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Book now – Marriott Bonvoy announces which hotels are going up in points price on 4th March

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Marriott Bonvoy has given advance notice of its 2020 redemption category changes.

As usual, more hotels are going up in price than are going down.  The changes take place on 4th March, so you should book ASAP to lock in pricing at the current rate.

If you have a booking at a hotel which is dropping in price you will NOT automatically be refunded the difference.  You would need to cancel and rebook, after checking that availability is still there.

How many Bonvoy hotels are going up in points price?

Here are the headline figures provided to us by Marriott:

71% of hotels will remain in the same category

22% of hotels will go up one category

7% of hotels will go down by one category

Here is a sample of hotels provided by Marriott which are getting cheaper for redemptions:

  • Hotel President Wilson, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Geneva, Switzerland
  • The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, United Arab Emirates
  • W Aspen, Colorado, USA
  • The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, Los Angeles, California, USA
  • Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, Honolulu, HI
  • JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach
  • The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The devil is always in the detail, however.

You can see the list of changes here.  You can filter this list by clicking on any of the column headings.

Moxy Aberdeen Airport

What are the Marriott Bonvoy changes for UK hotels?

Here are some UK highlights and lowlights.  The UK comes out relatively well to be honest.

Going down by one category:

Aberdeen Marriott (3 to 2)

AC Hotel Belfast (5 to 4)

Bristol Marriott (5 to 4)

Courtyard Edinburgh West (5 to 4)

Courtyard Glasgow Airport (3 to 2)

Heathrow / Windsor Marriott (4 to 3)

Moxy Aberdeen Airport (2 to 1, pictured above)

Moxy London Heathrow Airport (4 to 3)

Newcastle Gateshead Marriott Metro Centre (4 to 3)

Northampton Marriott (4 to 3)

Renaissance Manchester City Centre (5 to 4)

Sheraton Heathrow (4 to 3)

Sheraton Skyline Heathrow (4 to 3)

Aloft Liverpool

Going up by one category:

Aloft Liverpool (3 to 4, pictured above)

Bankside London (6 to 7)

Breadsall Priory (4 to 5)

Hanbury Manor (4 to 5)

Marriott County Hall London (7 to 8)

Marriott Park Lane London (7 to 8)

St Ermins London (6 to 7)

The Glasshouse Edinburgh (6 to 7)

The Langley, Iver (5 to 6)

Threadneedles London (6 to 7)

For reference, here is the redemption chart, click to enlarge:

Marriott Bonvoy 2020 category changes

In theory this is not a bad result from a UK perspective, with more hotels moving down than up.  Of course, it is mainly flagship London hotels which are increasing, but even then the vast majority in London are unchanged.

Some other jumps are noticeable.  Aloft Liverpool used to be 2,000 Starwood points at weekends, equivalent to 6,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.  On a peak date, it will now cost 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.  That is an impressive level of inflation in three years.

Marriott 2020 category changes

One other positive move is The Langley, pictured above.  Whilst it is going up, it remains – compared to the cash cost of rooms – a relative bargain as a Category 6.  This means that you could pay as little as 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night for what is a very pricey (at weekends) country house retreat.  The Langley website is here if you want to learn more.

Our review of The Langley is here.  They have got their act together a bit since then, I am led to believe.  Irrespective of service, the hard product is exceptional.

Remember that these changes do not take effect until 4th March so you have plenty of time to lock in bookings before then.

You can check out the category changes for yourself on this page of the Bonvoy website.

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 (67)

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

  • RussellH says:
    6 Feb6 February 11:04

    2000 Starwood points for the Aloft in Liverpool was an amazing bargain! Equiv £30 for a £100+ room when we stayed.
    If Liverpool were playing at home prices were often well over £220 per night, and if you booked far enough in advance (I would not have done so) you could still have got a room for 2000 points.
    Silly pricing, TBH!

  • David says:
    6 Feb6 February 11:56

    Is Langley recommended for a one night stay, or is two nights really needed? Was thinking of one night Oxford and one night Langley, but could do two nights Langley if there is sufficient reason.

    • Peter K says:
      6 Feb6 February 12:13

      Depends on how quickly you settle in. A couple of hours in the spa, a few drinks in the churchill bar and a nice meal in (or out) is most of it. If you can arrive early and relax straight away then an overnight fine I suppose. Personally I think 2 nights would get you a lot more of the feel of the place.

      • Paul says:
        6 Feb6 February 13:13

        At the other end, is 4/5 nights here too long?

        • TGLoyalty says:
          6 Feb6 February 13:37

          2 to 3 nights is perfect. You’d still enjoy 4/5 but only if you plan on visiting the surrounding areas and using it as a base.

      • Rob says:
        6 Feb6 February 13:15

        We did 1 night but I get 4pm check-out with status so it worked OK for a weekend (arrived about 2pm, left at 4pm).

    • Nick M says:
      6 Feb6 February 13:25

      We stayed Friday-Sunday, were offered a late check-out, and were told we were welcome to stay in the spa for as long as we wanted on the Sunday…

      2 nights was a nice length of time there, 1 would fine though (and if going for a solo trip might do this). I think I would find 4/5 nights too long – unless you are just looking for a place to base yourselves

      • Peter K says:
        6 Feb6 February 19:15

        I stayed 5 nights and, as you say, it’s fine as a base, but I felt I had seen everything the hotel had to offer before then.
        Apart from the spa, the lounge/bar and walking in the park there’s more much else.
        As a place to chill and go out on the occasional excursion it was great.

    • David says:
      6 Feb6 February 14:32

      Well, we’re coming with a toddler, and can’t eat the food anyway, so it’s more just enjoying the grounds.

      • Peter K says:
        6 Feb6 February 19:10

        Depends on what you want to spend on food but there is a hungry horse just up the road. A chef and brewer nearby and the Three Oaks was lovely. Lots of options at nearby Uxbridge as well.

  • Adrian says:
    6 Feb6 February 12:14

    “That is an impressive level of inflation in three years.”

    This is my main take away from the latest round of changes. Someone commented on a USA blog that the hotel they used had increased 4 times in the last 2 years, now it’s a hotel they used to use. Whilst this may be balanced across the UK it’s not across the rest of the world with major towns and cities appearing to be the worst hit. This plus the recently introduced peak pricing and their increased ability to black-out dates makes the whole scheme less attractive. Plus you can now earn less with their credit card! Occupancy rates are high and they are flexing their muscle, earn and burn was never more applicable than it is today.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      6 Feb6 February 13:44

      Aloft Liverpool was always a bargain.

      £30 a night (points equivalent value) for a hotel which was pretty much always £100+. 30k might be too much but then reward nights will drop off and it may go down to reflect that.

      with Cat 8 peak pricing some hotels cost far too much and was expecting those to fall a cat but doesn’t seem to have happened this time round.

  • Mikeact says:
    6 Feb6 February 15:03

    Be aware….. my son has just told me…. New Blackout dates are effective from today, not March as per other changes.

  • Martin says:
    16 Feb16 February 03:01

    O/T, if I apply for the Bonvoy Amex in the next month or so, will the 15 elite nights post for this calendar year or next?

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