Marriott Bonvoy 50k Free Night Certificate Sweet Spots in Japan
Marriott Bonvoy is a program where you’d have to cherry pick on where to go to get outsized value out of its points. Marriott credit cards like the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless and Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business Card occasionally offer signup bonuses in forms of 50k Free Night Certificates rather than points. Unfortunately, 50k FNC’s are the most frustrating to extract the max value.
This post’s aim is to make 50K FNC redemptions as painless as possible while showing luxurious options with decent to great value out of your 50K FNC’s. Maximizing monetary value with 50k FNC’s is unfortunately very difficult outside of special events.
There are lots of Marriott properties in Japan, but certain areas will suit 50k certs redemption better than others.
Kansai- Osaka, Kyoto, Nara
Kansai region is prime for Marriott 50k certificates due to the abundance of Category 6 hotels that allow for good chances of redeeming your certificates.
For Osaka you’d have:
- W Osaka
- Osaka Marriott Miyako Hotel
- The Westin Osaka
Osaka also has 2 Category 7 hotels, The Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis. While it’s still possible to redeem 50k certs at those hotels, it will be tough and you’ll have to be flexible with your schedule. Your odds are greatly improved by redeeming them on either the W, Marriott, or Westin.
Personally, I would pick the W as my go-to in Osaka if I have some 50k certificates to burn, or that I don’t have Hilton points to redeem for Conrad Osaka.
In Kyoto, one worthwhile option for 50k certificate redemption is Genji Kyoto. It’s a Design hotel, so Marriott elite benefits won’t apply other than earning 1000 bonus points per stay. Still, it looks like a neat option, with a good location for Kyoto too. Another option to consider would be The Westin Miyako Kyoto.
In Nara, there are only 2 Marriott hotels available, both categorized at Category 6. There’s the JW Marriott Nara and Shisui, a Luxury Collection Hotel. While Shisui may be more appealing by name, it seems to have mixed reviews while JW Marriott Nara is much more well-received. Thus, I may pick the JW Marriott over Shisui, but at the same time wouldn’t mind hotel hopping both one day.
Fukuoka
The only Marriott worth mentioning in Fukuoka, or the whole Kyushu region, for 50k cert redemption is The Ritz-Carlton, Fukuoka. The Ritz-Carlton is also the fanciest hotel in Fukuoka, though I find the Ritz-Carlton to be overkill for a city like Fukuoka since you won’t be getting impressive skyline or bay views compared to Tokyo. I found the service to be OK at best, but I stayed during 1 month after its opening, so the staff may have improved by the time of my post.
Still, it’s one of the newer Ritz-Carltons and the hard product’s much better compared to the older Ritz-Carltons in Japan like the one in Tokyo. It can be worth trying out if you have some 50k certs to burn, but it’s not a big must in my opinion. The odds of success in redeeming 50k certs here is quite low since it’s a Category 7 hotel, but it’s possible if you’re flexible and are staying on a weekday.
Tokyo
Tokyo would be one of the toughest destinations in Japan to redeem 50k certs on due to higher demands compared to other places in the country. But, Tokyo still has a few attractive options to look out for:
The Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo, Autograph Collection is a nice upscale option for 50k cert redemption in the city that’s near Shinagawa Station.
If you’re looking for a more centralized place to stay, then you can choose between the AC Hotel, Aloft, or Courtyard that are all situated in Ginza. They will be more of a “budget” stay, but they are easy catches for 50k certs redemption.
However, the fanciest hotel that you could try to go for is Mesm Tokyo, Autograph Collection. It will be quite tough feat as it’s a Category 7, but it’s my most favorite Marriott hotel in Tokyo so far! If you’re quite flexible with your schedule, then I can highly recommend staying here.
Conclusion
While Japan is one of the hottest tourist destinations currently, there are still good opportunities to redeem Marriott’s 50k free night certificates in the country. The best chances to redeem them would be in the Kansai region, particularly Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara.
As Osaka and Kyoto are parts of Japan’s “Golden Route”, a popular set of destinations for visitors, many won’t have to go out of their way to get value out of their certificates while visiting the country. Though, there are few options that allows for it like in Fukuoka.
With all that said, Japan has great opportunities for 85k Free Night Certificate redemptions, along with 35k FNC too.
