Marriott Bonvoy is the loyalty program of Marriott International, the largest hotel chain in the world. Marriott holds over 8,000 properties worldwide, from no frills Element, Residence Inn and Townplace Suites to ultra luxury The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and Autograph Collection hotels, to unique vacation home rentals.
Marriott properties are plentiful in North America (and worldwide) so it is one of the easiest and most accessible hotel loyalty programs to earn free hotel stays.
Perks and Benefits
All Marriott Bonvoy members receive exclusive member room rates, complimentary in-room Internet access, and mobile check-in where you can then use your phone as your room key.
Elite members receive additional perks and benefits as they move up the membership tier such as bonus points on eligible hotel purchases, priority late checkout, guaranteed welcome gift, enhanced room upgrade, full lounge access and complimentary breakfast and more.
How to Earn Points
There are many ways to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.
Hotel Stays & Marriott Travel
The primary way is by booking your stays at Marriott properties directly with Marriott. Members also earn points on incidentals that can be charged to the room, such as dining and spa, and booking with Cruises with Points, car rentals with Hertz and all sorts of tours and activities directly with Marriott. The amount of points you’ll earn depends on your elite status with Marriott.
Base-level members will earn 10 Bonvoy points per US dollar spent at Marriott properties, unless they’re staying at Element, Residence Inn, or TownePlace Suites, where the earning rate is 5 Bonvoy points per US dollar spent.
JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District, Courtesy of Marriott Bonvoy
Silver Elite members will earn a 10% points bonus per US dollar spent, Gold Elite members will earn a 25% points bonus, Platinum Elite members will earn a 50% points bonus, and Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite members will earn a 75% points bonus per US dollar spent.
Promotions
Marriott run promotions regularly to incentivize member activity. The rules for each promotion are different but usually you’ll earn a solid chunk of bonus points based on your stay activity.
Some promotions are global, which means everyone is eligible, while other promotions are targeted, which means that you may not get the same promotion as other members.
To qualify, members must register for the promotional event before the stay to qualify for and be awarded the bonus points.
For example, Marriott Bonvoy is currently running a global promotion offer where registered members can earn 1,000 bonus points and one bonus Elite Night Credit for each eligible paid night stayed during the promotion earning period from February 7 to April 23, 2023. Registration is open until April 9, 2023. Bonus Elite Night Credits make each night of a stay count twice, allowing registered members to reach higher Marriott Bonvoy membership tiers more quickly. This promotion puts Silver Elite status in reach after staying five nights and Platinum Elite status in reach after staying 25 nights during the promotional earning period.
Eat Around Town
Eat Around Town is a partnered program that provides opportunities for Marriott Bonvoy members to earn points for dining at their network of thousands of local and national restaurants.
All you need to do is join Eat Around Town and link a credit card or debit card to your account. Every time you dine at a participating restaurant in the U.S. and pay with your linked credit or debit card, you’ll earn up to 4 points for every dollar you spend, including tax and tip, on both dine-in and takeout orders. Marriott Bonvoy Elite members earn 6 points per dollar spent.
Uber
Uber is another partnered program with Marriott Bonvoy where you can earn Marriot Bonvoy points on qualifying food and grocery orders for delivery with Uber Eats and rides with Uber throughout the U.S. when you link your Marriott Bonvoy account to your Uber account.
Uber users earn:
3 points per dollar on Uber Premium rides,
6 points per dollar when you order food or grocery orders for delivery with Uber Eats while staying at a Marriott hotel, and
2 points per dollar when you order food or grocery orders for delivery with Uber Eats at home or on the road.
First-time Uber users can also earn bonus points after their first order on the Uber or Uber Eats app! The amount of bonus points will vary depending on the promotional offer.
Marriott Bonvoy Branded Credit Cards
The fastest way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points is spending on a Marriott Bonvoy American Express credit card. First-time cardholders typically earn a significant chunk of points as a welcome bonus after meeting the minimum spend in the first three months of membership.
Cardholders:
Earn 5 points for every CAD$1 spent on eligible card purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy.
Earn 3 points for every CAD$1 spent on eligible gas, dining and travel (Business cardholders only).
