Marriott Bonvoy Rewards Overview

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Marriott Bonvoy is Marriott International’s loyalty program, offering rewards and benefits to members. Offers in this rewards program include a wide range of exclusive benefits, such as free nights, airline miles, and free car rentals. Marriott Bonvoy also offers travel perks like free Wi-Fi access, complimentary breakfast and late check-out, depending on the level of membership you attain. Members can earn points for every Marriott stay, which can be used for free hotel stays or exchanged for additional rewards. Here in this article we will explain the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program, the elite membership tiers, and how to take full advantage of earning points with partners associated with Marriott.

Benefits of Basic Membership

The more you stay at Marriott hotels and associated partners, the more points you will earn based on each dollar you spend. The more hotel nights you bank in a year, the higher tier you will achieve, which will increase your points earned per dollar spent and unlock additional benefits. Basic membership will have you earning 10 points per dollar spent at 7,000 participating hotel locations. You will also earn points on eligible hotel purchases including golf rounds and spa services. It’s free to join and when you become a Marriott Bonvoy member you will automatically receive:

Free in room Wi-Fi

Discounted member rates

Mobile check-in/services

Marriott Bonvoy points do expire if you have no activity on your account in a 24 month period. On average you will need 35,000 to 75,000 points to redeem a free night. Of course this depends on the hotel location, popularity, advanced notice and tier status level — I’ve recently seen reward nights as low as the 11,000 point range.

What Marriott Says About Sustainability

“We minimize our environmental footprint by sustainably managing our energy and water use, reducing our waste and carbon emissions and increasing the use of renewable energy.”

GOAL: Reduce environmental footprint by 15% | 30%* | 45% | 50% across the portfolio by 2025 (from a 2016 baseline; for water/carbon/waste/food waste)

GOAL: 100% of MI hotels will have a sustainability certification, and 650 hotels will pursue LEED certification or equivalent by 2025

GOAL: Responsibly source 95% in our Top 10 priority categories by 2025

Learn more about Marriott’s Sustainability Operations here.

Ritz Carlton Geneva, a Marriott Bonvoy partner hotel.

Tiers

Silver Elite is the lower elite tier offered by Marriott Bonvoy rewards program. To achieve Silver you will need to bank 10 nights per year. Benefits include:

Earn 10% more points on every eligible hotel purchase, including room rates and other incidentals that can be charged to your room, such as dining and spa services.

Priority late checkout.

Gold Elite is the third tier offered in this rewards program. In order to obtain this tier you will need 25 nights per year. Additional benefits included with the Gold Elite tier status are:

Earn 25% more points on every eligible hotel purchase including room rates, dining and spa services.
Enhanced room upgrades.
2 PM late checkout option.
Ultimate reservation guarantee, which means if Marriott cannot honor your reservation for any reason they will pay for your stay nearby and compensate you for the inconvenience.

Platinum Elite is the 4th tier offered in the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program. In order to reach this tier level you will need 50 nights per calendar year. Additional benefits include:

Earn 50% more points on eligible hotel purchases including room rates and other incidentals charged to your room.

Enhanced room upgrades

A welcome gift upon arrival.
Annual choice benefit: With this benefit, you can choose from five Suite Night Awards, 40% off a mattress and box spring from your favorite hotel brand, give the gift of Silver Elite status to a family member or friend, $100 charity donation, or five Elite Night Credits.
Lounge access.
4 PM late checkout option.

Titanium Elite is the 5th tier status level. In order to earn this tier you will need 75 nights per year. Additional benefits included with the titanium elite tier status are:

Earn 75% more points on eligible hotel purchases including room rates and other additional charges to your room.
Enhanced room upgrades.
Welcome gift upon arrival.
Access to 24/7 dedicated elite support service phone number.
48 hour room guarantee.
Annual choice benefit option for 50 elite night credits.
Annual choice benefits for members: 75 elite night credits, which is exactly the same as the 50 elite night credit option with the exception that you can gift Gold Elite status to a friend or family member.
Complimentary United® MileagePlus® Premier® Silver Status: Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite members are eligible to register and enjoy complimentary United® MileagePlus® Premier® Silver Status.

Ambassador Elite status is the final tier offered in the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program. You will need to bank 100 nights per year plus $23,000 qualify spending on participating locations! All of the benefits in the Titanium Elite status are included with this tier level. Additional benefits include:

Ambassador Service. Coming in mid-2023, personal Ambassadors will be available for all your travel needs.
24 hour stay option. Check in at 8 PM check out at 8 PM the next day.
75% bonus points for every eligible hotel purchase.

Participating Hotels

As a Marriott Bonvoy member you will earn 10 points per dollar spent on room rates and all qualifying charges at participating hotel locations. Below are the hotel partners that honor this 10 for 1 ratio:

The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Edition, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, J.W. Marriott, Marriott, Sheraton, Marriott Vacation Club, D Delta Hotels, Le Meridien, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, Springhill Suites by Marriott, Fairfield by Marriott, Protea Hotels, AC Hotels, Aloft Hotels, Autograph Hotels, Design Hotels, R Renaissance Hotels, Tribute Portfolio, Gaylord Hotels, Courtyard

You will also earn 5 points per dollar spent on qualifying charges including room rates at these participating hotel locations:

Homes and Villas by Marriott International, Residence Inn by Marriott, TownPlace Suites by Marriott and Element.

Transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to airline miles

Marriott Bonvoy members have the option to convert Bonvoy points to airline miles, however this option is not recommend. To incentives you further, Marriott Bonvoy at times offers bonus points if you choose to convert points to airline miles. Currently, Marriot is offering 5,000 bonus points for every 60,000 points transferred . United lists a 10,000 bonus points earned for every 60,000 transferred . However, the exchange rate is still not as good as that of redeeming free nights. Average transfer ratio is 3 Bonvoy points per 1 airline mile. Marriott Bonvoy lists 38 airline partners associated with their rewards program including Delta, American Airlines, Alaskan Airlines, Frontier, United, British Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Southwest.

All airline tickets and car reservations are subject to a $20 USD Booking Fee (or 5,000 Points), which applies per traveler.

Credit Card Partners

You will also get additional benefits using one the of the Marriott branded credits cards listed below. Click on each link to see all current benefits and promotions.

Transferring Marriott Bonvoy points for car rentals

Members have the choice to convert their Bonvoy points into free car rentals. However, this is not a good option since it requires a very high conversion rate of a minimum of 40,000 Bonvoy points for 1 free car rental day. This makes using Bonvoy Points for car rentals much more expensive than other methods such as using cash or credit cards. Participating car rental companies with Marriott Bonvoy are Dollar, Hertz and Thrifty.

Conclusion

Using your Marriott Bonvoy points to redeem free hotel nights is the best way to use your points, giving you access to hotels in thousands of locations around the world. You have the option of converting points for flights and car rentals, but unfortunately, the exchange rate can be less than ideal. Therefore, it’s better to save your points and use them for free hotel stays whenever possible. Marriot Bonvoy rewards program is an excellent way for frequent travelers to accumulate points and enjoy exclusive discounts offers. The higher the tier ladder you climb the more points you can earn, which makes this rewards program appealing and worth consideration.

Editorial Note: Information and opinions articulated in this article are solely those of the author’s, not those of a credit card company, bank, airline or hotel chain. This article has not been reviewed or approved by or otherwise endorsed by any of these companies or organizations.