Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The joys of doing live TV, and your last day to buy Marriott points with 25% bonus

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I was planning to do an article this week linked to a TV interview I did on Friday for BBC World News on ‘Talking Business with Aaron Heslehurst’.  However, it turns out that you can’t get BBC World News on catch-up anywhere so I can’t show you the clip.

(EDIT: we have HFP readers everywhere, and I have now got my hands on a copy of this interview. If I decide it is fit for sharing I’ll run it.)

This is a shame, because it got a bit complicated when they put up a picture of the current Virgin Upper Class seat and announced it as the new one and then asked me what I thought of it 🙂  Given that we were broadcasting live the potential for disaster was high but I think we dealt with it!  Luckily the picture of the new BA Club Suite that went up next was the right one.

I think it went well.  An earlier remote guest was cancelled due to technical problems so we got to chat for longer than was originally planned, and Aaron is a big aviation fan.  I’ll never know, however …..

Head for Points on Talking Business with Aaron Heslehurst

25% discount if you buy Marriott Bonvoy points

Today is your last day to get a discount when you buy Marriott Bonvoy points.

Via this page of the website, you will save 25% on all points purchases until tonight, Wednesday 15th May.

You can buy up to 50,000 points per year, which will cost you $468.75 (£360) under this offer.

My rule of thumb is that a Marriott Bonvoy point is worth 0.5p so this offer is not great at 0.72p per point.

However, you might find it worthwhile if:

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

you are planning a stay at a property where you know you will get outsized value

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 a great deal.  The problem is that you can only buy 50,000 points per year.

The link to buy is here if you are interested.

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 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 sign-up bonus 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.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

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.)

Category

Marriott Bonvoy

Comments (151)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • The Lord says:
    15 May15 May 09:19

    OT – Still no joy with Europcar £1 one way rentals. Was told last week that issue would be resolved in coming days but still not working.

    • Shoestring says:
      15 May15 May 09:34

      at least that sounds positive news

    • Charlieface says:
      15 May15 May 14:55

      Often it came up with Oldham or Stockport to MAN airport, which is a nice cheap car for the day…

  • Ernő says:
    15 May15 May 09:29

    OT – does anybody know, how long does it take to upgrade Amex Gold charge to Platinum (using the infamous online link)? Would I have to wait for a new card and number, or is it an automatic switch on the same card number?

    I was in two minds about upgrading next month, but I am likely to have a £1000+ bill to pay in a couple of days, so I thought it might be a nice and quick way to catch the 20k MR upgrade bonus, assuming the upgrade is quick enough…

    Thanks

    • Shoestring says:
      15 May15 May 09:36

      You have to wait & it’s not an automatic upgrade, Amex reserve the right to credit check you or refuse you

      New card/ number

      but it’s pd quick, ie only a few days

  • Alex says:
    15 May15 May 09:37

    OT – I’m flying Baku – Moscow – Dusseldorf – London at the end of the month.
    Landing in VKO at 9:40am and departing DME 12:40pm. Anyone have experience of transferring across and think I won’t make it?
    Thanks!

    • illuminatus says:
      15 May15 May 10:58

      I never did a transfer like that, but I do not think it’s feasible given the distance between the airports and Moscow traffic.

    • Alex says:
      15 May15 May 11:58

      Google maps says 1 hr drive. Make sure hand luggage only, checked in with boarding pass from Dme printed and Uber/Yandex taxi/wheely waiting for you upon arrival. Get front row seat on flight to vko. Jump queue on passport control both in vko and dme. If your incoming flight is not delayed you will be ok.

    • the_real_a says:
      15 May15 May 12:04

      Dumb question – but you do have the visa sorted to leave the airport?

  • Laurence Dalby says:
    15 May15 May 09:57

    @Rob, you should be able to get a copy of the interview if you contact whoever booked you at the BBC. It’s a pretty routine request.

  • Shoestring says:
    15 May15 May 10:00

    O/T there’s a big Travelodge sale on at the mo, eg Heathrow £19+ on Fridays & lots around £30 mark

    no special link

    plenty there, I was checking it out yesterday

    • Anna says:
      15 May15 May 11:16

      Thanks Harry, OH will want to go to the Dive Show at the NEC in October so we’ll probably want somewhere cheap off the M6! I also finally took your recommendation for the life insurance, though I can’t quite believe they will give me £100 for this! Also used the site to get a £60 annual car hire excess policy as we won’t now be renewing Platinum, another £26 back. As someone said yesterday, you have to adapt with the game!