Earn 2 points for every CAD$1 spent on all other card purchases.
Automatically receive Silver Elite status.
Receive 1 Annual Free Night Award after the card account anniversary each year. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel.
Receive 15 Elite Night Credits to use toward the next level of Marriott Bonvoy Elite status every calendar year.
Get upgraded to Gold Elite status after spending CAD$30,000 in net purchases each year or combining 10 qualifying paid nights within one calendar year with the 15 Elite Night Credits from the card.
If you are worried about the annual fee, it pays for itself with the annual free night award!
Transfers from Other Reward Programs
Another popular option is transferring American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy at a 1:1 ratio. Not exactly the best value but it will do in a pinch to top off your points wallet.
Sign up for American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards email offers so you can time your transfer during one of their bonus transfer point promotions.
Share Your Points
You can share and transfer your points with any other member using the Points Transfer tool online. The minimum transfer amount is 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy points and you can transfer up to a maximum of 100,000 points per calendar year, to other accounts.
Members on the receiving end of a Marriott Bonvoy points transfer can receive up to a maximum of 500,000 points per calendar year, from other member accounts, as long as both accounts are in good standing.
There is no fee for transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to another Marriott Bonvoy member.
Buy Points
Members may purchase up to 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per calendar for themselves or another member. I don’t recommend this option as the value per points is very weak. It may be worthwhile if you’re a few thousand points away from that long-waited free hotel stay.
Expiration Date
Marriott Bonvoy points can expire. Members must remain active in the loyalty program to retain points they accumulate.
If a member account is inactive for 24 consecutive months, all accumulated points in that member account will be forfeited.
Members can remain active by earning points for completed stays, earning points from a Marriott Bonvoy co-branded credit card, redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points, or purchasing points at least once every 24 months. Gifting or transferring points to another member or receiving points as a gift or transfer from another member does not count as activity.
How to Redeem Points
There are plenty of ways to use your Marriott Bonvoy points.
Free Hotel Stays
As a hotel loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy points are best used towards free nights at one of the program’s properties.
All Marriott hotels are priced dynamically, depending on the season and day of the week. That said, the general ranges you can expect hotels to price their redemption points at:
5,000 to 15,000 points per night for low-end hotels
20,000 to 60,000 points per night for mid-tier hotels
70,000+ points per night for high-end hotels
Marriott has a “No Blackout Dates” policy, which means as long as a hotel has a standard room available on a certain date, it can be booked using either cash or points, or in some instances, with points plus cash (when you don’t have enough points to pay for the full points redemption).
Where possible, members should combine their free stays with the Stay for 5, Pay for 4 offer where members will receive a complimentary night when redeeming for five consecutive nights.
Members can also take advantage of the instant redemption during their stay at participating hotels where Marriott Bonvoy points can be used to redeem for food and beverages, spa experiences and more – anything you can charge to your hotel room.
Air Travel & Car Rentals
Marriott Bonvoy points can be used to pay for air tickets and car rentals with more than 250 airlines and car rental companies or transferred to a partner frequent fly program at a 3-to-1 transfer ratio for most programs.
Points can also be redeemed for TSA PreCheck aka fast security check, and more convenient Internet service at select US airports.
Gift Cards & Merchandises
Marriott has a curated collection of merchandise that be purchased with points. The selection varies and point redemption level vary by country.
Gift cards are also available to Marriott Bonvoy members in the US.
Other Options
Members can also donate their Marriott Bonvoy points to one of the philanthropic partners supported by Marriott. Your points can be transformed to support disaster relief or sustainable development in underdeveloped communities, or to create access to opportunities for youth and diverse populations.
Final Thoughts
The Marriott Bonvoy rewards program is one of the best hotel rewards programs and offers great value for travellers who prefer staying at any of the 8,000+ properties in the Marriott portfolio worldwide.
It is easy to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and there are multiple ways to earn them, some faster than others. Redemption is just as easy. Marriott offers several redemption options with free hotels stays as the best option with no blackout dates.
I highly recommend becoming a Marriott Bonvoy member, it is free to join. Don’t forget to subscribe to Marriott’s promotions to speed up your earning rate of Bonvoy points.
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