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Get great value for your Marriott Bonvoy hotel points in Oxford

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If you’re looking for somewhere classy for a weekend away, Oxford is never a bad choice.  A brand new Courtyard by Marriott has literally just opened – there are still builders finishing things off inside – and offers great value for Marriott Bonvoy points.

Courtyard Oxford City Centre (website here) is selling at a premium price due its location.  Over 9th – 11th August, to pick a random weekend, rooms start at £213 per night.

Courtyard Oxford City Centre opens

For points, however, it is a different story.  As a Category 2 hotel, it is just 12,500 Bonvoy points per night.  This is roughly 1.75p per point, compared to my standard valuation of 0.5p.

Courtyard Oxford City Centre opens

Reader Nick, who literally lives next door, sent me some photos which I’ve dropped into this article.  He puts it at 2 minutes walk to the castle, 2 minutes from the new shopping centre and 5 minutes from the railway station. 

It was, apparently, scheduled to become a Hotel Indigo before switching to a Courtyard, although £213 looks more like Hotel Indigo pricing to me.

Courtyard Oxford City Centre opens

The property is partly new build and partly restoration of an existing property.  Rooms in the old building, see below, are not yet finished so it is running on reduced capacity.

The Courtyard Oxford website is here if you want to know more.


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

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.

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:

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.)

Comments (108)

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

  • Clive says:

    I was looking for similar flights and was finding next to no availability. A search on FT then showed that CX were limiting Partner availability so I gave up and ended up booking with Air Asia and Vietjet.

    • Simon says:

      Seems to be there for about two months out, so I’m going to try nearer the time.

  • Tom says:

    Hi All,

    I need approximately 25,000 Hilton points to top up for a redemption booking I’d like to make. It isn’t until mid-November. Anyone with a crystal ball or experience of how frequently the 80% or 100% extra ‘free’ offers come round on points purchases?
    Many thanks!

    • BJ says:

      They seem to have been very common this year so far so hopefully not too long until the next. No idea what your proposed redemption is but take care that it doesn’t increase by over 12.5k whilst you wait for that benefit from a 100% bonus sale offer. In major cities the shifts in points required per night can now move in quite alarming ways at Hilton.

      • Tom says:

        Thanks BJ, that’s useful advice. I’m looking at Hilton Dead Sea (Jordan). At the moment my dates are selling for 32,000 x 4 for 5 nights (I’m Gold). I guess I could book a points plus cash rate now and presumably cancel it and book all points if an offer comes up and the points rate hasn’t risen.

        • BJ says:

          Probably the smart thing to do if the flexible rate on points plus cash works for you. Personally I have no idea but I’n sure you/others will have some idea as to how stable reward pricing is there.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      I often use transfers from Virgin Flying Club to top up if I’m short and no suitable current offer. Redemption ratio is 2:3 so if we value Virgin points at 1p you’re paying 0.66p/Hilton which is cheaper than regular purchase and burns a much less liquid “currency”.

      Worth remembering that the 100% top-up bonuses are often for fixed large amount such as the recent $400/800 one, so the bonus doesn’t look so attractive if you’re just short yet you have to buy far more than you need at a poor rate vs true value.

      • BJ says:

        And it was reported yesterday that they are transferring in about a week again. There is also the membership rewards route transferring at 1:2.

  • A270 says:

    OT: Anyone used Emirates’ Dubai Stopover Programme hotels? Are they heavily discounted?

  • Youngtraveller says:

    Just booked the Oxford hotel using 6k points and paid in 51 instead of 250 not too bad of a redemption I hope

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

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