Earn a Bonus of up to 40% When You Buy Marriott Bonvoy Points

Marriott Bonvoy is currently selling points with a bonus of up to 40% until March 31, 2024.

Purchasing points in addition to earning points on cash stays and credit card spending can be a good way to unlock luxury award travel, especially if you are already close to a redemption threshold. Of course, the argument for buying points is definitely stronger when a bonus or discount promotion like this one is on offer.

What’s the deal?

From February 8, 2024 to March 31, 2024, you can earn a bonus of up to 40% bonus on Marriott Bonvoy points when you purchase at least 2,000 points. This is a personalized offer, so the maximum bonus rate may differ from account to account. Log in to your Marriott Bonvoy account to see the maximum bonus you are being offered.

It can take up to 72 hours for purchased miles to be posted to your account, so this is something to factor in if you intend to purchase miles for a specific redemption.

Cost per point

Points can be purchased in blocks of 1,000. Each block of 1,000 points costs $12.50, meaning that without a bonus applied, the cost to purchase points is usually 1.25 cents per point.

With the maximum bonus rate of 40% applied, the cost per point drops to just 0.92 cents per point.

Maximum purchase amount

Marriott Bonvoy allows members to purchase a maximum of 100,000 points per calendar year. Any bonus points you earn when you purchase points, thankfully, do not count towards the annual purchase limit.

What are the pros and cons?

Buy Marriott Bonvoy for as little as 0.92 cents each
There are lots of award opportunities and a huge array of hotel brands to choose from
Get a fifth night free on award stays on standard rooms

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The cost to purchase points is still more than the average value per point
Marriott Bonvoy’s dynamic award pricing model can make it difficult to determine if you are getting value for money
Points could expire after 24 months of no qualifying account activity.

How much is a Marriott Bonvoy point worth?

I value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each. However, it’s important to note that Marriott Bonvoy no longer follows a fixed award chart after switching to dynamic award pricing in 2022.

The switch to a revenue-based redemption program means that the cost in points for an award night can vary based on a number of factors, including:

• Demand
• Seasonality
• Local events
• Local hotel capacity

Dynamic award pricing means that the cost in points for an award stay is directly linked to the cash price for the same room.

In order to assess the value of your points for an award stay, you’ll want to compare the price in points against the cash price for the same room.

Marriott Bonvoy does, however, have a points price cap on award night redemptions. The maximum number of points that can be charged for a standard room is 150,000 points, and this cap applies to almost Marriott Bonvoy properties.

There are a few exceptions to this rule, and the points price cap doesn’t apply to cash and points redemptions.

Is it worth speculatively buying points?

I generally advise only to buy points in order to boost your points balance to achieve a specific redemption, but this latest deal is an excellent opportunity to acquire points for a very reasonable price which could, in turn, unlock some pretty compelling award opportunities.

The case for speculatively buying points is definitely stronger when there’s an attractive bonus promotion such as this one, although you’ll want to be certain you are getting value for money when you book an award stay.

How many points do I need for a free award night?

It’s well-publicized that Marriott Bonvoy no longer has a fixed award chart after the program switched to a revenue-based system with dynamic award pricing in March 2022.

Under Marriott Bonvoy’s old system, it was easy to determine exactly how many points were required to stay at a specific property on a specific date, but that has been completely upended by dynamic award pricing.

With dynamic award pricing, the cost of an award night varies based on a number of factors, such as:

• Seasonality
• Demand
• Local hotel capacity
• And local events

This sometimes means that you’ll end up getting better value for money than from a fixed award chart, but invariably, the house always wins, and dynamic pricing means there are fewer opportunities to find great value redemptions.

Marriott Bonvoy’s ‘Stay for 5, Pay for 4’ Benefit

Marriott Bonvoy’s ‘Stay for 5, Pay for 4’ benefit is a great way to squeeze additional value out of your points. In simple terms, when you book an award stay of five consecutive nights at a Marriott Bonvoy group hotel, the 5th night is free.

