REGISTER NOW: Marriott’s new Autumn bonus points promotion is here
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UPDATE – DECEMBER 2021: This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.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.
Marriott Rewards (and Starwood Preferred Guest, since they are technically the same programme now) have launched their first ‘bonus points’ promotion since their 18th August merger.
Here are the key points:
The promotion is called ““MegaBonus in More Places”
It runs from 26th September to 31st January 2019 (registration closes 7th January)
You will receive 2,000 bonus points on all paid stays of 2+ nights
You will receive an additional 1,000 bonus points for each different Marriott / Starwood brand you stay at, starting with your second brand
All 6,700 hotels across all 29 hotel brands are taking part
The 29 brands you can stay at to earn bonus points include: AC Hotels, Aloft, Autograph, Courtyard, Delta Hotels, Design Hotels, Edition, Element, Fairfield Inn, Four Points, Gaylord, Le Meridien, Marriott, Protea, Renaissance, Residence Inn, St Regis, Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, The Ritz-Carlton, Springhill Suites, Towneplace Suites, W and Westin.
In addition, between 4th October and 1st November, there will be an online game – 29 Ways To Stay – with some generous prizes. I will cover this nearer the launch date. It seems interesting, with a daily chance to win instant prizes, including bonus points and nights.
The grand prize is a 2-night stay at each of the 29 brands participating in Marriott’s loyalty programs – that’s 58 free hotel nights! There are also 2,400,000 ‘instant win’ bonus points prizes to be won over the four week period.
What is the bonus worth?
I value a Marriott Rewards point at 0.5p. Arguably, if you use them for Category 8 hotels which are capped at 60,000 points per night until the end of the year, you can do a lot better, but 0.5p is a fair long term average.
(My room at St Regis New York where I’m typing this is selling for $1100 + tax per night which is over 1.5p per point, but that is an outlier. The suite I was upgraded to was selling for $2700 + tax per night!)
2,000 bonus points means that you are receiving £10 of value for every two night stay. This is on top of your standard points.
This increases to £15 of bonus points when you are triggering a bonus for your 2nd and subsequent brands.
This promotion obviously works best for cheaper, shorter stays. £10 of bonus points on a £150 two-night stay at a mid-range property is not a bad return, but it is unlikely to sway anyone planning a major splurge.
What are the other options?
Looking at the other two major chains ….
Hilton Honors is currently offering double points on all stays, with triple points at luxury and resort properties. You can read our article here and register here.
IHG Rewards Club is offering double points from your 2nd stay on your first $1,500 of spending plus various extra personalised targets. You can read our article here and register here.
The new Marriott / Starwood offer compares OK with these for shorter stays at cheaper chains, as long as you are staying 2+ nights. For one night stays you won’t receive any extra bonus with this new Marriott offer.
Accor is also running a generous promotion for stays of 2+ nights, but this has a very tight booking period which ends on 7th October. I wrote about the Accor offer here.
Register now
It makes sense to register for this new Marriott Rewards offer now. It runs until the end of January and you never know when a 2+ night Marriott / Starwood stay will turn up.
Click here to visit the registration page on the Marriott website.
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).
(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.)
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