Earning a Marriott free night certificate is quite easy, but for some reason, I have a hard time using them. It might be due to the fact that I receive three Marriott certificates on an annual basis since I have three Marriott co-branded credit cards. It is also probably due to the fact that my family has pretty much moved over to Hyatt, despite having Marriott Bonvoy Titanium lifetime status. Because of this, there are many times I need to extend my Marriott free night certificate.
Extending a Marriott Free Night Certificate
Just recently, I checked my Marriott account and saw I had a free night certificate expiring in early October. I knew there was no way I was going to use and the thought of it expiring killed me. Of course I could have just simply treated myself to a staycation nearby, but it really wasn’t needed. Instead, I decided to call Marriott and ask for an extension. I’ve been able to do this many times in the past over many years. But, with the new Marriott Bonvoy program, I was not 100% sure how it would go.
I called Marriott at and explained to the representative that I have a free night certificate expiring soon and asked for a goodwill extension. (You can contact them at 1-888-625-4988 or on twitter @MBonvoyAssist). The representative put me on hold and within a few minutes she advised me that my certificate had been extended. She also made it quite clear that this was a one time curtesy.
The call was quick, easy and quite painless. I did not have to make up some crazy story and within a minute the new certificate appeared in my account. NOTE: The new Marriott certificate expiration date is one year from when the call is made. Not one year from when the certificate is set to expire. Just something to keep that in mind when you make the call.
Overall…
This is a reminder that if you have a Marriott free night certificate that you are not able to use, always request an extension. I am not sure if having Titanium status helped, but I’ve read positive reports from those with no status at all. If you call and speak to a representative that is not able to make the extension happen, hang up and call again.
I am happy to see that Marriott is still granting extensions on these certificates. I personally think this is quite generous of them since they do not expire for 12 months. Although I personally do not use them as easily as I used to, I still think they are extremely valuable. They are also a great credit card benefit and absolutely make the annual fee on all three cards well worth it.
Trying to figure out which Marriott credit card you are eligible for?
Since Marriott has put many restrictions in place, Travel Freely will help you figure out which credit card you are eligible for. It will also help you track your welcome offer deadlines, annual fee dates, 5/24 status and when you are eligible to apply for a new card. I personally use this site to track my own credit cards and best of yet it is free! You can check out my Travel Freely review here.
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I guess HUCA would have worked but I gave up at first try and ended up using the cert for good value.
I was also put on hold but rep came back and said unfortunately they don’t allow these to be extended in any way.
The cert I have was from Chase Ritz card, good for a 50k point night due to expired in 3 weeks when I called.
oh well… I guess I will try it harder next time if I have to.
As the free night certs become more difficult to use and are devalued in terms of category limitations, the value of the affiliated Amex and Chase cards will get Bonvoyed. It remains to be seen where the breaking point comes for cardholders.
I also seem to often find myself near expiration and not having used the certificate. I’m thinking of dropping the card rather than forcing a stay next time around.
Data point: @MBonvoyAssist took over a day to tell me that they couldn’t help me. Called instead and got cert extended in under 10 mins.