How to use the £400 Amex Platinum credit at Marriott for food and drink – no stay needed

Many Head for Points readers who have an American Express Platinum card have been given a very generous offer by Marriott.

You will receive £400 cashback when you spend £400 at selected luxury Marriott International properties. The UK hotels participating are mainly in London, plus The Langley and Turnberry.

The rules of the offer imply that the credit can only be claimed for items linked to an overnight stay. You are probably not meant to use it for food, drink or spa treatments if you are not a registered guest. The actual wording is vague though, saying only that it should be linked to ‘checkout spend’ with no mention of actually having to stay.

(The reason for this is that restaurants and spas usually have a different ‘merchant code’ in the American Express system. Amex will only pay the £400 cashback if it spots the merchant code for the hotel. The restaurant and spa may be set up differently.)

One reader found a way around this ……

To quote:

“I thought you’d be interested to read my experience of using Amex’s £400 Marriott offer solely for non-accommodation charges.

To celebrate my girlfriend’s birthday yesterday, we went with two friends to the JW Steak House at Marriott’s Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane on Friday 16^th October, the last night before London moved to tier 2.  I was considering saving this £400 offer until my own birthday just before the offer’s extended expiry date, but decided that celebrations in December might be even more impeded by the pandemic than they are now.

I phoned the hotel and explained what I wanted to do and why, i.e. spend at least £400 in the restaurant but pay at the front desk as a hotel checkout charge in order to qualify for an Amex offer.  They were very co-operative and created a “paymaster account” for me, which had a 8-prefixed virtual room number together with my Bonvoy number. 

When we arrived for dinner, I asked to prepay £400 with my Amex card at the front desk in the hope of receiving an instant e-mail from Amex, as usually (but not always) happens when using other Amex offers.  I used chip & PIN, because the front desk’s card machine doesn’t support Apple Pay.  I didn’t receive an e-mail.

After a very enjoyable dinner, I went back to the front desk and they printed a standard hotel checkout invoice for me, showing the charge by the restaurant, together with the virtual room number.  Yesterday I noticed in my Amex online account that the offer was redeemed with a saving of £400, and today I see the £400 credit dated yesterday.”

So …. if you don’t really need a luxury hotel room in London but DO like the idea of £400 of free food and drink, you may want to give this option a try.

The JW Marriott Grosvenor House website is here if you want to find out more.

---

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.)