Marriott to offer free wi-fi in all hotels from January

Marriott has joined the growing number of hotel chains which are throwing in the towel as far as charging for wi-fi goes.

From January 15th 2015, all Marriott Rewards members will receive free internet access when staying at any hotel in the Marriott family.  This includes Renaissance, JW Marriott, AC Hotels, Autograph, Courtyard, Edition, Fairfield Inn, Gaylord, Residence Inn, Ritz-Carlton, Springhill Suites and Towneplace Suites.

On the face of it, this is identical to the offer that IHG Rewards Club now offers to anyone staying at a Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza etc.  As Marriott Rewards membership is free, this deal is effectively open to all guests.

Marriott has added an additional ‘gotcha’ though.

As you can see from their website, you will only receive free internet if you booked your room directly with the hotel or through marriott.com.  Major corporate travel agencies will presumably also be included.

If you book your room via Expedia or another 3rd party travel agent, you will not receive free Wi-Fi.

This is a clever move by Marriott.  Base level Marriott members will now have to choose between booking on Expedia, hotels.com etc and receiving (with hotels.com) Welcome Rewards points, or booking direct and receiving free wi-fi and Marriott Rewards points.

It is worth noting that the free internet offered to base level members will be of the super-slow variety.  You will have to pay a premium to receive a connection suitable for, for example, video streaming.  Gold and Platinum level members in Marriott Rewards will receive a free high speed connection.

More information can be found on the Marriott website here.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards (April 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 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.

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.

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.)