Booking a standard hotel room usually means waiting until check-in to see if a better room is available. The Marriott Nightly Upgrade Award (NUA) offers a way to request a premium room or suite in advance.
Marriott updated this program in early 2024. They renamed it from Suite Night Awards, added more hotel brands to the program, and changed the approval process. Most recently, they introduced an automated artificial intelligence system to handle upgrade decisions.
If you are a Marriott Bonvoy elite member, understanding the current rules is the best way to get value from these awards. This guide explains how to earn, apply, and improve your chances of clearing Marriott Nightly Upgrade Awards.
What Are Nightly Upgrade Awards?
A Nightly Upgrade Award is a benefit that allows you to confirm an upgrade to a premium room or suite for one night.
Unlike standard elite upgrades given at the front desk, NUAs let you secure your room before you arrive at the hotel.
You must use one NUA for every night of your stay. If your reservation is for three nights, you need three awards in your account. You cannot apply awards to just one part of a single reservation.
How You Earn Them
You do not earn NUAs by simply earning hotel points. They are based on the total number of nights you stay at Marriott properties each year.
They are available as an Annual Choice Benefit. When you earn 50 Elite Night Credits in a calendar year, you unlock a Choice Benefit. Selecting the five Nightly Upgrade Awards is a popular option at this level. When you reach 75 Elite Night Credits, you can choose another set of five NUAs, giving you 10 total for the year.
You must manually select this benefit by the annual deadline, which is usually February 1st of the following year.
Marriott does not allow members to select Annual Choice Benefits in the mobile app. You must log into your account using a desktop computer or a mobile web browser to choose your upgrades.
Where You Can (and Cannot) Use Them
The 2024 update added several premium brands to the program. You can now use NUAs at The Ritz-Carlton, EDITION, Aloft, Element, and Protea Hotels. This adds to the list of legacy brands like St. Regis, W Hotels, JW Marriott, and Westin.
There are still exclusions. You cannot use these awards at Marriott Vacation Club properties or Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
Also, a “Nightly Upgrade Award” is different from an “Upgrade Award.” A standard Upgrade Award involves spending extra points for a better room, and those are not valid at All-Inclusive Resorts. Always check a specific property’s policy in the Marriott app to confirm NUA eligibility.
The Approval Process and the AI Update
Marriott changed how these requests are processed in the summer of 2025 by launching an Automated Complimentary Upgrade (ACU) system.
Previously, hotel staff manually reviewed upgrade requests. Now, an AI algorithm assigns premium rooms across the hotel network every day.
The system starts checking for available rooms five days before your arrival. For a few specific luxury brands—The Ritz-Carlton, EDITION, and St. Regis—the system begins checking three days before arrival.
If your requested room is available, the system confirms it and sends you an email. If it is not available, the system checks every day until 2:00 PM local hotel time on your arrival day.
Hotel employees report that the automated system acts strictly on its programming. Sometimes, the system assigns suites to lower-tier Gold members instead of higher-tier Platinum or Titanium members. Because it is automated, contacting the front desk before your stay is no longer an effective way to secure an NUA.
Why NUA Requests Get Rejected
It is common to have an NUA request denied, even if you see suites available to book with cash on the hotel website.
This occurs because hotels do not put every empty suite into the NUA upgrade pool. Hotels hold back certain rooms for regular paying guests. The AI system only selects from the specific rooms the hotel makes available for awards.
Additionally, multiple members often apply for the same limited rooms. If a hotel has three suites in the upgrade pool and ten elite members request them, seven requests will be denied.
Actionable Strategies to Maximize Success
While the computer algorithm makes the final decision, you can adjust your requests to improve your chances.
Check the Desktop Website if the App Fails
Sometimes, the Marriott mobile app has technical errors and shows that no upgrade options are available for an eligible hotel. Members often find that logging into their Marriott account on a desktop browser shows the full list of rooms. If the app gives you an error, try using a computer before giving up.
Be Selective With Room Choices
When applying an NUA, the system shows a list of possible rooms. This list includes minor upgrades, like a standard room with a better view, alongside large suites.
If you check every box, the system will place you in the first available room on that list. This often results in using an award for a very minor upgrade.
Strategy: Only select the specific rooms you actually want. If you only want a full suite, leave the standard “premium view” rooms unchecked. If your request does not clear, the awards are returned to your account.
Target Shorter Stays
An award only clears if the premium room is available for every consecutive night of your stay. Therefore, shorter stays have a mathematical advantage.
It is much easier to find a suite that is empty for two nights in a row than it is to find one empty for seven nights in a row.
Strategy: Apply your NUAs to weekend trips or two-night stays instead of long vacations.
Look Outside the United States
Data and member feedback show that NUA success rates are generally higher in Asia and the Middle East compared to North America.
Properties in Asia often have a higher percentage of suites, and they tend to make more of those rooms available for the upgrade pool.
Strategy: Save your awards for international trips to places like Japan, Thailand, or the UAE for a better chance of success.
Official Rules for Canceling and Modifying Reservations
Marriott’s official policy states that if you cancel a reservation with Nightly Upgrade Awards attached (within the allowed cancellation window), the awards will be returned to your account.
However, there is a known error in the Marriott reservation system. Sometimes, the system fails to detach the awards during a cancellation. When this happens, the reservation is canceled, but the awards do not automatically return to your profile.
This error can also happen if you modify your booking while awards are attached. Additionally, Marriott’s official rules state that modifying a reservation—like changing dates or the number of guests—can cause your room rate to change to the current daily price.
Strategy: If you need to cancel or change a reservation, log into your account and manually click “Withdraw” on your Nightly Upgrade Awards first. Wait a few minutes to ensure they are back in your account balance. Once confirmed, proceed with canceling or modifying the hotel reservation.
Summary
Marriott Nightly Upgrade Awards are a request system based on hotel inventory rules and automated algorithms.
By understanding the five-day and three-day timelines, selecting only the rooms you truly want, and managing your awards manually before cancellations, you can avoid system errors and get the most practical value out of this elite benefit.
For more detailed information or to manage your benefits directly, you can refer to these official Marriott pages: