The ‘rogue’ Starwood resorts in Dubai finally join Starwood Preferred Guest
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On paper, Dubai should have been the ideal place to redeem Starwood Preferred Guest points for a beach holiday. The group has four beach resorts in the Emirate:
- The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina
- Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina
- Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa (below)
- Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort
…. plus another 12 non-beach properties.
For reasons never quite understood, however, many of these hotels refused to participate in Starwood Preferred Guest. You couldn’t earn points and you couldn’t redeem points – it wasn’t quite clear why they were even carrying Starwood brands.
The last two hold-outs – the Westin and Le Meriden at the Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina – have now joined up as full members.
Both are 20,000 SPG points per night compared with 25,000 per night at Le Royal Meridien and 12,000 per night at Sheraton Jumeirah Beach.
Whilst these redemptions are not the cheapest, they are good value at peak periods. Starwood has ‘last room availability’ which means that if the hotel has a standard room for sale it must be offered as a reward.
On Easter Monday, Le Royal Meriden is £475 per night, so you are getting almost 2p per SPG point. Sheraton Jumeirah is £355 so you receive almost 3p per point! The other two are already showing as sold out but I would expect a similar result. These prices are totally normal for beach resorts in Dubai over Easter or October half term, by the way.
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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (June 2025)
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.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 15th July 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is TRIPLED to 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This would convert into 25,000 Avios or into 40 other airline schemes. It would also get you at least £300 of Marriott hotel stays based on our 0.5p per point low-end valuation. Other T&C apply and remain unchanged. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.
You can apply here.
Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card
60,000 points (to 15th July) and 15 elite night credits each year 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 Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.
We reviewed The Platinum Card from American Express in detail here and you can apply here.
The Platinum Card from American Express
50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:
- American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card (20,000 bonus Amex points)
- The American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)
and for small business owners:
- The American Express Business Gold Card (20,000 bonus Amex points)
- The American Express Business Platinum Card (50,000 bonus Amex points)
The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.
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