I am thrilled to be a Marriott Rewards® Ambassador during which time I will post 2 more times over the course of the next several months to share great news related to Marriott Rewards with you!

Can you believe Marriott Rewards is celebrating its 30th birthday?   Apparently I was 9 years old when Marriott Rewards began.  We didn’t stay in hotels much when I was young; we lived in Orlando and didn’t need to travel far to go to fun places, obviously.  🙂 However, I take any chance I can get to travel and stay in a hotel these days and I love reward programs like Marriott Rewards.  What’s not to love about a free rewards program that gives you points toward travel, hotel stays, products, and more?

I’ll get on to the exciting stuff!

Marriott Rewards is kicking it off their 30th birthday by throwing a surprise party for someone in your life!  What better way to show how much you care about someone by nominating them in the Year of Surprises.

The first round of nominations for Year of Surprises takes place February 1 to February 28, 2014.   Nominations will be reviewed based on creativity/uniqueness of entry, overall appeal of nomination essay, and feasibility of the surprise party.  Three winners will be awarded and announced in March and parties will be scheduled each month throughout the year.  There will be a total of three nomination periods throughout 2014.  The second nomination period is during the month of May, and the third is during the month of August.  You can nominate one person per nomination period.  See the “Nominate” section at yearofsurprises.com for the nomination entry form.

You don’t need to be a Marriott Rewards member to submit a nomination, but if your nomination is chosen, you and the nominee will need to enroll so that they can reward your points for the party. I think that’s a very fair trade-off!

Voted “Program of the Year” 6 years in a row, Marriott Rewards has maintained excellence rewarding members with points to redeem for hotel stays, flights, exclusive events and shopping.  Does that mean that Marriott Rewards is not just for hotel stay discounts?  Yes, it does!  For example, you can earn points when you buy Valentine’s Day gifts from select retailers.  Cool, right?

With a Marriott Rewards membership, guests earn status to receive memorable experiences during their hotel stays with benefits such as priority check-in and complimentary room upgrades. Members can also redeem points for frequent flyer miles, cruises, car rentals, merchandise and more.  It is quick and easy to enroll in Marriott Rewards at Marriott.com/Rewards.

For more details on the contest, check out the Year of Surprises official rules at yearofsurprises.com/rules.

If you’re on Facebook, you can follow Marriott Rewards Facebook page here.

Who will you nominate for a surprise party from Marriott Rewards?