Marriott Bonvoy: The ultimate guide to Marriott Bonvoy
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Marriott Bonvoy is the loyalty program for over 8,500 hotels worldwide, a program you absolutely must know to save a lot of money on your travels!
With this ultimate guide, you’ll discover how to earn and use Marriott Bonvoy points.
If you prefer the video version, here it is! Otherwise, keep on reading.
Open a Marriott Bonvoy account
To open an account in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, go to this page.
Once you are a member, you will have access to:
- free Wi-Fi,
- check in with your phone,
- the lowest member rate.
How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points
Before you can get free nights in the Marriott Bonvoy program, you’ll need to earn points!
Let’s discover together all the possibilities of accumulation with the :
- Credit Cards
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Hotel stays and purchases
- Cruises
- Car rentals
- Activity Reservations
- Promotions
- Event organization
- Points Purchase
With credit cards
In Canada, Marriott Bonvoy has chosen American Express to issue 2 credit cards:
These two credit cards allow you to earn DIRECTLY Marriott Bonvoy points.
| Credit card | Annual fee | Welcome offer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| $120 | |||
| $150 |
Each of these credit cards offers:
- a very attractive welcome bonus,
- an annual free night award (upon renewal) worth up to 35,000 points,
- 15 Elite Night Credits (Silver Elite status),
- travel insurance,
- The ability to earn points on all purchases.
With American Express membership rewards
Another way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points is through a partnership with American Express Membership Rewards.
It is possible to transfer 1,000 membership rewards into 1,200 Marriott Bonvoy points. Thus, 10,000 Membership Rewards = 12,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
In other words, 5 membership rewards = 6 Marriott Bonvoy points.
With the 7 Membership Rewards Cards, you can INDIRECTLY earn Marriott Bonvoy points.
| Credit card | Annual fee | Welcome offer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| $191.88 | |||
| $799 | |||
| $799 | |||
| $199 | |||
| $250 | |||
| $0 |
With stays and purchases at Marriott Bonvoy hotels
The primary purpose of a rewards program is to reward your loyalty.
Thus, the more you stay or eat at Marriott Bonvoy establishments,the more points and benefits you will earn (with the statutes).
Thus, whenever :
- you stay at a Marriott Bonvoy hotel,
- you eat at a hotel restaurant,
- you do an activity organized by the hotel.
Give your Marriott Bonvoy membership number! You will earn 10 Marriott Bonvoy points per US dollar spent in the property.
Depending on your status, you will earn more Marriott Bonvoy points for all these expenses.
The guarantee of the best price
Marriott Bonvoy’s Best Price Guarantee gets you:
- a 25% discount compared to the lowest rate found elsewhere,
- OR 5,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Complaints
Your room didn’t meet your expectations? Did a problem take place during your stay?
Don’t hesitate to file a claim on the Marriott Bonvoy website.
With cruises
This is a unknown accumulation technique.
Marriott Bonvoy has a cruise booking portal that allows you to earn 3 points for every dollar spent (up to 30,000 points).
After doing several tests, we found that the prices offered by Marriott Bonvoy are very competitive with several advantages:
- No deposit fee for some cruises,
- significant discounts (up to 75%),
- best price guarantee with 110% refund of the difference.
With car rentals
It is also possible to earn Marriott Bonvoy points via car rental on the dedicated portal.
Marriott Bonvoy has partnered with Hertz to offer:
- discounts
- up to 2,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per 2-day rental or more
With activities booking
Marriott Bonvoy has a booking portal for activites:
- Guided tours
- Culinary tours
- Tickets for points of interest (museums…)
- Tickets for amusement parks
- Tickets for shows / theaters / sporting events…
- Classes
- And more!
You earn 10 points for every US dollar spent on business.
With promotions
Marriott Bonvoy offers promotions throughout the year to earn more points.
For example, you can earn up to 4,000 points per stay.
With the organization of events
Event or meeting organizers can earn 2 points per dollar for any event held at most Marriott Bonvoy establishments.
The maximum per event is 60,000 points (105,000 points maximum for Elite Titanium members).
These brands do not participate in this: Marriott Executive Apartments, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Design Hotels, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, Ritz-Carlton Hidden Boutique Resort, Vistana Hotel and Homes & Villas by Marriott International.
