Welcome to the best guide to maximize Marriott Bonvoy Points. Whether you’re an experienced traveler or just getting started, this thorough reference will show you how to efficiently acquire and use your points, ensuring that every journey is a rewarding experience.
In a world where travel is a never-ending experience, recognizing the value of Marriott Bonvoy Points can enhance your journey. This book is intended to provide you with insights, recommendations, and exclusive benefits, allowing you to make the most of your visit and convert your points into amazing memories. Marriott Bonvoy is the reward program of Marriott International, the world’s biggest hotel chain. It arose as a consequence of the 2016 Marriott-Starwood merger, which saw the heritage programs of Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest combine into a single program in August 2018 and take on the name Marriott Bonvoy in February 2019.
Marriott’s large worldwide presence of over 6,500 hotels means that the Bonvoy program has something for every style of traveler, whether you’re seeking luxury resorts or roadside inns.
And it is one of the simplest and most accessible hotel loyalty programs for Canadian travellers to receive free hotel stays and elite privileges and advantages. Let’s take a deeper look at how to maximize your Marriott Bonvoy points.
How to Earn Marriott Bonvoy Points
There are several methods to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. Co-branded credit cards are the most convenient way for most travelers to accumulate massive amounts of points, but those of you who often pay out-of-pocket for Marriott hotel stays (whether for business or pleasure) will also earn points on such stays.
1. Sign-up bonuses for credit cards
The personal card now offers 51,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $3,000 in the first three months. The business card offers 65,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $5,000 in the first six months, up to 25,000 points from a 5x category multiplier on petrol, eating, and travel, and a further 15,000 points after 14 months, for a total of 105,000 points.
Both cards also have the following advantages:
- Each calendar year, there are 15 elite qualifying nights.
- A free anniversary night at a resort worth up to 35,000 points
- When you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year, you will get Gold Elite status.
2. Spending on Credit Cards
The return on daily spending on these cards earns Bonvoy points as well. The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card entitles you to:
- Marriott hotels get 5 Bonvoy points for every dollar spent.
- All other purchases get 2 Bonvoy points every dollar spent.
Meanwhile, the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card gets the following benefits:
- Marriott hotels get 5 Bonvoy points for every dollar spent.
- 3 Bonvoy points for every dollar spent on petrol, food, and travel.
- All other purchases get 2 Bonvoy points every dollar spent.
3. Changing from American Express
Transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy at a 1:1.2 ratio is another option to earn points with Canadian credit cards. Because the incentives on the Amex MR credit cards are substantially higher than those on the Bonvoy credit cards, this is an excellent strategy to boost your Bonvoy earnings. However, there are more lucrative possible applications for Amex MR points (such as switching to frequent flier programmes), so there is a compromise.
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4. Credit Cards in the U.S.
You may have access to an even larger pool of Bonvoy incentives by diversifying into US credit cards. You may be eligible to apply for the following cards:
- American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card
- American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business Card
- Chase Marriott Bonvoy Unlimited Card
The Amex US cards, in particular, are simple for Canadians to get by beginning an American Express Global Transfer, as long as you have had an open and in good standing Canadian Amex card for at least three months.
5. Hotel Accommodation
Aside from credit cards, the most common method to earn points is to spend money at Marriott hotels (room rate, dining, on-property incidentals, etc.). The number of points you’ll earn is determined by your Marriott elite status (which we’ll discuss later). Base-level members will receive 10 Bonvoy points for every US dollar spent at Marriott properties, except when they stay at Element, Residence Inn, or TownePlace Suites, where they will earn just five Bonvoy points for every US dollar spent. Silver Elite members will get a 10% points boost, Gold Elite members a 25% points bonus, Platinum Elite members a 50% points bonus, and Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite members a 75% points bonus. If you are a high-tier elite member, you will receive 17.5 Bonvoy points for every US$1 spent with Marriott, which is a fantastic return. If you can redeem those points later at an average cost of one cent per point (cpp), which is undoubtedly possible, you’ll essentially be receiving a 17.5% discount on your hotel stays.
