Marriott Launches Certificate Top-Up, Though It Appears To Be Buggy At Launch

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When Marriott announced last October that they would kill off their award charts, they also announced a small giveback, that they would allow members to add up to 15K points to top up their certificates. That was a fair move given that point requirements would be variable going forward and some hotels that were 35K previously would now be 36K and would need a top-up feature to be bookable.

For 2022, most hotels still charge within the range of their previous point requirements, though starting in 2023 rates will be fully variable.

Certificate top-up was promised to be implemented by the end of April, and sure enough they snuck that in just in time, though it appears to be rather buggy for now.

In my account now I have a plethora of certificates thanks to COVID extensions, including 35K certificates that come annually with cards like the Marriott Bonvoy Business AMEX and Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless, 50K certificates that comes with cards like the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant AMEX, and 40K elite choice certificates that came from elite nights that those cards provide. Other certificates include 25K and 85K certificates from credit cards.

I searched for current rates at the Ritzaliya, which previously went for 50K, 60K, or 70K points per night. A typical night now goes for somewhere in the 60s, though prices now constantly fluctuate, so if you do have a booked award, it’s a good idea to check pricing frequently and rebook it when the price drops.

Previously this hotel was only bookable with 50K certificates on off peak dates, but the top up policy means that more dates are within reach. I just wish Marriott allowed any amount of points to be used for topping up certificates like IHG now allows.

When searching for a night available for 50K points, the website gave me the option of using a 35K certificate plus 15K points. Oddly though, it didn’t give the option of using my 40K or 50K certificates.

On another night when rooms were 65K points, it did offer the option of using a 50K certificate plus 15K points:

I didn’t have any luck using certificates on the Marriott app, though hopefully that will be corrected as well.

For now if you don’t see the certificate you want to use, you’ll have to call Marriott to use it and top up.

It’s worth noting that you can’t top up certificates for premium rooms, it will only work for base rooms.

Where will you book now that you can top-up your free night certificates?