Marriott follows British Airways by getting a huge GDPR data breach fine

The proposed £183m fine to be paid – subject to appeal – by British Airways for the massive data breach last year has been well reported by the national media, so I don’t want to spend more time on it here.

What may have passed you by, however, is that Marriott revealed yesterday that it is facing a proposed £99m fine for historic data breaches at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which continued for a period after Marriott acquired the company in 2016.  The breach began in 2014.

Marriott’s fine, whilst issued by the UK Information Commissioners Office, covers damages for the entire EU.  30 million sets of EU customer data were leaked, of which 7 million sets related to UK residents.  The majority of HFP readers will be included.  Data stolen includes credit card numbers, passport details and date of birth.

Marriott intends to appeal against the fine, even though it is substantially lower than the maximum allowed which is 4% of global turnover.

These fines are, of course, huge numbers.  It is not a revenue raising exercise, however.  It is making a point to the business community that the cost of spending what is needed to properly protect the data of your customers is not wasted money, as many corporates seem to view it, but a bargain compared to the cost of not doing so. 

If you are thinking of retraining for a new career, there will be a lot of cyber security consultancy roles being advertised in the next few months …..

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.)