Marriott Hotels is the biggest hotel chain in the world. With over 7,000 properties, including The Ritz-Carlton, there are often promotions to buy Marriott points. With those points, which are part of the Marriott Bonvoy program, you can use them for hotel stays or transfer points to a huge range of airline transfer partners.
Note that for hotel stays, peak pricing is now in effect. Three different prices are available (off-peak/standard/peak), depending on your dates. From 2023, this changes again to full dynamic pricing, meaning it’s wise only to buy points with a specific redemption in mind when you’re also ready to book.
This guide looks at regular Marriott Bonvoy ‘buy points’ offers and is continuously updated as new offers are announced.
Current offer
Get a 25% discount when you buy 2,000+ points
| Expiry: 11:59 pm 20 December 2022 (EDT in the US) |
This isn’t a tiered offer. Just buy more than 2,000 points to get the discount.
- 25% discount: buy 2,000 to 100,000 points
When buying the maximum, you’ll be spending 0.94 US cents per point, which is ~1.42 AU cents. We currently value Marriott Points at 0.70 cents (AU), for comparison. Unfortunately, the exchange rate makes this a poor proposition right now.
This could be a good opportunity to buy points speculatively, but, it’s always best if you have a specific reward in mind. Remember, Marriott Points are extremely flexible and can be transferred to the most frequent flyer programs, including Qantas and Velocity.
The transfer rate for most airlines is 3:1, with 5,000 points added for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer. For example, if you buy 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for US$562.5 after a discount, that could transfer to 25,000 frequent flyer points in many other programs.
Just note, some of Marriott’s partners are no longer eligible for that transfer bonus. Refer to the Marriott website for the latest details.
The annual points purchase limit in 2022 is now 100,000 points. This isn’t one of the lowest prices we have seen on Bonvoy points, so you might consider waiting for a better offer if you don’t need to buy points right now.
Offer history
| Date | Discount (%) | Bonus (%) | Price per point (US cents) |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2022 | 25 | - | 0.94 |
| March 2022 | - | 50 | 0.83 |
| May-June 2021 | 30 | - | 0.88 |
| May-July 2020 | - | 60 | 0.78 |
| February-March 2020 | - | 50 | 0.83 |
| November-December 2019 | 30 | - | 0.88 |
| September-October 2019 | 30 | - | 0.88 |
| March-May 2019 | 25 | - | 0.94 |
| Average | 28.33 | 55.00 | 0.86 |
Important things to keep in mind
- Allow 24-48 hours for the transaction to be completed and the points to land in your account.
- A new member may purchase points 30 days after enrolment if their Marriott Bonvoy account has some earn activity. If not, after 90 days from enrolment, a new member is eligible to purchase points regardless of their account activity.
Summing up
The Marriott Bonvoy program devalued in 2018. However, the flexibility of Marriott Bonvoy points means that it continues to be a valuable arsenal in your points plan, especially if you can grab them during a promotion. If you need more than the 100,000 you can buy at once, consider having a friend or family member buy a chunk and then transfer it to you for free. Learn more about how to buy, gift or transfer Marriott Bonvoy points.
Feature image courtesy of Marriott.
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The same night costs 35,000 points.
It costs A$419 (USD275 @0.655c) for 35,200 points (22,000 + 13,200 bonus).
What am I missing?
There will be cases, such as your example above, where purchasing the hotel outright is the better option. But the cost-benefit relationship changes based on a number of variables, including the hotel brand, destination, time of year you’re flying and the associated demand, and so forth.
If you transfer from ascent points to Marriot do you still get the bonus?