Marriott Bonvoy put its new peak and off-peak pricing into effect over the weekend.
It will take a while before I can see how much it impacts me. Two Saturday nights I locked in at The Langley (the best ‘country house’ redemption near London bookable for points) for March and June 2020 have not changed and remain at 35,000 points per night (vs £400ish for cash!).
On the other hand, a midweek night I have at Renaissance Paris Republique next month has gone up from 50,000 points to 60,000 points. Mid October should arguably not be ‘peak’. That said, St Regis New York remains 85,000 points for a possible November trip I am looking at.
Marriott sent me the following examples of times when you can expect to find hotels reduced to off-peak pricing:
Hawaii: October through mid-December (2019) and late September through October (2020) depending on market
California Wine Country: Mid-November (2019) through April (2020)
New York: January through February (2020)
Orlando: beginning in May with the greatest concentration in August and September (2020)
Washington DC: Late November (2019) through February (2020)
Cape Town: May through August (2020)
Dubai: May through September (2020)
European destinations: primary November (2019) through March (2020)
Maldives: May through June and end of August through early October (2020)
Bora Bora: January through March (2020)
Bali: November through mid-December (2019), mid-January through March (2020)
Phuket: May through June (2020)
Koh Samui: October through mid-December (2019) and September through October (2020)
Costa Rica: October (2019) and August through October (2020)
Macau: March through June (2020)
There is an element of ‘you don’t say’ at work here (Dubai in July anyone?). However, you can potentially get a good deal on the shoulder seasons – Dubai in early May or late September, for example, is perfectly pleasant, so try the The Al Maha Desert Resort which we reviewed here. A lot of southern European cities are also very pleasant in late March.
In reality, however, it does not appear to be like this. Hotels are changing in points price from day to day, linked to the cash rate. You may see a Monday at peak rate and then Tuesday at standard rate. It makes it a lot more difficult to plan your stays if your points stash is limited. The points required will flip between peak, standard and off-peak pricing as cash rates go up or down.
You will see one extra change to the Bonvoy website. When you search for a reward stay, it now shows the price for the full stay rather than the price per night. This makes is trickier to see if all or only part of your trip is in a higher pricing bracket.
How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points via UK credit cards
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
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, Shangri-La Golden Circle Jade and Melia Rewards Gold status. We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here.
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Marriott Bonvoy points. That page is regularly updated with the latest special offers and will still be accurate even if you are reading this article months after publication.
(Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Promos’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)
About Head for Points
OT:
Anyone cancelled a hotel booking paid with Avios via ba.com?
How long does it take for Avios to return to your balance?
I did this a few years ago, as fas I I can remember the Avios were returned within a couple of days.
I thought using avios is a general no no on hfp due to poor value
0.5p? Depends if you value the cashflow/ get them free with work etc
I used up a load of the IB90K stash on hotels through gritted teeth but it was use them or lose them
OT Billhop.
Any sign up bonus around at the moment.
Thanks.
OT does anyone know how strict Qatar airways is on hand luggage size. The smallest of our usual hand luggage cases is 55x40x20 and on the Qatar site it says 50x37x25. We will be flying economy.
I flew with Qatar in economy before and their are quite strict with hand luggage weight.
I thought BA’s taxes and surcharges were big until I checked emirates.
GBP511 for a one way redemption to dubai in business!
Oh yes …. amazing availability though!
Slightly OT – I wanted to bid for a Manchester United auction on Marriott Bonvoy, but I missed it and it closed anyway with no bids.
I asked if they might let me bid retrospectively as no one bid anyway.
I don’t know how good their customer reps are but they said they handed all unsold packages back.
I thought the Marriott Bonvoy suite is purchased by them in advance and was theirs for the year? Who would you hand back to? Is there a way to get hold of one of the unsold packages in there?
Email me with all the details and I will pass to a Bonvoy person in the London office.
OT — If you didn’t have any Waitrose offers on your card(s) last week, it’s worth checking again. As of today I have an offer showing on my Gold credit card (4% back on spends of £75+) and my Platinum (5% back on spends of £20+).
I also now have “Spend £60 or more, get £10 back” with Ocado on my Gold.
Langley appears to be 40k points on the dates I was searching.
At least it’s not moved categories!
Have to check this next time as BG’s prices were getting competitive;
8000 Avios for gas & electric with British Gas