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It's always great to stretch your points and miles. Several hotel programs offer a complimentary night on eligible award stays, but only Marriott Bonvoy extends this benefit to all members. This makes it incredibly easy to squeeze extra value from your Marriott Bonvoy points.
Here's what to know about Marriott's fifth night free and how to maximize it during your next stay.
What Is Marriott’s ‘Stay for 5, Pay for 4’ Benefit?
With Marriott's Stay for 5, Pay for 4 benefit, when you redeem five consecutive nights at the same hotel, you will get one night free. The benefit is open to all Marriott Bonvoy members, so you don't need to hold a Marriott credit card or elite status to qualify.
Here are some things to keep in mind about this benefit:
- The benefit is valid on Standard Redemption Awards and PointSavers Awards.
- The free night offer applies to the night with the lowest point redemption rate within the same stay.
- If there is more than one night at the lowest rate, the free night offer will apply to the first night at that rate.
- The offer is valid only on one reservation. It cannot be applied to a stay comprised of multiple reservations with consecutive nights.
- The offer is valid only on a standard room, not premium rooms.
- You cannot apply the offer to stays using free night awards, premium room redemption awards, cash + points awards, or nightly upgrade awards.
Marriott's fifth night free works on longer stays, too. If you book a 10-night stay award stay, Marriott will deduct the two lowest-priced nights, regardless of when they occur during your stay. For example, if nights one and three are the cheapest nights in a 10-night stay, those would be the two free nights — not necessarily the fifth and 10th nights.
How To Book a Marriott Fifth Night Free
To book a Marriott fifth night free, simply log in to your Marriott Bonvoy account and search for a five-night-or-longer stay using points. Marriott will automatically apply the Stay for 5, Pay for 4 benefit to eligible award stays, and the discounted total will be reflected in the points price shown.
The benefit is available across Marriott brands bookable with points, from luxury brands like The Ritz-Carlton to more budget-friendly options like Moxy and citizenM.
At checkout, you'll see a summary of charges, including which night is free.
Ways To Maximize Your Free Award Night
Marriott's fifth night free is easy to book, but you need to be strategic to get the most value.
Stay at least five nights
Make sure to stay at least five nights to take advantage of this benefit. If you only need a night or two, stretching your stay to five nights probably won’t make sense. However, if you were planning to stay three or four nights at a Marriott Bonvoy property, try to add a fifth night so you can take advantage of a free night.
Book luxury properties
If you really want to maximize Marriott's fifth night free, book a stay at a luxury hotel with a high award night cost. For instance, The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, is one of the best hotels I've ever stayed at. However, relaxation doesn't come cheap — award nights in the off season start at 132,000 points per night for an overwater villa, so you'll need a hefty point balance to book your trip.
Luckily, there's no limit to how much your free fifth night can cost. As long as you have enough points to book the remaining four nights, you can score a free night of 132,000-plus points with this benefit:
Combine with PointSavers awards
Marriott PointSavers awards are discounted award nights at participating properties worldwide. They can be challenging to find, but when available, you can save up to 20% on stays — and they can be combined with Marriott's fifth night free.
For instance, the Cali Marriott Hotel in Cali, Colombia, typically charges 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night. However, I can book a PointSavers award for just 12,000 points per night. I can then book five nights and get my cheapest night for free. That means a five-night stay in February 2027 might cost just 49,600 points, compared to the 75,000 (or more) points it would cost without PointSavers or fifth night free.
How To Earn Marriott Bonvoy Points
Before you can take advantage of a free night on award stays of five nights, you need a stash of Marriott Bonvoy points. Luckily, Marriott points are incredibly easy to earn.
Marriott credit cards
One of the fastest ways to earn Marriott points is through a co-branded Marriott credit card. Earning a welcome bonus on a new card can be a great way to build your balance ahead of a redemption:
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card: Earn 60,000 Bonus Points after spending $1,000 on eligible purchases within 3 months of account opening with the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card!
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card: Earn 125,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases + 1 Free Night Award within 3 months of account opening with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. Redeem your Free Night Award for a one-night stay at properties with a redemption level up to 50,000 points per night. Certain hotels have resort fees. Special Offer through 6/30/2027: Get up to $100 in statement credits after spending $500 on eligible airline purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually.
- Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Card: Earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after you spend $4,000 in eligible purchases on their Card in the first three months.
- Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card: Earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 6 months and an extra 50,000 bonus points after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months.
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card: Earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months and an extra 50,000 bonus points after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months.
- Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card: Limited Time Offer: Earn 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points and a $125 statement credit after you use your new Card to make $8,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 7/15/26.
Related: Marriott Credit Cards Compared: Which Is Best for You?
$95Rates & Fees
- 6X points for every $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®
- 3X points for every $1 spent on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases annually on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining
- 2X points on all other eligible purchases
$250Rates & Fees
(Terms Apply)
- 6X points on purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
- 4X points on up to $15,000 in combined purchases per year at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets
- 2X points on all other eligible purchases
$650Rates & Fees
(Terms Apply)
- 6X points on purchases at Marriott Properties
- 3X points at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery
- 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines
- 2X points on all other eligible purchases
Pool Marriott points
If you don't have enough points for a redemption, another Marriott member can transfer points to your account. To be eligible, both accounts must be in good standing and open for at least 30 days with qualifying activity, or at least 90 days without qualifying activity.
Transfers are limited to the following:
- Up to two transfers per month
- Up to six transfers per year
- You can send up to 100,000 points per year
- You can receive up to 500,000 points per year
- Transfers must be made in 1,000-point increments
Luckily, there are no fees to make these transfers.
Related: How To Transfer Marriott Bonvoy Points to Another Account
Buy Marriott points
You can buy Marriott points at the standard rate of 1.25 cents apiece. However, Marriott often runs promotions, allowing you to buy points at a bonus. We've seen regular 40% bonuses when buying Marriott points, bringing the per-point cost to around just 0.89 cents each.
We don't recommend buying points speculatively, especially considering that AwardWallet users redeem Marriott points for 1.12¢ each, on average. Only buy points when there's an active bonus and if you know exactly how you plan to use them.
Transfer points to Marriott
You can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Bilt Points to Marriott. You can also transfer miles from several different airline programs:
Other Hotel Programs That Offer an Extra Free Night
Marriott isn't the only major hotel chain to offer a free night on eligible award stays. However, it is the most flexible.
Hilton Honors offers a free fifth night on standard room reward stays, but only to elite members. Additionally, it uses an “averaged award cost” system, so rather than removing the cheapest free night, Hilton will average the nightly rates across your stay and subtract the equivalent of a single night from the total.
If you don't stay at Hilton properties frequently enough to earn elite status the old-fashioned way, you can get base-tier Hilton Silver Elite by holding the no-annual-fee Hilton Honors American Express Card.
Similarly, IHG offers a fourth night free, which is even more valuable than Marriott. It's only available to IHG cardholders, so if you frequently stay at IHG properties and want to take advantage of the benefit, consider applying for a co-branded card.
Unfortunately, programs like Wyndham Rewards and World of Hyatt do not offer a fourth or fifth night free.
Final Thoughts
Marriott's fifth night free benefit can be incredibly valuable. There's no limit to how many times you can use it. As long as you have enough points for the total redemption, you can take advantage of this benefit multiple times throughout the year.
However, keep in mind that you can't combine the fifth night free with other free night awards or nightly upgrade awards. You also can't book a premium room. Even so, these trade-offs are more than worth it, considering you can save thousands of points on every booking.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees), and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees)