There are, however, a few important considerations to bear in mind:

• This promotion only applies to standard rooms and can’t be used for premium rooms or suites.
• Marriott Bonvoy doesn’t offer the 5th-night free promo on cash & points redemptions.

It’s also worth noting that while Marriott Bonvoy calls this promotion ‘5th night free’, that’s not technically true. If the cost in points varies from night to night, the free night will actually be applied to the cheapest night.

What hotel brands are part of Marriott Bonvoy?

Marriott Bonvoy now encompasses more than 30 hotel brands, which are officially broken down into three main categories: Luxury, Premium, and Select, as well as its Longer Stays and Collections categories.

The Ritz-Carlton is the flagship luxury brand of Marriot Bonvoy, while St. Regis hotels follow close behind. Marriott Bonvoy’s Select brand hotels, however, make up the bulk of the groups’ hotels, including the likes of Courtyard by Marriott, Moxy Hotels and Aloft Hotels.

Marriott Bonvoy also offers some alternative options which are particularly good for vacations, including Marriott Executive Apartments and Homes & Villas by Marriott.

What other ways are there to earn Marriott Bonvoy points?

In the United States, Marriott offers four cobranded credit cards with annual fees ranging from $0 to $650.

The no-annual-fee Marriott Bonvoy Bold credit card from Chase is currently offering 30,000 bonus points after you spend your first $1,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months. You also receive 15 elite night credits but points earning is capped at just x3 for every $1 spent at Marriott Bonvoy hotels and x1 on everyday spending.

For a limited time, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card from Chase is offering five free nights valued at up to 50,000 points when you spend $5,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of cardmembership. You also get 1 free award night every year 15 Elite Night Credits. Points earning is capped at x6 on every $1 spent at Marriott Bonvoy hotels and x2 for everyday spending. The annual fee is $95.

Card	Bonus	Points earning	Annual fee
Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card from Chase	30,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in the first three months	3x on hotels 2x on travel 1x on everyday spending	No annual fee
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card from Chase	5 free nights when you spend $5,000 in the first three months	6x on hotels 3x on travel 2x on everyday spending	$95
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card	85,000 bonus points when you spend $5,000 in the first six months	6x on hotels 4x on restaurants and supermarket spending 2x on everyday spending	$250
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card	95,000 bonus points when you spend $6,000 in the first six months	6x on hotels 3x on restaurants and flights 2x on everyday spending	$650

Do Marriott Bonvoy points expire?

The good news is that Marriott Bonvoy points don’t expire as long as there is ‘qualifying’ activity in your account at least once every 24 months.

What does Marriott Bonvoy class as ‘qualifying activity’? Common examples include:

• Either a cash or points stay at a Marriott Bonvoy hotel
• Earning points through a cobranded credit card
• Earning points with one of Marriott’s travel reward partners

How does this offer compare to previous promotions?

Marriott Bonvoy doesn’t offer as many deals on buying points as other major hotel groups, and generally, we see a promotion run every few months. When there is an offer, Marriott Bonvoy normally offers a much lower bonus or discount amount than other hotel loyalty programs.

This latest promotion is in line with other recent Marriott Bonvoy points purchase deals. Here are some of the most recent Marriott Bonvoy points promotions…

December 2023	Bonus of up to 30%
November 1 – November 8, 2023	Bonus of up to 40%
August 10 – September 8, 2023	Bonus of up to 35%
May 2023	Bonus of up to 50%
February 2023	Bonus of up to 40%
November 2022	Bonus of up to 25%

Summary

Marriott Bonvoy is offering a promotion where you can earn a bonus of up to 30% when you purchase at least 2,000 points. This is a personalized offer, so you’ll need to log into your account to see what bonus you have been offered.

This is a pretty decent opportunity to stock up on points and redeem them for free nights at Marriott hotels.