Starwood throws its spring promotion into the ring …. IHG is still not panicking
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
UPDATE – DECEMBER 2024: This article is now out of date, but don’t worry. We produce a monthly summary of the top hotel bonus point offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ menu above.
Marriott Bonvoy is offering a 40% or 45% bonus when you buy points by 23rd December. The annual purchase limit is increased to 150,000 points plus your bonus during this offer. Click here to buy.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 45,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 120,000 Marriott Bonvoy points! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. Click here to apply.
Keep up to date with new hotel offers by signing up for our free daily or weekly newsletters.
The hotel promotion to beat for Spring 2016, unless you were unlucky with your targetted offer, is IHG’s second version of ‘Accelerate’.
Most Head for Points readers will be moving a few nights over to InterContinental, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza etc to take advantage. Full details of IHG’s Accelerate offer can be found here.
On Saturday I covered the Hilton offer for the Spring – Double Your HHonors. You will earn double points or double airline miles. Not hugely exciting although, of course, you should sign up (details in this article) if you are likely to have any Hilton Group stays before the end of April.
Starwood (Westin, Le Meridien, Sheraton, aloft, W etc) has now released its own Spring promotion. Full details and registration are here.
It is even weaker than the Hilton offer in many ways ….
It is called ‘Take Two’ and runs from 11th January to 30th April. The Hilton and IHG promos run from 1st January so you should ignore SPG for that ten day window.
It is a simple one:
You will double Starpoints on all stays of two nights or more (all SPG hotels globally are participating)
plus
You will earn an extra 250 points per night for stays in ‘major destinations’ (the list of participating hotels is here)
I tend to value an SPG point at 1.5p so you are looking at an extra £3.75 of value per night if your hotel is on the ‘participating’ list for the extra bonus. This is all you can expect for a one night stay. The offers would combine for longer stays which, when taken together, makes the promotion look better.
You can register via this page. It makes sense to register now, just in case. Starwood closes registration on 10th April but the promotion does not end until 30th April – it would be a shame to forget to register and then find yourself in an SPG property in the last three weeks of the offer.
All in all, it doesn’t get close to the value you can get from IHG’s Accelerate if you have an achievable target. It is probably good enough to stop you defecting from Starwood to Hilton if those are your only options, however, and that is probably what matters to the SPG team.
How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (December 2024)
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.
Marriott Bonvoy American Express
20,000 points for signing up 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 American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 120,000 Marriott Bonvoy points! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. Click here to apply.
The Platinum Card from American Express
Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:
- American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
- American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 45,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. Click here to apply.
and for small business owners:
- American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
- American Express Business Platinum (50,000 bonus Amex points)
The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.
(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.)
Alan 
Gabbai 
Simmo 
Graeme 
Rob 
John 
Jimmyjimmy 
Genghis 
Liz 
James67 
George 
Janeyferr 
James67 
Comments (24)