Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Get a 40%-50% bonus when you buy Marriott hotel points – and 10% off redemptions

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UPDATE – APRIL 2024:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.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.

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Marriott Bonvoy is running another deal when you buy their hotel points.

Via this page of the website, you will get a 40% bonus on all points purchases until 22nd March.

Some members will have been emailed with a higher bonus of 50%.  This is only visible when you log in during the purchase process.  For clarity, it doesn’t whether or not you are logged in to Marriott Bonvoy – you will not see the 50% bonus until you start the check-out.

This isn’t as good as the ‘never seen before’ 60% bonus we had last year.  That said, as this offer runs until 22nd March it is possible that we won’t see anything better until mid-April or later.

Marriott Bonvoy buy points bonus

If you wanted to lock in some rooms for May Bank Holiday or early Summer, this might be your best chance.

The annual purchase cap has now been permanently raised to 100,000 points.  With the bonus, this means that you could pick up 140,000 or 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.

If you have the 40% bonus, at the top end you are paying $1,250 (£900) for 140,000 points.

My rule of thumb is that a Marriott Bonvoy point is worth 0.5p so this offer is not great at 0.64p per point.  This drops to 0.60p if you have the higher 50% bonus.

However, you might find it worthwhile if:

you are topping off your account before making a points booking, or

you are close to 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points and want to make a transfer into airline miles (you get a bonus of 5,000 airline miles when you transfer 60,000 Bonvoy points into 20,000 airline miles), or

you are planning a stay at a property where you know you will get outsized value

Last chance to save 10% on off-peak Marriott Bonvoy redemptions

The ‘buy points’ combines nicely with the current discount on off-peak redemption bookings.

ALL Marriott Bonvoy hotels have seen their points cost reduce by 10% for off-peak redemptions.

You can book until tomorrow, 21st February, for stays until 30th September.

The snag is that there is no sign of greater off-peak availability. You would expect virtually all Marriott Bonvoy hotels to be selling redemption nights at off-peak prices at the moment, but it isn’t happening. There is no evidence that the split between peak, standard and off-peak has changed.

That said, as redemption rooms are fully refundable in almost all cases it makes sense to book now for later in the year if the hotel you want is showing off-peak for your dates.

Remember that 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.

Remember that The Langley goes up in price on 3rd March

The Langley – Marriott’s only ‘luxury country house weekend break’ option in the UK, in Iver near Slough – is the only UK Marriott hotel increasing in points price this year.

On 3rd March it goes up from Category 6 to Category 7.

In plain English, this means it goes from 40,000 to 60,000 points per night to 50,000 to 70,000 per night, depending on date.

With the current 10% discount for off-peak bookings, you can lock in stays at The Langley for (40,000 points – 10%) 36,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night. From booking made from 3rd March you will pay at least 50,000 points per night.

This change is frustrating but not altogether surprising given how expensive this ‘country house’ hotel is for cash. It is also very pleasant as my review of The Langley shows – hopefully it is now less chaotic than it was at opening.

As an example, a 2-night weekend break from 28th-30th May is 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.  With a 50% bonus you can buy 97,500 points – let’s assume you have the other 2,500 already – for $812.50 (£580).  The same room will cost £942 (non-refundable) or £1,047 (pay on departure) for cash.

You can find out more about The Langley on the Marriott website here.


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 (56)

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

  • Dan says:

    Will paying with the Amex Marriott Bonvoy CC get me 10points per £1 or just the standard 2?

  • Russ says:

    May also work for those aiming for a travel package, especially if they’re hard-to-earn miles.

  • Harry T says:

    I don’t think someone can still transfer you 100k Bonvoy points if you purchase 100k in the sale. I think the yearly cap includes both purchased and transferred points.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      Terms from points.com

      Starting January 1, 2021, members may purchase or receive as a gift a new combined maximum of 100,000* points per calendar year when purchased on this site. (*Members may purchase or receive as a gift a combined maximum of 50,000 Points per calendar year if purchased through Marriott websites, Marriott Mobile Apps or the Customer Engagement Centers.)

      • Rob says:

        Thanks, missed that.

        • meta says:

          That was always the case.
          You can purchase 100k for yourself and another member may purchase 100k for themselves and then transfer these 100k to you.

          Transfers are not considered as a gift.

          • meta says:

            The clue is in the fact that purchases and gifts are processed by points.com and can take a while (now up to 7 days as per new T&C), whilst transfers are instant and processed by Marriott directly.

