upgrades may be available.