It is also possible to get 1 Elite Night for each block of 20 rooms reserved during your event.
With points purchase
Finally, when all the accumulation techniques have been used and you are missing only a few points to get a free night, it is possible to buy Marriott Bonvoy points.
Some rules about buying points:
- Up to 100,000 points can be purchased per calendar year.
- Per 1,000 points.
- The cost is US$12.50 per 1,000 points.
- The transaction takes 24 to 48 hours.
With MGM
Starting in 2024, Marriott Bonvoy members will be able to earn and redeem points at MGM Resorts properties.
Several details have yet to be confirmed. Eventually, Marriott Bonvoy members will be able to link their account to MGM Rewards to obtain certain benefits.
In addition, MGM also owns BetMGM, an online sports betting and gaming platform, so it will be possible to earn Marriott Bonvoy points on certain transactions.
How to use Marriott Bonvoy points
Now that we know how to earn many Marriott Bonvoy points, let’s redeem them!
Let’s discover together all the possibilities of use:
For free hotel nights
This is the main purpose of the program: to get free hotel nights.
Marriott Bonvoy’s Rewards Chart
Marriott Bonvoy had divided its 8,500+ hotels into eight categories.
Since March 29, 2022, the Marriott Bonvoy program no longer has categories. However, we are leaving this table for archival purposes.
And within each of these categories, there were 3 pricing levels:
- off peak,
- standard,
- peak.
| Category | Off peak | Standard | Peak Season |
| 1 | 5 000 | 7 500 | 10 000 |
| 2 | 10 000 | 12 500 | 15 000 |
| 3 | 15 000 | 17 500 | 20 000 |
| 4 | 20 000 | 25 000 | 30 000 |
| 5 | 30 000 | 35 000 | 40 000 |
| 6 | 40 000 | 50 000 | 60 000 |
| 7 | 50 000 | 60 000 | 70 000 |
| 8 | 70 000 | 85 000 | 100 000 |
For example, a free night at a Marriott Bonvoy hotel can cost between :
- 5,000 points (category 1 – low season)
- and 100,000 points (Category 8 – peak)
Off-Peak and Peak Season at Marriott Bonvoy
Off-peak or peak dates are NOT determined based on:
- a geographical region
- a specific time of year
In fact, this will be related to the hotel directly.
Within the same city, it will therefore be possible to see hotels classified in different seasons (off-peak-standard-peak).
Stay 5 Nights for the Price of 4
When you use Marriott Bonvoy points, for a 5-night stay, you’ll only pay 4!
The least expensive of the 5 nights (in case of off-peak/peak season rate difference) will be free!
The combined payment Cash + Points
This option allows you to split the payment between :
- points,
- money.
*This table is for information purposes only, as hotel categories no longer exist in the Marriott Bonvoy program.
The PointSavers option
The PointSavers option is a promotion that is offered on select hotels during predefined weeks. The list of Marriott Bonvoy hotels is posted here.
This option allows for savings of up to 33% compared to the standard rate.
To learn about the changes brought about by the abolition of categories and the new dynamic pricing in place since March 29, 2022, read this article.
How to book with points
To book free nights with your points, it’s easy!
Log in with your Marriott Bonvoy account on Marriott’s website and Check “Use Points”in the hotel search box. Then select “Find”.
Hotels available with points will then be displayed in your search. You will be able to sort by number of points required, distance…
Canceling a reservation with points
For most hotels, it is possible to cancel your reservation up to 48 hours before arrival. Your points will then be credited directly into your account instantly.
The best destinations
There are sweet spots in the Marriott Bonvoy program, i.e. geographic areas where it is particularly interesting to use your points.
As for example in South Africa with many hotels qualified as category 1 and 2 in the past.
The hotels map around the world
We’ve listed over 8,500 hotels worldwide in this exclusive map!
Although Marriott Bonvoy categories are a thing of the past, we have kept the hotel categorization on the map as a reference, to help you get an idea of the price range of hotels in points.
To get airline programs miles
Marriott Bonvoy is a partner with dozens of airline loyalty programs.
Thus, it will be possible to transfer Marriott Bonvoy points into miles of airline programs. For most programs, the rate is identical: 3 Marriott Bonvoy points = 1 mile.
For every 60,000 points transferred in miles, Marriott Bonvoy offers a 5,000 miles bonus.
