The free night certificate for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card & Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card has gotten an upgrade. You can now use up to 25,000 of your own Marriott Bonvoy points as a top-up if the room you want costs more than 35,000 points.
This top-up also applies to any free night certificate you may get from Marriott, which is a welcome upgrade. It allows you to use the certificate for a room worth up to 60,000 points, assuming you have enough points to apply the top-up.
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What is the Marriott free night certificate?
The single biggest benefit of having a Marriott American Express card is the annual free night.
You don't get this benefit in the first year of having the card, but roughly 8 weeks after your card's anniversary, you'll get a free night certificate worth up to 35,000 points.
This award more than covers the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card's $120 annual fee and the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card's $150 annual fee.
The benefit refreshes every year, but it's a use-it-or-lose-it certificate. You need to book a room by its end date (which is 1 year from when it's issued), or it disappears.
You can find your free night certificate in your Marriott account in the earned rewards section, along with the date it needs to be used by.
If, for whatever reason, you cancel your room and it can be refunded (most reward nights you can cancel roughly 48 hours ahead of time and get a refund), you'll also get your certificate back, provided it hasn't expired.
The new and improved Marriott free night certificate
Now, this major cardholder benefit is even better.
Previously, you were limited to free nights worth 35,000 points or less. Even if a room cost only 500 extra points, you were unable to apply your free night certificate. This limited your options for redeeming your free room.
Now, you can top up your certificate by 25,000 points if the room you want is worth more than what the certificate covers on its own.
Here's how to top up your Marriott free room certificate with extra points:
To test out this new feature, we looked at a popular hotel in downtown Toronto. For our hypothetical stay at the Delta Hotels Toronto, Marriott wanted 57,000 points. Under the old system, this room wouldn't be eligible for the certificate, but now all you need is the extra points.
Now, when you go to pay, you'll see an option to use your certificate in conjunction with any extra required points, in this case 22,000.
This account did not have enough points to cover the top-up. But you'll see there's also an option to purchase the missing points.
This makes the free night certificate even more usable, because you'll always be able to access the top-up required to get the room you want. However, keep in mind that it's usually not a good idea to purchase points. The cost of the points is usually more than they're worth.
But, if it's the difference between using or losing your free night, it's probably best to pony up whatever else you need so it doesn't go to waste.
Last chance for the improved welcome offers on Marriott Amex cards
American Express is currently running some hot offers on their Marriott cards that end on April 7, 2026.
The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card typically has a welcome bonus of 50,000 points. But right now you can get 110,000. And it's not overly tough to get either, assuming you keep the card for another year.
- 80,000 points after spending $6,000 in the first 6 months
- 30,000 points after making a purchase in month 15
The rewards on purchases? A high base earn rate plus bonus rewards at Marriott.
- 5 points per $1 spent at Marriott properties
- 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
It also includes automatic Silver Elite status and 15 Elite night credits every year. Plus, you can upgrade to Gold status by spending $30,000 per year.
As for the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card, it has the same offer, but it's a little harder to earn. Its standard welcome offer is 60,000 points.
- 80,000 points after spending $10,000 in the first 6 months
- 30,000 points after making a purchase in month 15
It's otherwise a very similar card, but it offers some bonus points on gas and hotels for a bigger annual fee of $150.
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