Get a free night after two stays with the new Marriott promo

UPDATE – DECEMBER 2021:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.  We produce a monthly summary of the top hotel bonus point offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ menu above.

We looked at the new Starwood Preferred Guest promotion yesterday.  It is OK but a lot of hotels are not taking part.

Marriott, which now owns but has not integrated Starwood, has now unveiled this Autumn’s MegaBonus for its own hotels.  This is more interesting.

If you stay twice at a Marriott hotel during the next four months, you will get a voucher for one free night.

This offer is substantially better than last year’s Autumn promotion where you had to choose between either earning 10,000 bonus points after every 10 nights or earning 5,000 bonus points once after your second stay.

This year you will get one free night in any Category 1-5 Marriott hotel.  This will normally cost between 7,500 and 25,000 Marriott points.

You must register before 30th November and complete two stays at participating Marriott hotels between 12th September 2017 and 15th January 2018.  It isn’t just the Marriott brand taking part – stays at Courtyard, Renaissance, AC Hotels, Delta Hotels, MOXY, The Ritz-Carlton, Edition, Autograph, Fairfield, Protea Hotels etc will also count.

The free night voucher, which should be issued within 3-5 days of your second stay, will be valid for 6 months.

Note that a stay is defined as consecutive nights at the same hotel so even if you book a two night back-to-back stay in two separate bookings it will count as one stay.

Every member can use this offer once.

The banner states ‘and unlock more’ which promises an additional bonus which has not been revealed yet.  All will be revealed once you have triggered your free night.  Maybe it’s some bonus points like last year – we should find out within 10 days or so of the offer starting.

Whilst this offer is generous – a Category 5 hotel would probably cost around £100 per night, so you are getting £50 of value back from each of your two qualifying stays – there is a bit of a catch.

Marriott has nine hotel categories and in big cities like London you will struggle to find anything in Category 1-5.  Even the super-low-budget MOXY hotel near Excel is a Category 6, as is the Marriott in Twickenham in the suburbs.  The Courtyard at Gatwick is a Category 4, so you should be aiming for a redemption at that sort of level.  In Asia you have a lot more choice as high end hotels tend to be in lower categories. Most UK regional hotels will also be Category 5 or lower.

The site to register for this offer is here.  I recommend signing up now, just in case you forget.

Registration closes on 30th November and you have until 15th January to complete your days.  Don’t get caught out by not registering in time and then finding out you have a couple of Marriott stays in early January …….

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (December 2021)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card usually comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points sign-up bonus and 15 elite night credits Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Gold and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

You can also earn American Express Membership Rewards points with American Express Gold (20,000 bonus points), the American Express Rewards Credit Card (5,000 bonus points) and – for small business owners – American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus points) and Business Platinum (40,000 bonus points).

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)