          • Harry T says:

            Interesting point, meta!

          • TGLoyalty says:

            You can Transfer up to a maximum of 100,000 Points, per calendar year, to other Accounts

            A Member can receive up to a maximum of 500,000 Points, per calendar year, from other Member Accounts, as long as the Accounts are in good-standing and have each been open for at least thirty (30) days with Qualifying Activity, ninety (90) days without Qualifying Activity

  • Paul says:

    I’ve done a few bookings at The Langley on points but don’t have all the points yet, am I right in thinking the rates will go up?

    Would the best solution be transferring over MR points or buying points? When do I have to transfer the points to avoid the higher rates

    • Harry T says:

      Rates will go up. Points advance only holds the redemption availability for you. This was a sad recent change to the program.

      Transferring MR could work; depending on the value you will get from the points vs using them for Avios or something else.

    • Rob says:

      Yes, the rates are going up. You will need the points in your account by 3rd March or you will have to pay the higher rate to confirm your room.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      Where are you transferring from?

      • Paul says:

        I’m 25,000 points short, my options are buy points or transfer from Membership Rewards. Not sure what the best option is

        • TGLoyalty says:

          If you value MR at 1p (the value of nearly all air miles partners) and the fact they are convertible to those partners at the drop of the hat. Then transferring to Bonvoy costs you 0.67p

          Buying in this sale is c0.6p give or take for exchange.

          What you have to weigh up is what value do you put on your MR vs the impact of the cash outlay for bonvoy.

  • memesweeper says:

    Despite having the Bonvoy Amex card I’m well short of what I need for a planned redemption early next year.

    This offer works out at £ 905 for 150,000 Bonvoy for me.

    The alternative is chipping in 100,000 Amex MRs to get 150,000.

    Or book the hotel for flexible cash rate which is +25%-ish over the points price. Decisions, decisions… in normal times I think I’d buy the points during an offer like this, but now I’m thinking of cashing out MRs as it stands, as so little else to spend them on…

    • Track says:

      Reach out to the hotel and negotiate a deal, including flexibility. They will appreciate your cash.

      • memesweeper says:

        Probably should have done — but cashed in the MR instead. I’ve invested a lot of actual cash in this trip and it’s not happened for 18 months so spending unreal MRs feels better than more real money. If we cancel (or they cancel) then I’ve spent MR on more bonvoy , which I don’t need , but which is my default cash out from MR anyway. I’m hopeful I’ll get the value eventually — definitely more likely than cashing in for airmiles with no plan to use them.

  • Russ says:

    ‘but now I’m thinking of cashing out MRs as it stands, as so little else to spend them on…’

    Interesting. The thought had crossed my mind over the last few months as hotel and miles points were being refunded and building back up the balances. I may have a big clear out and start again as well.

    • memesweeper says:

      I’m spending like crazy at the moment . The great advantage with airline and hotel points is flexibility. Keep putting in bookings and when things open up I’ve got some options. If we don’t go — ce la vie.

  • Harry T says:

    @Rob
    Do you think a return of the 60% bonus sale will happen this year or is 50% as good as it’s going to get? I appreciate this is borderline crystal ball territory.

    • Track says:

      No rush to buy with 50% ‘discount’ if one doesn’t need for immediate redemption.

      For later in the year, I am confident the points purchase discount will come up again in May-June time.

    • Rob says:

      Depends how much Marriott needs the cash ….

  • LST says:

    Also wondering whether I should pull the trigger on this or wait to see if a better/similar offer comes up. Bonvoy are much harder to earn now with limited opportunities to stay and the reduced earning rate on the card. Trying to get enough points for 10 nights at St Regis Maldives (most likely for Jan ‘23, but would want to book it 12 months in advance to be sure) and with the bonus buying 80k would get me there in one purchase, but not sure whether I should wait and see what happens between now and the end of the year, when I could still buy them if needed but without a bonus?
    Difficult decision!

    • Ken says:

      Hard to imagine there won’t be another bonus offered this year and hard to think there won’t be one for 40% or better.

      As far as MR points go, there was an offer in the last 3 months on Business Gold and Plat I think to use them against your balance at 0.9p

      I’d rather buy with the bonus rather than use MR points.

      I just want them to restart the Moments offers

    • Track says:

      Not difficult. I am sure that between now and end of 2022 you will have ample time to earn points by subscribing to AMEX cards. Mobilise your friends and family referrals.

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

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