Marriott Bonvoy Rewards Program: Fast Track to Elite Status

Marriott Bonvoy points are worth approximately $0.009 each.

While this value is low compared with flexible rewards programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards®, it’s a very good redemption value for hotel loyalty points. In fact, we value Hilton Honors points and IHG Rewards points at just $0.005 each.

Generally speaking, hotel points are valued lower because they’re so easy to earn. With an abundance of hotel credit cards and opportunities to earn hotel points, this drives down the value of each point.

But when you use Marriott Bonvoy points strategically, you can increase their value.

While the Marriott Bonvoy program has the largest footprint of any other hotel loyalty program, it definitely has its pros and cons. That said, some of the major benefits and drawbacks depend on the type of traveler you are, whether you want to pursue elite status, and how you prefer to spend your points. Here are some of the pros and cons of the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program.

Pros

• Choose from 8,500+ hotels and resorts. The Marriott Bonvoy rewards program is one of the better hotel loyalty programs because of its large portfolio of properties. You have more options when it comes to earning points through stays, and more ways to redeem your points when you’re ready.
• Marriott does a great job of “guarding” its elite status levels. There are ways to earn Marriott Bonvoy status, but you can only climb a few tiers without needing to physically stay at its properties consistently. This is great for consumers who travel regularly for business or leisure. The fewer number of people with elite status, the more valuable it is.
• Points are easy to earn. There are numerous ways to earn points for hotel stays with Marriott. Members earn a base rate of 10X points per dollar on most paid stays, and it’s easy to boost your rewards with a Marriott credit card.

Cons

• Status is difficult to earn. While lower elite status can be reached automatically with a Marriott co-branded credit card, top elite status can only be reached with a large amount of stays. By contrast, you can score top-tier Hilton Diamond status just by signing up for the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express.
• No waiver on resort fees for award stays. For those who enjoy staying in more luxurious properties, Marriott charges resort fees on award nights. Other large brands, such as Hilton and Hyatt, do not charge such fees on award stays. Resort fees can sometimes reach up to $100/night, so be wary of this before your next booking.
• No longer offers dynamic pricing. This means hotels have fluctuating point requirements that depend on demand and other factors.

• Free night stays

  You can use your points for free night stays at Marriott properties. When searching for a stay online, enter the destination and date, and select the “Use Points / Awards” option. The amount of points needed to book a stay can vary depending on the date, location, hotel brand and room type.

  For example — on the low end — we found a stay at a Fairfield Inn & Suites in Atlanta for 16,000 points per night in November 2023. On the higher end, we found a stay at The Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad on the same date for 126,000 points.

  Let’s take a look at a few other examples of Marriott bookings in early March 2024.First, a booking at the Aloft Miami – Brickell.

  The member flexible rate for this room is $287 after taxes and fees, or 38,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This equates to approximately $0.0076 per point — below our estimated value for Marriott points. In this instance, you should keep your points and book your stay with cash instead.

  With that in mind, let’s take a look at a more luxurious night at the W Hotel in South Beach, Fla.

  This option is a much better value than the previous one. After taxes and fees, this room will cost $1,037.40 88,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night. This means your points will be worth approximately $0.0112 each — which is above our estimated value of $0.009 per point.

  If you plan on using Marriott Bonvoy points in the future, be very strategic about how you use them in order to stretch the value of your points.

• Marriott 5th night free

  When you redeem Marriott Bonvoy points for a four-night stay, you will automatically get the fifth consecutive night free at the same hotel. This is an effective way to earn more travel for the same amount of points. And this promotion works for stays that are multiple of four. An eight-night stay will earn you two free nights, 12 nights will earn you three free nights and so on.

  With this in mind, avoid using points for stays of three nights or fewer. Consider paying cash instead to save your points for a five-night stay.

  How to use the Marriott Bonvoy free night certificate

  In some cases, you may be awarded a free night certificate from the Marriott Bonvoy brand, although certificates are normally good for stays up to a certain amount of points (e.g. up to 85,000 points). For example, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card gives cardholders one free night award (worth up to 85,000 points at participating hotels) each year after your card renewal month.

  To make the most of any certificate, you should strive to use it for properties that let you maximize its value. For example, you should use a certificate worth up to 85,000 points for a hotel that costs that many points or close to it, and not for a lower-tier hotel that only costs 5,000 or 10,000 points per night.

  Also, be aware that you can top off free night certificates with up to 15,000 additional points. This means, if the price of a hotel is out of range of your certificate, you may be able to make up the difference with points. This benefit will be useful once dynamic award pricing starts and the values of different hotels and stays fluctuate based on demand and other factors.

