If you’ve recently applied & approved for the HDFC Bank Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card and the joining fee is charged & paid, chances are high that you might now be seeing your Free Night Award (FNA) on your Marriott Bonvoy Mobile app, as I do.
It took about ~15 days for the FNA to kick-in in my case post the fee getting charged to the card. I see that it’s being done in batches, so all those who got charged last month are likely getting the FNA this month.
So if you’re wondering how to maximize it for your upcoming stay, here’s everything you need to know.
How to use?
To get started, tap the FNA and start exploring the hotels as usual. Doing so, you might come across 3 different scenario’s based on the Marriott Bonvoy points requirement, and here is how it works for each of them:
Points <=15,000
If the points required to book the property are under 15,000 points then simply choose the FNA at the checkout and you’re done.
Points >15,000 & <=30,000
If the Points required to book the property is over 15,000 and upto 30,000, then you can use the combination of FNA+Points.
For ex, if the hotel costs 23K points, you would need to use FNA+8K Points as FNA is valued at 15K points. Here’s a quick look:
Points >30,000
If the Points required to book the property is over 30,000 then you “cannot” use the FNA.
In a nutshell
Free Night Awards are considered as 15K Marriott Bonvoy Points equivalent and comes with a flexibility to use FNA+Marriott Bonvoy Points (upto another 15K points).
As you see, using FNA is quite simple and definitely comes with an AMAZING value for just 3,000 INR with the HDFC Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card.
And to earn additional points to use with the FNA, HDFC might not be lucrative with it’s low earning capability but you always have Amex Gold Charge & Amex MRCC that comes handy with their lucrative monthly bonus points.
Where are you planning to use your Marriott Bonvoy Free Night Awards? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.