LAST DAY for bonuses buying Marriott Bonvoy and Radisson Rewards points

Today (Tuesday 30th) is the last day for the current Marriott Bonvoy ‘buy points’ deal – and it is the most generous deal they have ever run.

Via this page of the website, you will get a 60% bonus on all points purchases.

How many Marriott Bonvoy points can I buy?

The annual purchase cap of 50,000 points pre-bonus has been doubled to 100,000 points although the maximum you can buy in one go remains 50,000 points pre-bonus.  With the bonus, you could pick up 160,000 Bonvoy points although it would require two separate transactions of 80,000 each.

At the top end you are paying $625 (£487) for 80,000 points under this offer.

What is a Marriott Bonvoy point worth?

My rule of thumb is that a Marriott Bonvoy point is worth 0.5p.  You are paying a little more than that (0.60p) under this offer so it isn’t a steal.

However, you might find it worthwhile if:

you are planning a stay at a property where you know you will get outsized value (and it really isn’t that hard to get more 0.6p if you are travelling to peak cities at peak times), or

you are topping off your account before making a points booking, or

you are close to 60,000 Bonvoy points and want to make a transfer into airline miles (you get a bonus of 5,000 airline miles when you transfer 60,000 Bonvoy points into 20,000 airline miles)

The snag with Marriott Bonvoy is that the annual points buying cap is too low to allow you to exploit the deal.  The St Regis New York, for example, can easily run to $1,300 per night including taxes, which makes 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points (on a ‘Standard Reward’ day) a great deal.  The problem is getting enough points.  Even with the increased cap, the most you could buy from scratch is 160,000 points which doesn’t even get you two nights.

However …. you CAN transfer up to 100,000 Bonvoy points per year from one member to another.  You need to ring up to do this, which is a bit annoying, but that is the only restriction.  You don’t need to share an address.  This is one way around the limit on points purchases.

Buying Marriott Bonvoy points is a way of buying cheap airline miles

Because you can buy 60,000 points in one go, this deal is also a way of picking up 25,000 airline miles in programmes where you can rarely buy them cheaply.

The usual transfer rate from Marriott Bonvoy into airline miles is 3:1, which is already generous.  If you transfer 60,000 Bonvoy points at once, however, you get 5,000 bonus airline miles which means a total of 25,000 miles.

Do NOT do this with Avios, because there are regular offers to buy Avios for 1p – 1.1p.  However, it might make sense for other airlines.

Buying 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points under this offer will cost $475 (£370).  If you turned this into 25,000 airline miles, you are paying 1.48p per mile.  With SOME airline schemes, you might find this valuable, especially if it is a scheme where you find it very hard to earn miles in the UK.

The link to buy Bonvoy points with a 60% bonus is here if you are interested.  The offer ends at midnight tonight.

It is also the last day to get a 100% bonus buying Radisson Rewards points

Radisson Rewards, the loyalty scheme for Radisson, Park Plaza and Park Inn, is offering a bonus of up to 100% when you buy points.  This deal also ends TODAY (Tuesday 30th).

This is as big a bonus as you ever get on Radisson Rewards points.  We haven’t seen 100% since November 2017 (and that was a one day flash sale).

The link is here.

Radisson Rewards has increased the maximum number of points you can purchase in any given year from 80,000 to 120,000.  This means that the maximum number of points you can buy is 240,000 (with the 100% bonus) for $840 (£655).

I tend to value Radisson Rewards points at 0.33p.  My list of the best American Express Membership Rewards transfer options puts Radisson Rewards near the top.  The transfer rate is 1:3 and I value that at 1p per American Express point.

Via this offer, you are paying just 0.27p per point which is far lower than my valuation.  This means, in theory, there are deals to be had.

Whilst South Africa is currently closed to tourism, it offers a good example of where this deal offers value.

One classic Radisson Rewards redemption is the Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront in Cape Town.  It offers a two-bedroom sea-view suite as a ‘family room’ redemption.  It is 110 square metres and has historically sold for well over £700. 87,500 points (costing £238 with the 100% bonus) is therefore an outstanding opportunity.

However, with the South African tourist market dead, the room is currently selling for around ZAR 10,000 (£470) in the January peak – and this assumes that foreign tourists are allowed back anyway.  In March 2021, when tourists should be allowed given the current plans, it is around ZAR 11,500 (£540) for cash.  Even with these depressed prices, paying £238 for 87,500 points IS a good deal.

Should you buy Radisson Rewards points?

It is very, very rare to see Radisson Rewards points on sale with a 100% bonus.  The last similar deal I can find discussed on HfP was a one-day flash sale back in 2017.

In normal times there is real value here.  These are not normal times, however, and with cash rates very low you won’t necessarily get a slam dunk win even buying at 0.27p per point.

If you are willing to sit on the points for a couple of years, I think (assuming no devaluation) that you will come out on top.  Of course, you may also have specific plans – like a Cape Town trip – where you are guaranteed to get a good deal.

The link to buy Radisson Rewards points is here.

How to earn Radisson Rewards points and status from UK credit cards (December 2021)

Radisson Rewards does not have a dedicated UK credit card. However, you can earn Radisson Rewards points by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.  These include:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 60,000 Radisson Rewards points. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with two free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 30,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 90,000 Radisson Rewards points

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 5,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 15,000 Radisson Rewards points. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:3 into Radisson Rewards points which is a very attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 3 Radisson Rewards points.

Even better, holders of The Platinum Card receive free Radisson Rewards Gold status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Gold and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here.

(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.)