Here are 10 great hotels in Canada that you can stay at for free simply by having the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card. The card is considered one of the best travel rewards cards in Canada by Rewards Canada and there are numerous reasons as to why it is such good card. One of those is the annual Free Night Award which is the focus of this post!
The Annual Free Night Award
When you apply for and receive the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card it comes with a great sign up bonus of 50,000 points along with really good everyday earn rates. It also provides automatic Silver Elite status and elite nights towards status. You’ll then receive Gold status if you spend $30,000 on the card annually. But, what we are most interested in for this post is the benefit for holding on to the card beyond the first year.
Every year, upon your card’s anniversary you’ll receive a free Marriott Annual Free Night Award (FNA) that will cover stays of up to 35,000 points. The FNA can be used at any eligible Marriott hotels and resorts worldwide. As you’ll see from the examples below, this free night award can easily be used at hotels that run $200-$300 or more per night.
The Marriott Bonvoy™ Business American Express® Card also provides an Annual Free Night Award and you can actually hold onto this card at the same time as the consumer card to receive two Free Night Awards yearly.
Changes to Marriott’s Award Night Structure
If we rewind just a over year the FNA would cover you for hotels that fell into the Category 1 to 5 levels for standard award nights. However, in 2022 Marriott moved away from hotel category pricing to dynamic pricing which means it has become little more difficult to find the hotels where you can use the FNA. That difficulty comes from having to physically search for dates by location or region to see what a hotel is pricing at in points. I mean, before it wasn’t exactly easy either, but it was easier, as the categories would let you now which hotels you could redeem the FNA at but in the end you would still have to search for availability.
The one bonus with the dynamic pricing is that Marriott Bonvoy has also added in the option for members to ‘top off’ these Free Night Awards with up to 15,000 points. What this means, is that if you find a hotel that is charging 50,000 points for a free night you can use the Free Night Award to cover 35,000 points and make up the rest by redeeming 15,000 points from your Bonvoy account.
The 10 Great Hotels
Marriott is the largest hotel chain in Canada with nearly 300 hotels from coast to coast. A lot of these properties are great locations to use your Free Night Award at and a lot of them will provide value well above the $120 per year you pay for this card.
In this feature we only look at locations where we found reasonable availability at or below the 35,000 point level so that you can see the true value of the FNA on its own without topping it off with points. We are also only posting ‘two week’ snapshots of availability for the sake of keeping this post at a reasonable length and only the first example will be more in-depth in terms of exploring the value.
The Dorian, Autograph Collection Calgary
One of Calgary’s newest luxury hotels, The Dorian, Autograph Collection Calgary just opened its doors in the summer of 2022. The hotel which is located up in a high rise building features 135 rooms that blend modern luxury with British whimsy and local flavour. The hotel receives great reviews and being a luxury hotel it surprisingly has a a lot of nights available at or below 35,000 points outside of the peak months of July and August
Here’s an availability snapshot for May 28 – June 10
and the lowest pre-tax cash prices:
From this example you can see the Free Night Award covers room nights ranging from $234 to $327 before taxes and fees. Here’s the kicker though, those cash rates shown above are the cheapest non-refundable rates. Since the FNA is used for refundable rates it technically covers an even higher cost. In this case if we take one night on May 30th the best Member Flexible Rate is $416 including all taxes and fees. Or you can redeem the Free Night Award for that same night! Whichever way you want to look at the math (or consider AAA/CAA rates), you are looking at $250 to $400+ in savings when using the award at the Dorian.
Click here for more details and/or to book The Dorian
JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District
The JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District is right in the thick of the things in YEG being situated in the ICE District and connected to Rogers Place Arena. This hotel is one of the best in Edmonton and a favourite of many who stay there. It is another luxury hotel that receives great reviews that actually has great availability in the peak summer months of July and August! Once again the value for the FNA here can easily exceed $400.
Here’s an availability snapshot for July 16 – 29
and the lowest pre-tax cash prices:
Click here for more details and/or to book the JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District
Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel
Situated right across from Toronto’s City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square, the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel is ideally situated for Toronto’s Financial District and is within walking distance of the CN Tower and Harbourfront. In terms, of hotels being available for 35,000 points, I’ll tell you they are few and far between in downtown Toronto. Outside of downtown, no problems at all, many hotels price under 35,000 points but centrally, the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel was a rare one that we found some nights where you can use the FNA without a top off.
