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Save 30% when you buy Marriott Bonvoy hotel points – worth it?

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UPDATE – APRIL 2024:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.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 1,000 bonus points per night and double elite night credits on stays between 13th February and 29th April. Click here to read more and click here to register.

Keep up to date with new hotel offers by signing up for our free daily or weekly newsletters.

You currently have only your second opportunity to buy Marriott Bonvoy at a discount since the scheme launched in February – and this is more generous than the offer which ran in the Summer.

Via this page of the website, you will save 30% on all points purchases until 18th October

The annual purchase cap of 50,000 points has been doubled to 100,000 points, although the maximum you can buy in one go remains 50,000 points.  At the top end you are paying $437.50 (£351) for 50,000 points under this offer.

My rule of thumb is that a Marriott Bonvoy point is worth 0.5p so this offer is not great at 0.70p 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 (on a ‘Standard Reward’ day) a great deal.  The problem is getting enough points.

However …. you CAN transfer up to 100,000 Bonvoy points per year from one member to another.  You need to ring up to do this, which is a bit annoying, but that is the only restriction.  This is one way around the limit on points purchases.

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.)

Comments (103)

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

  • Spaghetti Town says:

    OT: How are people getting on with free trade?

  • Travel Strong says:

    OT: Amex FHR. I know its not the norm, but are there any clever ways to make a ‘paid in advance’ FHR booking? The US Amex Travel site allows pay in advance for FHR (even gives extra bonus miles for doing so), but no sign of it on the UK site. The US site accepts my Platinum card login info, but then removes mention of FHR from the booking (but keeps the same price!).

    • John says:

      Call the hotel and ask them to take a deposit?

      • Travel Strong says:

        Should explain the goal: I’m thinking from the point of view of (hopefully) some Amex Travel offers appearing soon, and if there is any way at all to get FHR to credit as Amex Travel spend.

  • Rob H says:

    OT: Does anyone know if you can top up your Revolut account using a Virgin Atlantic Rewards card? I can do IHG – limited to £700 a week – but wondering if Virgin Atlantic card would also work and if anyone had any experience with it? – Thanks (Or any other useful cards people know of?)

  • maccymac says:

    OT: How long does the 1000 Virgin Atlantic miles take to post from the recent Tesco auto-convert offer?

  • Si says:

    Afternoon all,
    MARRIOT
    Is The Langley worth the hype it receives on HFPs – especially a basic room for someone with no/silver marriot status? I have 31k marriot points so can book a Saturday night stay for my birthday weekend in April with Points Advance but trying to work out if worth it, as only live 20mins away so only attention is the hotel.

    It book it to lock in a room – if i later cancel the stay, do i get the points refunded (like IHG)?

    All opinions welcome, many thanks, Si

    • Stu_N says:

      I’d say emphatically yes – get there mid-afternoon and leave at noon check-out to maximise value. I The pool area is amazing and teething issues with service seemed to be sorted. We stayed at the end of August and were mighty impressed. Redemptions are fully refundable so might as well book it and make your mind up later. Note that you are at risk of any rises in rate until your booking is funded though.

    • Munch says:

      I agree with Stu – hotel and its facilities were very impressive, at 35,000 points its the best deal redemption for a UK hotel.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        I know its not points but I quite liked Monkey Island as well but you would want to be on the Island in the main house, costs a little more than the value of 35k ‘bonvoys’ but a nice experience of an autumn day,

      • Alan says:

        I think that’s up for debate.

        Trump Turnberry on the Ayrshire coast is pretty stunning and is also 35,000.

  • Munch says:

    OT: I have a flight booked with work on SAS. I’ve checked on wheretocredit and it lists Virgin Flying Club as an option for points. How do I apply my flying club membership to the booking? When I log onto SAS there is a section for adding a frequent flying program but in the drop down Flying club is not listed?

  • mike says:

    was just thinking we don’t hear much from genghis on here any more in the comments – he used to comment alot – is he still around?

    • SimonW says:

      He’s taken over from Alex Cruz

    • Spaghetti Town says:

      Pretty sure i saw one of his comments today somewhere

    • BJ says:

      Ask Baby Genghis, I’m sure it’s her fault 🙂

      • Stu N says:

        I think you just say his name three times

        Genghis
        Genghis
        Genghis

        And he appears. 🙂

        • Genghis says:

          🙂 I’m around. Just returned from holiday and I’m busy with the baby. I’m still taking an interest in points (and limited travel) but having a child has put a lot of what I do into perspective.

          • BJ says:

            If we find any bonus points on pampers or huggies then we’ll let you know but we’ll be sure to factor in the price at Aldi first before bothering you 🙂

  • Lebron 23 says:

    brilliant (chuckles)

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

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