So 60,000 points = 20,000 miles + 5,000 bonus miles = 25,000 miles
Here is the table of partners and different rates / bonuses and the transfer time.
| Partner | Ratio | Bonus miles per 60,000 points transferred | Time in days |
| Aegean Airlines Miles | 3:1 | 5 000 | 10 |
| Aeroflot Bonus | 3:1 | 5 000 | 14 |
| AeroMexico Club Premier | 3:1 | 5 000 | 2 |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 3:1 | 5 000 | 5 |
| Air China Phoenix Miles | 3:1 | 5 000 | 5 |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 3:1 | 5 000 | 1 |
| Air New Zealand Airpoints | 200:1 | 25 | 2 |
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan | 3:1 | 5 000 | 2 |
| Alitalia MilleMiglia | 3:1 | 5 000 | 7 |
| ANA Mileage Club | 3:1 | 5 000 | 7 |
| Asiana Airlines Asiana Club | 3:1 | 5 000 | 10 |
| British Airways Club | 3:1 | 5 000 | 1 |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 3:1 | 5 000 | 10 |
| China Eastern Airlines Eastern Miles | 3:1 | 5 000 | 14 |
| China Southern Airlines | 3:1 | 5 000 | 3 |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | 3:1 | 5 000 | 14 |
| Emirates Skywards | 3:1 | 5 000 | 6 |
| Etihad Guest | 3:1 | 5 000 | 5 |
| Frontier Airlines MyFrontier | 3:1 | 5 000 | 14 |
| Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings | 3:1 | 5 000 | 14 |
| Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles | 3:1 | 5 000 | 2 |
| Iberia Plus | 3:1 | 5 000 | 6 |
| Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank | 3:1 | 5 000 | 7 |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 6:1 | 2 500 | 1 |
| Korean Air SKYPASS | 3:1 | 5 000 | 7 |
| Latam Airlines Latam Pass | 3:1 | 5 000 | 2 |
| Lufthansa Miles and More | 3:1 | 5 000 | 6 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 3:1 | 5 000 | 6 |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 3:1 | 5 000 | 6 |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines Alfursan | 3:1 | 5 000 | 14 |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 3:1 | 5 000 | 6 |
| South African Airways Voyager | 3:1 | 5 000 | 14 |
| Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards | 3:1 | 5 000 | 2 |
| TAP Air Portugal | 3:1 | 5 000 | 14 |
| Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus | 3:1 | 5 000 | 10 |
| Turkish Airlines Miles | 3:1 | 5 000 | 14 |
| United MileagePlus | 3:1.1 | 5 500 | 2 |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 3:1 | 5 000 | 1 |
| Virgin Australia Velocity | 3:1 | 5 000 | 2 |
Visit this page to transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points in airline programs miles.
For Marriott Bonvoy Moments activities
Finally, Marriott Bonvoy points can be used to book unique activities with Marriott Bonvoy Moments :
- Sports events,
- Concerts,
- Festivals,
- And more!
And share your beautiful memories on Instagram using #marriottbonvoymoments or #mercimilesopedia!
How to manage your Marriott Bonvoy points
Do you know how earn and redeem your Marriott Bonvoy points?
Now let’s see how to manage them… on a daily basis!
The value of Marriott Bonvoy points
The value of 1 Marriott Bonvoy point is estimated between 0.5 and 1.5 cents per point depending on the use. So we decided to rate the point at 0.9 cents per dollar.
This means that the welcome bonus for the Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card or the Marriott Bonvoy® Business American Express®* Card is worth approximately $500.
The expiracy of points
Marriott Bonvoy points expire after 24 months of account inactivity.
To keep your account active, you just need to:
- Earn points (via affiliated credit card purchases, hotel stays, etc.),
- Use points.
The transfer of points between accounts
Each calendar year, it is possible to transfer 100,000 points to another member. You can transfer your points online.
Points earned with credit cards
All points earned with your purchases on the Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card or the Marriott Bonvoy® Business American Express®* Card are automatically transferred to your Marriott Bonvoy account 48-72 hours after your monthly statement is issued.
In the above case, I have accumulated :
- 9,537 points for spending at 2 points per dollar,
- 1,859 points for spending at 5 points per dollar (Marriott Bonvoy Hotel),
- 2,674 points for spending at 3 points per dollar (exclusive to the version for self-employed / professionals / small businesses).
