New Marriott Offer - free night certificate after 2 stays (for new members only)

Here's a pretty decent offer, from Marriott, who are offering a free night's stay certificate on completion of two eligible stays, for new memberships to the MR program. The certificate is usable for a night at any category 1-5 property.

You need to have joined the program after 4 August 2014 to be eligible for this offer. If you aren't a member yet, you can sign up here (this isn't an affiliate link). You need to have two eligible paid stays at participating properties - this includes stays at Ritz-Carlton hotels also, but there isn't a list of excluded hotels (yet). Most importantly, you will need to complete your 2 stays by 120 days from the last day of the month in which you enroll, therefore you should strategise when to enroll (or re-enroll, if the free night is worth it), and try and do that as close as possible to the beginning of the month, to maximise your eligibility period. Eg; enrolling on say 30 August will give you time till 29 December, while enrolling just a couple of days later, on 1 September, will give you time till 28 January - that's an entire month extra!

You can also stack this promo with the MegaBonus offer for September 2014 to January 2015, and see if that can get you some bonuses starting with your second paid stay (which will also hopefully make you eligible to claim that free certificate!). More on that, here.

What I did wrong

To be honest, it was only a couple of days back that I became aware of this offer. I had had two paid stays (of one night each) at Marriott hotels in the previous week. Given that I earned a grand total of less than 1k points from those stays, I'd say that a stay certificate would have been a far better deal than the points (even a category 1 stay would otherwise have been worth 7500 points). Naturally, I wouldn't have been entitled to the MR elite benefits, but at the Silver level, and with breakfast being paid for anyway, I don't think those benefits would've mattered much to me.

So if you're in a position not very different from mine, I'd strongly suggest re-enrolling into the program so that you become eligible for this offer. In fact, if it can be worked out well, then this offer may be worth a separate MR in itself, to generate enough stay certs needed for an aspirational holiday. And if you want to do that, you can find indicative prices for Marriott hotels in India, here. I'm thinking of doing something, so if you're interested, please leave a comment below or sent a tweet.

Here are the full T&Cs, which you can also find on the landing page for this offer:

·         This promotion is valid for new members who enrol in the Marriott Rewards® programme after 4 August 2014. 

·         Make two paid stays at a participating Marriott® hotel during your earning period to receive a free night certificate at any participating Category 1-5 hotel.

·         Your earning period starts the day you enrol through the end of that month, plus an additional 120 days.

·         Stay at participating Marriott hotels, which include the following brands:  EDITION®, JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Marriott Hotels®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Gaylord Hotels®, AC Hotels by MarriottSM, Courtyard by Marriott®, Residence Inn by Marriott®, SpringHill Suites by Marriott®, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott®, TownePlace Suites by Marriott and Moxy Hotels®.

·         Stays at our exclusive luxury hotel partner, The Ritz-Carlton®, will count toward achievement.

·         A stay is defined as consecutive nights spent at the same hotel, regardless of check-in/check-out activity.

·         Please note that this is an electronic certificate and will be automatically deposited into your Marriott Rewards account after completing two qualifying paid stays.

·         Certificate must be redeemed within one year from the date of issue.

·         Certificate is for a standard room type.

·         You may use additional Marriott Rewards points to upgrade your room type, subject to availability.

·         At participating Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites properties, Certificates are for a studio or one bedroom.

·         Certificate is valid only in connection with individual travel and is not applicable to group travel, package tours, conventions or other special rates and/or package programmes.

·         Certificate may be used to pay for the expense of your room and related room taxes only.

·         The Certificate may not be used to pay for food, beverages, service charges, other taxes or other incidental expenses.

·         You will not earn Marriott Rewards points for room charges or room tax covered by the Certificate.

·         The Certificate is good for one night, for one room only, and does not count toward Elite-level membership.

·         Nights spent while redeeming an award are not eligible for credit.

·         Existing Marriott Rewards members are not eligible.

·         For participating Category 1-5 locations, click here or call your local Customer Support office.

·         Complete Marriott Rewards programme terms and conditions and privacy policy apply.

·         Certificate must be used by the member. Certificate cannot be extended past expiration date or re-credited for Marriott Reward points.

·         The Certificate is non-transferable and has no cash value. All reservations are subject to Marriott Rewards redemption availability.

·         To verify your Free Night Certificate or other account information online, log in to your account atMarriottRewards.com.

When redeeming your Certificate:

Online Reservations:

·         Log on to Marriott.com to make your reservation.

·         Once the reservation is complete, the hotel will receive an electronic notice of your free night Certificate.

·         You will receive an email confirmation of your award reservation.

Call:

·         You can also make reservations by calling your local reservation numbers.

·         Advise the reservation agent you will be using a Marriott Rewards Certificate.