Marriott Makes Customer-Unfriendly Change to Booking Feature

Marriott No Longer Lets You Mix Awards with Paid Nights Online

Over a decade ago, Marriott introduced the option to book award nights and paid nights in a single reservation. You had the option to do this online, but as of last month Marriott seems to have removed it from its website.

This change was first reported by Loyalty Lobby, which also received confirmation from Marriott that this was not a temporary glitch:

On January 16, 2025, the functionality to book a Cash + Points Reservation (allows Guest to customize their Points and Cash use by Night) on the Marriott website was ended.

If you wish to book this way, you will have to call in and speak with reservations over the phone.

So the ability to mix award nights and paid nights in a single booking is not gone completely. You can still call and do this over the phone if you wish to.

Conclusion

The only reason I see for this change is that Marriott wants fewer people to use this feature. Calling in to book a hotel stay is a hassle, and even more so if the process might be confusing as in this case.