• TSA PreCheck

  You can use your Marriott Bonvoy points to cover your TSA PreCheck application fee. But because this benefit will run you 25,000 points — and is only valued at $78 — it’s not a good use of your points.

• Other travel

  You can also use your Marriott Bonvoy points or points plus cash to book flights or rental cars with more than 250 airlines and car rental companies. Or, use points to book cruises through Marriott Bonvoy’s Cruise with Points program.

• Upgrade with points

  The Marriott Bonvoy program also lets you use your points for upgrades. Generally speaking, you have the option to book a stay with points then use additional points for an upgraded room such an oceanfront room or a suite.

• Marriott Cash and Points

  If you’re a little short on a Marriott redemption you want to make, you may also want to consider using a combination of cash and points. Just know that Cash + Points is not available at all-inclusive Marriott resorts.

  Also keep in mind that, unlike an award night book entirely with points, you still have to pay taxes and fees for a Marriott Points + Cash booking. To know if using cash and points is truly worth it, you’ll need to run the math for the hotel stay you want (taxes and fees included) versus the cost in taxes and fees for using the Cash + Points option.

• Marriott Pointsavers

  The Marriott Bonvoy PointSavers program lets members save up to 20% on regular point redemption rates when available.

• Transfer Marriott points

  You can also transfer your Bonvoy rewards to an array of airline partners, although doing so is generally a poor value due to the lower transfer ratios. For example, most transfer partners offer a ratio of 3:1, which means you only get 1 airline mile for every 3 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer.

  Since Marriott points are worth approximately 0.09 cents each, you would need to get more than 2.7 cents in value for each mile for the transfer to be worth it. With that in mind, you should really only transfer your miles if you’re short on redemption and need to “top up” your account with a few thousand miles.

  Marriott transfer partners and ratios are as follows:

  Airline partner	Transfer ratio (Points to miles)
  AEGEAN Miles+Bonus	3:1
  Aer Lingus AerClub	3:1
  Aeromexico ClubPremier	3:1
  Air Canada Aeroplan	3:1
  Air China PhoenixMiles	3:1
  Air France-KLM Flying Blue	3:1
  Air New Zealand Airpoints	200:1
  Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan™	3:1
  American Airlines AAdvantage®	3:1
  ANA Mileage Club	3:1
  Asiana Airlines Asiana Club	3:1
  Avianca LifeMiles	3:1
  British Airways Executive Club	3:1
  Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	3:1
  China Southern Airlines Sky Pearl Club	3:1
  Copa Airlines ConnectMiles	3:1
  Delta SkyMiles®	3:1
  Emirates Skywards®	3:1
  Etihad Guest	3:1
  FRONTIER Miles	3:1
  Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club	3:1
  Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles®	3:1
  Iberia Plus	3:1
  InterMiles	3:1
  Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank	3:1
  Korean Air SKYPASS	3:1
  LATAM Airlines LATAM Pass	3:1
  Multiplus Fidelidade	3:1
  Qantas Frequent Flyer	3:1
  Qatar Airways Privilege Club	3:1
  Saudia Alfursan	3:1
  Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer®	3:1
  Southwest Rapid Rewards®	3:1
  TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go	3:1
  Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus	3:1
  Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles	3:1
  United MileagePlus®	3:1
  Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	3:1
  Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer	3:1
  Vueling Club	3:1

• Other Marriott redemption options

  If you have a large stash of Marriott Bonvoy points and no opportunities for travel on the horizon, there are other ways to use them. You can:

  • Purchase merchandise, such as electronics, garden supplies, Apple products and more.
  • Bid for experience in the Marriott Bonvoy Moments platform.
  • Donate your points to a list of nonprofit organizations.
  • Redeem your Marriott points for gift cards.

  With that said, you should avoid these options if you can since the redemption value is poor.

Elite status is a great way to earn extra benefits while staying at Marriott properties, such as upgraded rooms, points bonuses, late checkout, an in-hotel welcome gift and more. Hotel elite status is usually earned through staying at qualifying hotel properties within a calendar year. However, some Marriott credit cards give out automatic elite status just for being a cardmember.

Marriott status levels

Marriott status can be valuable for all types of travelers, including people who only take a few trips per year. However, elite status can be difficult to achieve when you only travel for business or leisure infrequently.

One common fast track to Marriott elite status is signing up for the right travel credit card. You can automatically qualify for Silver or Gold status, depending on the card (enrollment required).