Here’s an availability snapshot for March 12 – 25
and the lowest pre-tax cash prices:
Click here for more details and/or to book the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel
Delta Hotels Ottawa City Centre
A beautiful hotel in downtown Ottawa, the Delta Hotels Ottawa City Centre regularly runs over $200 per night is an ideal spot for that stay in YOW. Less than a kilometer from Parliament Hill this another good hotel to use the Free Night Award at.
Here’s an availability snapshot for June 25 – July 8
and the lowest pre-tax cash prices:
Click here for more details and/or to book the Delta Hotels Ottawa City Centre
AC Hotel by Marriott Montreal Downtown
Perfectly located in downtown Montreal, the AC Hotel by Marriott Montreal Downtown was the first AC Hotel in Canada and is still pretty new by hotel standards. Rooms easily run well over $300 per night and you can find availability under 35,000 points outside of the high summer season.
Here’s an availability snapshot for March 12 – 25:
and the lowest pre-tax cash prices:
Click here for more details and/or to book the AC Hotel by Marriott Montreal Downtown
Hotel PUR, Quebec, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Another relatively new Marriott Hotel, the Hotel PUR, Quebec, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel is located in downtown Quebec City not too far from Old Quebec City and other attractions. Large rooms, an indoor pool, restaurant and wine bar make make this an ideal spot to use your FNA at. This hotel had FNA availability during most months of the year, even in summer where rates were over $300 per night.
Here’s an availability snapshot for July 2 – 15
and the lowest pre-tax cash prices:
Click here for more details and/or to book the Hotel PUR, Quebec, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel
Situated right on the waterfront, the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel is another location that has a lot of availability outside of the summer high season. It is within walking distance of many great downtown Halifax attractions and the ferry terminal. The hotel features an indoor pool, hot tub, fitness centre and the Harbourstone Pour House restaurant that features fresh local seafood.
Here’s an availability snapshot for Apr 2 – 15
and the lowest pre-tax cash prices:
Click here for more details and/or to book the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel
The Algonquin Resort St. Andrews by-the-Sea, Autograph Collection
At over 100 years old the The Algonquin Resort St. Andrews by-the-Sea, Autograph Collection is one of Canada’s most iconic seadside hotels! Use your free night award here to have a night of elegance or in the case of the Rewards Canada family, maybe some ghost hunting. This is another location where you can find availability outside of the high summer season to use you certificate at without additional points.
October 8 – 21
and the lowest pre-tax cash prices:
Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre
Much like Toronto, finding a hotel in downtown Vancouver where you can use a Free Night Award without a top off was tough. However we did find some availability at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre outside of the busier June to September season.
Here’s an availability snapshot for April 2 – 15:
and the lowest pre-tax cash prices:
Click here for more details and/or to book the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre
The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa, Victoria
Fancy a round of golf and a stay at resort? Look no further than The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa, Victoria which has a lot of weekday availability to use your Free Night Award without extra points. With two courses designed by Jack and Steve Nicklaus this resort is perfect for the serious or even not so serious golfer. Then after swinging those clubs make your way to the hotel spa to massage those shoulder and back muscles.
Here’s an availability snapshot for May 14 – 27
and the lowest pre-tax cash prices:
Click here for more details and/or to book the The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa, Victoria
Points top off opens up many more hotels
If you want to stay at some of the even higher end Marriott hotels in Canada, a lot more possibilities open up with the points top off feature. For example The Douglas Vancouver, W Toronto, JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa, The Muir Halifax and Humaniti Montreal were just a small selection of hotels we found with nights pricing at or below 50,000 points.
Wrapping it up
This is just a small example of some of the great hotels Marriott has in Canada that you can utilize your Free Night Award at. From the examples above you can see that by simply paying $120 per year on the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express®* Card and/or $150 per year with the Marriott Bonvoy™ Business American Express® Card, you can get free hotel nights that cost $200 to $400 or more per night! This benefit alone makes it worthwhile to have one or both of these cards (if you have both you’ll receive two Free Night Awards each year)
Click here to learn more about and/or to apply for the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express®* Card
Click here to learn more and/or to apply for the Marriott Bonvoy™ Business American Express® Card