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6. Promotions
Finally, Marriott often offers promotions to stimulate member activities, which are commonly referred to as “Megabonus.” The requirements for each Megabonus vary, but typically you’ll get a substantial amount of promotional points (think 2,000 to 10,000 points here and there) depending on your Marriott stay activity. Megabonus promotions are seldom large enough to justify going out of your way to organize stays expressly for them (a practise known as “mattress running”), but they’re typically worth keeping an eye on and seeing if you can plan part of your forthcoming trips around them.
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Marriott Bonvoy Points Redeeming for Hotel Stays
Naturally, being a hotel loyalty programme, marriott bonvoy points redemption are best redeemed at marriott bonvoy points value for free nights at one of the program’s 6,500+ partner hotels around the globe.
All Marriott hotels have dynamic pricing that changes based on the season and even the day of the week. However, there are some broad pricing ranges you may anticipate from hotels:
- Low-cost hotels: 5,000 to 15,000 points per night
- 20,000 to 60,000 points per night for mid-tier hotels
- 70,000+ points per night for high-end hotels
Keep in mind that the “tier” the hotel falls into is also largely reliant on the market it’s in, thus even if it’s a limited service brand, you can anticipate the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Disneyland, California, to charge at mid-tier prices.
1. There are no blackout dates.
Marriott offers a “No Blackout Dates” policy, which implies that if a hotel has a regular room available on a certain day, it may be purchased with cash or points. In other words, hotels cannot segregate point inventory from cash reservations; if a standard room is available, either form of currency must be accepted.
This approach works rather well, and you should have no issue finding availability for points reservations on your trip dates.
Keep in mind that each hotel is free to define what it considers a “standard room,” thus after all of its standard rooms have been booked, any higher-tier accommodation (such as a Deluxe Room, Executive Room, junior suite, or full suite) may be capacity-controlled when it comes to points reservations on Marriott Bonvoy – Points.com.
2. Stay 5 nights, pay for 4
When you redeem points for five consecutive nights at the same hotel, you may use the “Fifth Night Free” advantage to pay for just four nights. With dynamic pricing, this is more of a “cheapest night free when you stay for at least five nights.” When you book a stay of at least five nights, the cheapest night is free; when you book 10 nights, the cheapest two nights are free, and so on. Along these lines, it may make sense to divide longer stays into five-night chunks to maximize the value of your free night.
3. Points + Cash
There is also a Cash + Points redemption option, which is very dependent on each property and what they want to offer and will not be available at all hotels. You may be able to use Cash + Points for the basic room at times, but only for premium accommodations at others (i.e., a cash upgrade supplement).In general, Cash + Points makes sense in two situations: when there aren’t enough points to cover the entire points redemption, and when the cash rate is excessively high. Say you want to stay somewhere on New Year’s Eve, or during a major conference or sporting event in town – in these cases, redeeming points for the room will be a great deal, but if you don’t have enough points, Cash + Points represents a way to capture some of that value and save yourself some money. However, just because a room may be booked on points doesn’t guarantee it’s also available at the Cash + Points pricing. In actuality, Cash + Points availability is pretty restricted, thus the times when you’ll be able to use it will be rather limited.
Conclusion
Marriott Bonvoy Points are more than simply currency; they are the key to opening up a world of possibilities. From luxury accommodations to unique activities, we’ve taught you how to use the Marriott Bonvoy program effectively. As you plan your next excursion, keep in mind that with the appropriate knowledge, your points can serve as a bridge to incredible journeys. Safe travels, and may your Marriott Bonvoy Points continue to open doors to amazing destinations.
Marriott Bonvoy remains one of the best programs for Canadians to rack up free hotel nights and save money on their travels, with two co-branded credit cards each offering 50,000 bonus points, the ability to transfer points from Amex MR at a 1:1.2 ratio, and its vast footprint of over 6,500 hotels around the world to redeem points. Keep following Hermagic for more such information.