Marriott has just launched its latest promotion with the opportunity to earn 1,500 bonus points per stay at any Marriott Bonvoy hotel brand from September 12 to December 6, 2023. If you stay at three different brands during this period, you’ll also earn an additional 3,000 bonus points.
This is a pretty simple promotion to sign up for, and I would suggest registering even if you don’t currently have any Marriott Bonvoy stays planned in the near future. It’s better to register now than forget and lose out on points should you end up staying at a Marriott property during the promotion period.
What’s the deal?
From September 12 through December 6, 2023, you can earn 1,500 bonus points for every stay at a Marriott Bonvoy brand hotel. You can also earn an additional 3,000 bonus points for every three Marriott Bonvoy hotel brands you stay at.
You must pre-register before your stay in order to qualify for the bonus points – registration is already open and extends to November 22, 2023.
- Earn 1,500 bonus points for every stay.
- Earn an additional 3,000 bonus points for every three brands you stay at.
For example, if you were to stay at six different Marriott Bonvoy brands during the promotion period, you could earn an additional 6,000 bonus points.
It can take up to seven days for the 1,500 bonus points to post to your account, although the 3,000-point bonus could take up to six weeks to post. There’s no limit on how many times you can earn the 1,500 bonus points, although you only get the bonus once per stay, no matter how long you have booked.
The promotion doesn’t apply to certain vacation brands such as Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott Vacation Club and Luxury Collection Residence Club.
What are the Pros and Cons?
- Free and easy to register
- There are lots of award opportunities and a huge array of hotel brands to choose from
- Get a fifth night free on award stays in standard rooms.
- Marriott Bonvoy’s dynamic award pricing model can make it difficult to determine if you are getting value for money
- Points could expire after 24 months of no qualifying account activity.
How much is a Marriott Bonvoy point worth?
0.7
Each Marriott Bonvoy Point is worth approximately 0.5 cents.
I value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each. However, it’s important to note that Marriott Bonvoy no longer follows a fixed award chart after switching to dynamic award pricing in 2022.
The switch to a revenue-based redemption program means that the cost in points for an award night can vary based on a number of factors, including:
- Demand
- Seasonality
- Local events
- Local hotel capacity
Dynamic award pricing means that the cost in points for an award stay is directly linked to the cash price for the same room.
In order to assess the value of your points for an award stay, you’ll want to compare the price in points against the cash price for the same room.
💡 To work out the value of your points for an award stay, simply divide the cost of the stay in cash by the cost of booking the same stay in points.
cash price ➗ cost in points = cents per point
The result is known as the ‘cents per point’ – a rate above the average represents good value for money, whereas a rate below the average could represent poor value for money.
Marriott Bonvoy does, however, have a points price cap on award night redemptions. The maximum number of points that can be charged for a standard room is 150,000 points, and this cap applies to almost Marriott Bonvoy properties.
There are a few exceptions to this rule, and the points price cap doesn’t apply to cash and points redemptions.
How many points do I need for a free award night?
It’s well-publicized that Marriott Bonvoy no longer has a fixed award chart after the program switched to a revenue-based system with dynamic award pricing in March 2022.
Under Marriott Bonvoy’s old system, it was easy to determine exactly how many points were required to stay at a specific property on a specific date, but that has been completely upended by dynamic award pricing.
With dynamic award pricing, the cost of an award night varies based on a number of factors, such as:
- Seasonality
- Demand
- Local hotel capacity
- And local events
This sometimes means that you’ll end up getting better value for money than from a fixed award chart, but invariably, the house always wins, and dynamic pricing means there are fewer opportunities to find great value redemptions.
Marriott Bonvoy’s ‘Stay for 5, Pay for 4’ Benefit
Marriott Bonvoy’s ‘Stay for 5, Pay for 4’ benefit is a great way to squeeze additional value out of your points. In simple terms, when you book an award stay of five consecutive nights at a Marriott Bonvoy group hotel, the 5th night is free.
There are, however, a few important considerations to bear in mind:
- This promotion only applies to standard rooms and can’t be used for premium rooms or suites.
- Marriott Bonvoy doesn’t offer the 5th-night free promo on cash & points redemptions.
It’s also worth noting that while Marriott Bonvoy calls this promotion ‘5th night free’, that’s not technically true. If the cost in points varies from night to night, the free night will actually be applied to the cheapest night.
What hotel brands are part of Marriott Bonvoy?
Marriott Bonvoy now encompasses more than 30 hotel brands, which are officially broken down into three main categories: Luxury, Premium, and Select, as well as its Longer Stays and Collections categories.
The Ritz-Carlton is the flagship luxury brand of Marriot Bonvoy, while St. Regis hotels follow close behind. Marriott Bonvoy’s Select brand hotels, however, make up the bulk of the groups’ hotels, including the likes of Courtyard by Marriott, Moxy Hotels and Aloft Hotels.
Marriott Bonvoy also offers some alternative options which are particularly good for vacations, including Marriott Executive Apartments and Homes & Villas by Marriott.
- The Ritz-Carlton
- St. Regis
- JW Marriott
- W Hotels
- The Luxury Collection
- Edition Hotels
- Marriott Hotels
- Sheraton
- Marriott Vacation Club
- Le MERIDIEN
- Westin
- Autograph Collection
- Renaissance Hotels
- Gaylord Hotels
- Courtyard by Marriott
- Four Points
- City Express
- Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott
- SpringHill Suites by Marriott
- Protea Hotels by Marriott
- Aloft Hotels
- AC Hotels by Marriott
- Moxy Hotels
- Marriott Executive Apartments
- Residence Inn
- TownePlace Suites
- Element
- Homes & Villas by Marriott International
- Autograph Collections Hotels
- Design Hotels
- Tribute Portfolio
What other ways are there to earn Marriott Bonvoy points?
Coming soon.
Do Marriott Bonvoy points expire?
The good news is that Marriott Bonvoy points don’t expire as long as there is ‘qualifying’ activity in your account at least once every 24 months.
What does Marriott Bonvoy class as ‘qualifying activity’? Common examples include:
- Either a cash or points stay at a Marriott Bonvoy hotel
- Earning points through a cobranded credit card
- Earning points with one of Marriott’s travel reward partners
Summary
- From September 12 to December 6, 2023, you can earn 1,500 bonus points for every stay at a Marriott Bonvoy brand hotel.
- You can also earn an additional 3,000 bonus points for every three Marriott Bonvoy hotel brands you stay at.
- You must pre-register before your stay in order to qualify for the bonus points.
- The promotion doesn’t apply to certain vacation brands such as Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott Vacation Club and Luxury Collection Residence Club.
