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

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.

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)

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:

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.

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.

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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.

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.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)

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.)