    • Russ says:
      15 May15 May 11:18

      Thanks Shoestring. The upgraded Travellodges make quite reasonable stays. Shame they don’t have a loyalty program.

    • Tom1 says:
      16 May16 May 00:31

      There’s also 15% off with the voucher code from codes.co.uk

  • Steve says:
    15 May15 May 10:13

    OT- Miles&More card… when am I supposed to receive the Lufthansa business lounge voucher and how can I access it?

    • Czechoslovakia says:
      15 May15 May 11:21

      Do you mean the 50k Select Miles voucher? You can choose your Select miles gift on the website, once you’ve hit the Select miles target. Usually can choose between 3 gifts. Never chose the lounge voucher myself, but always got the voucher I requested by email immediately after selecting.
      The PPB voucher is ordered through the call center usually.

      • Steve says:
        15 May15 May 12:11

        No.. I mean UK Miles and More credit card… We are supposed to get one business lounge entry… when are we supposed to receive this and how?

        • Rob says:
          15 May15 May 12:17

          It takes a while to arrive and sits as an e-voucher in your Miles & More account. I also got an email saying it had been added.

  • AndyGWP says:
    15 May15 May 10:51

    OT – Are Ambassador free weekend certificates electronic yet? I’m seeing differing reports, and trying to figure out when best to signup (to maximise the 12 months I can use it)

    • Czechoslovakia says:
      15 May15 May 11:10

      I renewed in December and got sent a physical voucher in the renewal pack, however when logging in to the website, it says I have a voucher there too?!? Struggle to use even one anyhow…

      • BlueHorizonuk says:
        15 May15 May 11:11

        The electronic one is the same as the paper one so you don’t have two (unfortunately)

        • Czechoslovakia says:
          15 May15 May 11:25

          Never mind. But thanks anyway. Used this year’s voucher for a work trip!

        • Young L says:
          15 May15 May 12:45

          I too renewed in Dec last year and I have already used the paper cert. But the electric one is still showing.

      • Rob says:
        15 May15 May 12:18

        Many reports of this.

    • BlueHorizonuk says:
      15 May15 May 11:10

      Yes, I see it when I log into my account

      • Czechoslovakia says:
        15 May15 May 11:29

        You don’t happen to know when the 10% points rebate happens do you? Done a couple of redemptions since renewal and never got the rebate. Tia

        • Craig says:
          15 May15 May 12:04

          Only had one rebate so far which took 66 days!

        • Rooster says:
          15 May15 May 13:55

          When you renew it will count from the next 1st January, yes very confusing as was expecting it to count from the date of renewal but it seems Ambassador renewal goes from the Jan 1st

          • Robman says:
            15 May15 May 16:52

            When using the IHG Rewards free night for spending £10k, what happens if you cancel a booking that you make? Do you lose the certificate or does it return to your account?

          • Rooster says:
            15 May15 May 18:28

            The free certificate may not get recredited automatically but if you contact support they will sort it.

            @genghis yes important to rebook as well. Contact support about the renewal thing and they have said that he rebate applies only from the renewal date ie 1st of jan whether that is true or not I don’t know.

          • Steve-B says:
            15 May15 May 19:49

            Rebooking is not required in my experience when renewing an existing AMB membership, also confirmed to me by CS… but then again we know what IHG’s IT is like… may be safer option if redemption rooms are still available.

        • rams1981 says:
          15 May15 May 21:07

          Do redemption credits as ambassador come up as a separate line entry? Don’t think I’ve received any yet

  • Stoneman says:
    15 May15 May 10:57

    Anyone else having troubling logging into the BA shopping portal?

    • Anna says:
      15 May15 May 11:13

      Yes – solved it by using another browser.

      • Lyn says:
        15 May15 May 12:07

        Yes, no luck since yesterday afternoon. Anna – which browser worked, please?

        • Anna says:
          15 May15 May 12:41

          Chrome I think! I also get different browsers working (or not) depending on whether I use my laptop or desktop so I lose track of what I’ve done on which device lol.

          • Lyn says:
            15 May15 May 15:09

            Thanks Anna. I don’t have Chrome, but Edge seems to working (Firefox wasn’t).

          • Lloyd says:
            16 May16 May 00:30

            I’m using Chrome and it’s not been working for the last couple of days.

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