Trip to New York for a family of 4 on Marriott Bonvoy

[Maria]

Hi all,
Trying to get my head around using elite nights on our trip to New York in October. I just realised how expensive the hotels are there and it crossed my mind what if I apply for Marriott Bonvoy card for my husband and me, get 15 nights free stay at Marriott and use it to cover our stay.
Please correct me if Im wrong and it won’t work.
Any ideas/suggestions/recommendations on how to save on accomodation will be highly appreciated!
Thanks

[Guernsey Globetrotter]

Hi @Maria – the annual 15 elite nights credited to Amex Bonvoy cardholders does not give you any ‘free’ nights to stay at Marriott properties. The elite nights are what count towards your membership status level in the Bonvoy loyalty program (i.e. Member, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Titanium or Ambassador status levels). In the past Creation did issue a paid for Marriott card in the UK with which you could earn an annual free night voucher but that is no longer available to new applicants. Have a look at these HfP articles for more details on how the Bonvoy program and Amex card may help you travel more economically but the bottom-line is that you’ll need to earn or buy quite a few Bonvoy points before you can significantly reduce the cost of your family’s accommodation…

https://www.headforpoints.com/2023/02/04/is-marriott-bonvoy-the-best-hotel-loyalty-scheme-part-1/
https://www.headforpoints.com/2023/04/08/review-marriott-bonvoy-american-express-credit-card-3/

Good luck with your trip planning 🙂

[NorthernLass]

@Maria, have you got points in any hotel scheme which you could use for part of your stay? If not, what’s your budget for accommodation? NYC prices can be ridiculous but you can save a lot by picking a hotel away from the most popular tourist areas, or look at Air B n B/VRBO.
I don’t know how old your kids are, but properties with suites with a separate living area and sofa bed can be terrific value – think Homewood Suites, Staybridge Suites and similar. You also get breakfast included at these which will save you a fair bit.
Hampton Inn is also a reasonable option with breakfast, though you’d either have to all share a room or book 2.
If you’re a Hilton Honors or IHG member, there might be a bonus offer on buying points which can occasionally work out cheaper than paying cash for a hotel room. You need to look very carefully at the maths with this option though.

[yonasl]

If you find the hotels expensive, wait until you get out in the street and pay $10 for a hot dog

[NorthernLass]

Quite, and the exchange rate still isn’t amazing – assuming the trip is at half term, you could have a week in a beach resort somewhere for the price of 3 days in New York, without the long haul flight. If your other bookings are flexible, it might be worth reconsidering. Or a European city break can be just as good, cheaper and no jet lag.

[Maria]

Thanks @Guernsey Globetrotter, I thought it was wishful thinking to get free nights for £75 card fee, thanks for confirming it.

[Maria]

Thanks @NorthernLass for your input! Im very new to all the points collecting schemes. So far, I managed to get ourselves booked in club world using companion voucher on ba. Unfortunately, none of us are members of any hotel schemes, and having grown up kids (20 & 16) one room in a hotel is not an option. I think Ill need to look in Air B n B option.

[Maria]

@yonasl, Ill need to look for a vegetarian option!

[zapato1060]

Maria wrote:

Thanks @NorthernLass for your input! Im very new to all the points collecting schemes. So far, I managed to get ourselves booked in club world using companion voucher on ba. Unfortunately, none of us are members of any hotel schemes, and having grown up kids (20 & 16) one room in a hotel is not an option. I think Ill need to look in Air B n B option.

See if you could get a bonus on Amex Gold/Plat as that will cover at least 1 night (at a stretch two).

[Annie]

As far as I know, Air B n B is not legal in New York. Be very careful with this.

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

Annie wrote:

As far as I know, Air B n B is not legal in New York. Be very careful with this.

It is illegal to offer sole occupancy for periods of less than 30 days.

You can have up to two guests staying in your home whilst you are there.

https://www.citysignal.com/airbnb-regulations-nyc-january-2023/#:~:text=Listing%20an%20“entire%20place”%20on,term%20listings%20in%20certain%20buildings.

But given the excellent public transit within the city it might be worth looking at hotels in Queens and Brooklyn or even across the Hudson in Noo Jersey.

But even looking at the downtown area can be cheaper.

True it might nor be as convenient isn’t but can save a good sums of cash.

There is more to NYC than Manhattan

[can2]

Stay in Brooklyn

[Blair Waldorf Salad]

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer here but I could think of few things less appealing than dragging my family of 4 onto the subway for a journey off Manhattan to the other boroughs. If it’s a family holiday, you’re going to want to do all the big sights, possibly a Broadway show or two (I usually do 5 in a week long stay via TodayTix app same day tickets) and have to deal with irritable kids who are overtired. My strong advice would be to make your budget stretch to a reasonable hotel in Manhattan that will allow touchdown times back at the hotel during the day. Your kids might appreciate you heading back with them for a rest, or if teens you could set them up with room service dinner and the hundreds of tv channels while you head back out with husband for a grown up dinner or show. The subway is an absolute pit of humanity these days and I certainly wouldn’t want to be reliant on it for commuting to and from the sights with family in tow.