With the Marriott Bonvoy® Business American Express®* Card, you can earn 3 points per dollar for:
- gasoline.
- meals (restaurants, bars, etc.),
- travel (airfare, hotels, car rentals, etc.).
Marriott Bonvoy Statutes
There are 6 status levels in the Marriott Bonvoy program:
| STATUS | NIGHTS/YEAR |
|---|---|
| Member | 0-9 |
| Silver Elite | 10-24 |
| Gold Elite | 25-49 |
| Platinum Elite | 50-74 |
| Titanium Elite | 75-99 |
| Ambassador Elite | 100+ & $23,000 US in spending |
There are two ways to reach a higher status:
- Through stays at Marriott Bonvoy hotels: whether paid nights or with points, these are counted towards a higher status.
- Through credit cards.
The validity of the status
Once you earn a status level, it is valid until February, 2 years later.
For example, if you qualified for Gold Elite status in August 2023, that status will be valid until February 2025.
In summary, once you have obtained the status, you will be able to enjoy it:
- for the remainder of the current year,
- for the entire following calendar year,
- for the first 2 months of the following calendar year.
The benefits of different status
Each Marriott Bonvoy status has distinct advantages:
To move to a higher status, it is necessary to have earned a certain number of “Elite Night Credits” in the calendar year.
It is possible to have 15 elite nights easily by getting the :
Each of these cards offers 15 Elite Nights per year.
(If you have both card unfortunately it’s NOT cumulative).
Get Silver Elite Status
This status is awarded to those who have spent between 10 and 25 nights per year.
The holder of these cards immediately obtains Silver Elite status:
This adds compared to the member level:
- Ultimate reservation guarantee,
- 10% bonus points on stays,
- Late Checkout priority,
- Welcome gift.
Get Gold Elite Status
This status is granted to those who have spent between 25 and 49 nights per year.
The holder of these cards immediately gets 15 Elite-nights:
That means only 10 Elite Nights are missing to get Gold Elite status.
There are two cards that directly earn Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status:
This status is part of their advantages.
It is also possible to obtain Gold Elite status by charging $30,000 in annual purchases to one of the 2 credit cards, including the Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card.
This status adds compared to Elite Silver level:
- 25% bonus points on stays,
- 2 PM late checkout priority,
- Special Elite reservation line,
- Upgrade to a superior room.
Get Platinum Elite Status
This status is the most coveted by Marriott Bonvoy members. It is awarded to those who have spent between 50 and 74 nights a year.
But the holder of these cards gets 15 Elite-nights immediately:
This means that 35 Elite Nights are needed to obtain Platinum Elite status.
This adds compared to Elite Gold level:
- 50% bonus points on stays,
- 4PM late checkout priority,
- Welcome gift including breakfast,
- Upgrade to a superior room including some suites,
- Access to the hotel lounge,
- Type of room guaranteed,
- 5 free suite upgrades.
Earn a Marriott Bonvoy Elite status through a challenge
It is also possible, once in a lifetime, to participate in achallenge in order to obtain the Gold Elite or Platinum Elite status. ***This option has been suspended since the Covid-19 period.
This challenge requires you to complete, within a period of 90 days :
- 8 nights (Gold Elite status),
- 16 nights (Platinum Elite status).
These must be paid nights (i.e. without using points).
You will need to request it by phone at 1-801-468-4000.
Conclusion
Marriott Bonvoy is a particularly interesting program thanks to:
- multiple ways to earn points,
- more than 9,000+ hotels worldwide,
- credit cards that allow you to earn points directly OR indirectly.
Enough to stay for free (or almost …) almost anywhere in the world!
- Annual fee
- $120
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$600Total$600Plus $100 of bonus paid after the first year, not counted in this total.Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
- $600
- Welcome offerAfter $3,000 in 3 months
- Up to 70,000 points
Apply Now
on American Express's website
Apply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).
To go further with Marriott Bonvoy
To maximize your stays and your points accumulation, consult our complete guide to the Marriott Bonvoy program as well as our ranking of the best Marriott Bonvoy credit cards. For your personal purchases, see the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card. For your business expenses, the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card accumulates points on all your business expenses. And if a points purchase promotion is underway, take advantage of it via our Marriott Bonvoy points purchase guide.