A Marriott Bonvoy hotel adds a $30 redemption fee
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If you regularly redeem points in Las Vegas, New York or certain US resorts, you will be familiar with spurious ‘resort fees’. These are effectively hidden charges which are a compulsory surcharge on your bill but are not disclosed in headline booking prices.
Undisclosed resort fees are illegal in the UK, as the Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland found out when it tried to introduce one.
It seems that the JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort and Spa has decided to go one better.
As you can see from this screenshot:
…. there is now a compulsory fee of $30 per night if you use Marriott Bonvoy points to pay for your stay. For clarity, this resort does not impose any resort fees on guests who pay cash.
You would assume that Marriott would be all over this and yet – given the way the fee is highlighted on the company website – it has clearly been approved by someone.
PS. As a reminder, because it rarely gets much credit for this, Hilton Honors members are not charged resort fees on redemption bookings. This can substantially increase the value of using points at such properties.
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:
- 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.
(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.)
