Book most Marriott Bonvoy hotel redemptions at off-peak prices

Marriott Bonvoy has a new offer promoting redemptions across nearly all of their hotels.

Marriott Bonvoy redemptions will be charged at off-peak rates for stays until 28th February 2021.

90% of its properties are participating, so availability should be readily available. Some more premium Winter locations, such as the Maldives and Seychelles, do not appear to be covered.

The offer is valid for bookings made until 14th December. Any date changes to bookings after the 14th will be repriced at the prevailing rate.

If you have any existing Marriott redemptions up to 28th February, check the pricing. You might make a saving by rebooking.

You can book on the Marriott website here.

How can I check redemption pricing?

This page of the Marriott Bonvoy website has an overview of the offer. Let’s take a look at potential February half term options.

We reviewed The University Arms in Cambridge, pictured above, a few months ago.

This hotel is reduced to 20,000 points per night during the rest of December, January and February. A 3-night half term break from 13th-16th February would cost £492, meaning that a redemption gets you 0.82p per point. This is well above our target Bonvoy valuation of 0.5p.

If you’re more Oxford than Cambridge, we covered the new Courtyard Oxford City Centre when it opened last year. For our half term dates of 13th-16th February it is 10,000 points per night as an off-peak redemption versus £366 for cash. This is just over 1.2p per point.

(To be fair, I should note that reward pricing in London is not great value, even at off peak rates. This is because London cash prices are, unsurprisingly, very low at the moment.)

If you’re willing to travel and take a gamble on covid restrictions being lifted, the brand new St Regis in Venice is 70,000 points per night. This may sound a lot but with cash rates for a stay from 13th-16th February totalling €3,183 (!), you’re getting 1.5 Eurocents (1.35p) per point.

In Athens, the Hotel Grand Bretagne, a Luxury Collection hotel, is 50,000 points per night whilst a three night stay would set you back €1,056. That means you’re getting just over 0.7 Eurocents (0.63p) per point.

Unfortunately, it looks like none of the hotels in the Maldives or the Seychelles are taking part if you were hoping for something further afield.

Another good option would have been the Elegant Hotels resorts in Barbados that Marriott acquired last year. Unfortunately these are not fully loaded into the system yet.

Remember that Marriott redemptions offer ‘five for four’

Whilst the pricing above is based on stays of three nights, Marriott Bonvoy lets you book five night stays for the points of four. The cheapest of your five nights is free. This increases your value per point sharply.

If you need to buy points to top up your account…..

Remember that Marriott Bonvoy is running a special offer when you buy points.

Until 22nd December, you get a 50% bonus on all points purchases. The link to buy is here.

Conclusion

Despite travel being down, Marriott Bonvoy points can still offer good value redemptions particularly during a promotion like this.

You can easily find hotels where you are getting more (and sometimes substantially more) than our target of 0.5p per point. With 90% of hotels participating, you should hopefully be able to get a good deal.

You can book on the Marriott website here.

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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.)