Marriott changes name at Suite Night Awards and updates rules, but I don't think it improves the outcome
If you don't know what the Suite Night Awards are, it means you're not aiming for Platinum Elite status, [...]
Marriott
If you don't know what the Suite Night Awards are. means that you are not aiming for Platinum Elite status, or higher, in the Marriot Bonvoy loyalty program, but if you know what he is talking about you should know that from next year many things change, starting with the name. Goodbye SNA welcome NUA or Nightly Upgrade Award.
Not just the name changes
In this article:
Gone is the word "Suite" from the name of the benefit simply because the rules change and the categories of rooms that can be selected to redeem NUA are expanded, there will no longer be only suites and so that is why the name needed to be changed. As I have explained in several articles the room upgrades are often simple transitions from a room without a view to a high-floor room.
The most interesting news is that these certificates will be redeemable in multiple insignia: The Ritz Carlton and Edition are definitely two major upgrades where to use the upgrades, much less inspiring the idea of "wasting" one of these NUAs in an Aloft, Element or Protea which are 3 budget insignia where I don't think suites even exist.
More availability, less notice
Marriott has announced a 20% increase in the availability of premium rooms (those with a balcony, view or extra space) and suites under the Nightly Upgrade Awards program. Likewise, however the window of time in which hotels confirm, or not, the request narrows Going from 5 to 3 days.
In conclusion
I'm not a huge SNA fan and I don't think I'm going to go crazy for NUA, certainly the change with the inclusion of the Ritz Carlton and Edition is a nice change, it remains to be seen whether and how many rooms they will make available to these two brands, which in contrast do not offer the upgrade benefit to those with status.
The increase in rooms is half a "rip-off" because if you have the status in 99% of cases you will get a better room than the one you booked anyway, and wasting a certificate to get a room with a balcony or on the high floor is really a bad use.
The milliest benefit of Marriott status remains guaranteed check-out at 4 p.m., which is the main reason why I try to renew the level every year.
