The Al Bustan Palace hotel in Muscat, managed by The Ritz Carlton, re-opens

If you are sitting on a lot of Marriott Rewards points, you might be interested to know that the iconic Al Bustan Palace in Muscat, Oman has re-opened after a major refurbishment.  This is a Ritz-Carlton hotel, although the historic hotel name has been retained.

Improvements include refurbished rooms (see above), a new Ritz Kids area and a new outdoor Family Aqua Land with a zipline, dedicated pool and slides.  A new group of restaurants have also been created.

You can find out more on the hotel website here.  Reward nights are 50,000 Marriott Rewards points per night.  This is an excellent deal considering cash rooms are £500 to £600 per night including tax and service during the October / November peak.

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.)