Pam
We keep most of our hotel-branded credit cards year after year. This is because the benefits of the cards typically outweigh their annual fees (especially those hotel cards that come with an annual free night certificate). Some of our favorites are our Marriott annual free night certificates!
Marriott allows you to “top off” free night certificates with up to 15K points, so each 50K free night certificate could be redeemed for award nights that cost up to 65K points if you topped them off with some of your Marriott points. Currently, you can some 50K free night certificates after meeting the minimum spend on these two Marriott cards:
Let’s dive into some of the best ways to redeem a Marriott 50K free night certificate. Check out this post to learn more about all the Marriott cards and the rules for getting each one. Additionally, if you have a 35K certificate, you can top it off and stay at some of these hotels.
How does a night in the Maldives sound? Obviously, you would want to use other certificates, points, or cash to stay longer if you are going that far, but seriously, the Maldives on a credit card with a $95 annual fee? Alex stayed there and absolutely loved it! Did you read her post about the Maldives?
The Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa looks amazing!
Yes, I’ve stayed at the JW Marriott in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, and yes, I’d love to stay again. You can read all about it in my post, but it was magical and worth the long flight. It was the only time I’ve used points just to stay at a certain hotel, and it did not disappoint. It is hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that you can stay there for only 50K points/night—it is that special!
If you have some Marriott points to top off your Marriott 50K certificates, you can book the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa, which is located steps from Kaanapali Beach (one of my favorite spots on Maui)! There are even some rare 40K nights that you can book with your certificates (March 2024).
My sister and I have stayed there, and you can read my review here. The location is perfect for restaurants, shopping, and fun at the beach.
The Renaissance brand of Marriott Hotels is another brand I like. I had a friend with five 50K certificates from a sign-up bonus, so we booked the Renaissance Aruba. We really enjoyed our stay in Aruba, and visiting Flamingo Island because we were staying there was amazing! If you book in the Fall, you can find rooms for as little as 55K points. I would use a certificate and top it off with other points I had (or purchased) to stay here.
The ability to stay five nights in Hawaii with one credit card welcome offer is pretty unique. It might not be the most luxurious stay, but who will be in the room when you can be at the beach? This is a new hotel, too, so that is always nice. I definitely think it is worth paying for some Marriott points, in this case, to “top off” the certificate if you don’t already have points.
This is a great option for those 50K certificates if you want a trip to Walt Disney World. June had some available dates for using a 50K certificate. It gets great reviews and has a ton of fun things for children to do! You can even get a room with a view of Disney Springs.
Some of our readers have suggested the following hotels for redeeming 50K certificates. Sometimes, they have had to top off their certificates.
We keep our hotel-branded credit cards because we get great value from our Marriott annual free night certificates. We hope you’ve found some inspiration for where you can use yours. If you don’t have one yet but have plans to stay at Marriott hotels, read our post about Marriott credit cards and get one—you’ll be glad you did! Do you have a 50K Marriott hotel stay that you would recommend? Let us know, and we’ll add it to the reader’s list!
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Does the free night (annual and the bonus sign up offer) certificate have an expiration date?
Yes, one year for both.
Thanks for these suggestions. I only hear about Disney hotels (swan and dolphin) so I am excited to heart about some that aren’t Disney. 🙂
My husband and I each have some of these. If we wanted to use them all for one stay, could we link my husband’s reservation with mine?
Thanks!
You have to book each reservation one at a time but could then call and ask them to link them so you wouldn’t have to move or get new keys each day.
Can you stack marriott free night certificates? So, for example, if I wanted to stay in an overwater bungalo for 5 nights… let’s pretend that they were 50k points per night … could I use five 50k certificates?
Yes, but you have to book them one at a time.
I am using mine at JW Marriott San Antonio. I actually only have 35k certificate but if you stay mid week I can stay for only 42k points. We are going after Memorial Day.
Can you use all 5 nights consecutively?
Yes, but you have to book them one at a time.
Please help! I have 5 50k Marriott night certificates. We are a fam of 4. We are looking for a destination that gets good redemption value BUT a destination that won’t break the bank AND I am hoping for spring break. My nights expire in April. I am stressing… a good reason to stress but still stressing. Thank you all so much. Love all y’all.
I would get on the Facebook group and ask for suggestions!