I write a lot about the value of hotel loyalty programs, and in this post I wanted to specifically look at the best ways to go about redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points, and how I use my points. Just as I wrote guides to redeeming Hilton Honors points and World of Hyatt points, in this post I wanted to share strategies for redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points for maximum value.
In this post:
Basics of redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points
Let’s start by talking about the basics of redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points — how much should you expect to pay for free nights, are there blackout dates, how much are Marriott Bonvoy points worth, etc.?
I value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each
Personally I value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each. There’s no science to that, but rather I think that’s a fair, conservative valuation for what the points are worth. In other words, I won’t redeem my Bonvoy points unless I can get well over 0.7 cents of value per point. This also accounts for the ability to convert Marriott Bonvoy points into airline miles at a fair ratio.
It’s important to come up with a points valuation for yourself (it can be different than mine), so that you can decide whether to pay cash or redeem points for a hotel stay.
Marriott Bonvoy has dynamic award pricing
Nowadays Marriott Bonvoy no longer has an award chart, but rather has dynamic award pricing. That means that the number of points required for a free night stay can vary based on how much a stay would cost in cash, and there’s no longer a minimum or maximum number of points that a free night reward will cost.
As a general rule of thumb, you can expect that most properties cost somewhere between 5,000 and 120,000 points per night. While Marriott Bonvoy lifted the cap on how much free night awards can cost as of 2023, I haven’t found the changes to be too drastic.
Marriott Bonvoy award blackout dates policy
Every hotel loyalty program has a different policy when it comes to blackout dates. Generally speaking, hotel loyalty programs let you redeem points for a stay as long as a standard room is available for sale. Unfortunately in the case of Marriott Bonvoy, there is a limited blackout dates policy.
What does that mean? Marriott Bonvoy doesn’t have blackout dates, but there are some capacity controls at times. On most days, most Marriott properties will make all standard rooms available for awards, though on a limited number of days, hotels can limit the number of standard rooms available for awards.
In other words, it’s possible that a hotel could have standard rooms available for sale if paying cash, but not with points. That should be the exception rather than the norm, though.
Marriott Bonvoy offers a fifth night free on awards
If you want to maximize your Marriott Bonvoy points, I recommend redeeming for hotel stays in five night increments. Marriott has a fifth night free policy for awards, or more accurately, it’s now called “Stay for 5, Pay for 4.”
When you redeem points for five consecutive nights at a property, you’ll only be charged the points for four nights. The cheapest of the five nights won’t be charged. You can use this back-to-back for multiple stays, so if you stay 10 nights, you could get two nights free.
Marriott Bonvoy points can be converted into airline miles
One cool thing about Marriott Bonvoy is that points can efficiently be converted into airline miles. Marriott Bonvoy has over three dozen airline partners, and points transfer at a 3:1 ratio. You get a bonus of 5,000 miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points you transfer, meaning that 60,000 Bonvoy points will typically get you 25,000 airline miles.
While this isn’t how I’d personally generally prefer to use my points, it’s not a bad use of points if you’re struggling to get good value with them otherwise.
Marriott Cash & Points usually isn’t a great value
Marriott has a Cash & Points program, whereby (as the name suggests) you can redeem part cash and part points toward a hotel stay. This comes with significantly more capacity controls than standard free night award redemptions, so it won’t always be available.
To see if Cash & Points is available, just search for regular free night award availability, and if it’s available, you’ll see it listed as an option. You can crunch the numbers with each redemption, but more often than not I find that this doesn’t represent a great value.
For example, take the Duxton Reserve Singapore, where the rate is either 43,000 Bonvoy points or 21,500 Bonvoy points plus 170 SGD (~122 USD). You’re essentially paying $122 to save 21,500 Bonvoy points, which is a decent deal, since I value those points at $150.
The catch? This isn’t a great redemption to begin with, since the revenue cost would only be $294.
As another example, take the Sheraton Grand Dubai, where the rate is either 35,000 Bonvoy points or 17,500 Bonvoy points plus 202 AED (~55 USD). You’re essentially paying $55 to save 17,500 Bonvoy points, which is a good deal, since I value those points at $123.
The catch? This also isn’t a great redemption to begin with, since the revenue cost would only be $131.
Essentially you’ll typically find that Cash & Points is sometimes a good deal compared to outright redeeming points, though often redeeming points at these hotels isn’t a good deal to begin with, since the revenue rates are typically low. Why? Cash & Points is capacity controlled, and typically only available when the hotel isn’t forecasted to be full, so those are also situations where cash rates might not be that high.
The Marriott Bonvoy award calendar is useful
I find Marriott Bonvoy’s calendar feature to be incredibly useful for deciding when it’s a good deal to redeem points. When you search a destination, just select the “Flexible Dates” tab, and then you can choose the month where you want to search availability.
You’ll then see award pricing for an entire month at a time, which is an easy way to see when you can get the best deal.
You can then also switch between the award calendar and the pricing calendar, to see when you’re going to get the best value. For example, in the case of the hotel I was searching, it’s interesting how both October 25 and November 1 cost 57,000 Bonvoy points, while when paying cash they cost 517 EUR and 412 EUR, respectively. Obviously you’d get a better deal redeeming points with the former option, in terms of value per point.
Earn Marriott Bonvoy elite status to get more value
When you do redeem points, you’ll of course want to get as much value on-property as possible. That’s where having elite status really helps, especially if you can earn Bonvoy Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite, or Ambassador Elite status. This is where benefits really start to get valuable, in terms of getting suite upgrades, receiving complimentary breakfast, and having access to Choice Benefits.
Keep in mind that Marriott Bonvoy status is pretty easy to earn in the United States with credit cards. You can easily earn up to 40 elite nights per year just for having two co-branded Marriott credit cards, including the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (review) (15 nights) and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (review) (25 nights).
Pool Marriott Bonvoy points to maximize value
While not as generous as the policies of Hilton Honors or World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy does let you pool points between accounts. You can do this with any other member, though you’re limited to transferring up to 100,000 points per calendar year, and you can receive up to 500,000 points per calendar year.
The best uses of Marriott Bonvoy points
With the basics of redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points out of the way, how do you get the most value from your points? Unfortunately this isn’t nearly as straightforward as it used to be. Back in the day when Marriott had a published award chart, it was easy to extract outsized value by redeeming at hotels during peak periods.
That isn’t so simple anymore, since Marriott now has dynamic award pricing. I continue to redeem my Marriott Bonvoy points for free night redemptions in standard rooms, ideally for five nights (so one night is free). There’s no longer a consistent sweet spot in the way that there was before, but rather I’m finding some value with Bonvoy points for all kinds of redemptions.
Here’s how I generally think about it:
- The most luxurious hotels during the highest demand periods generally still represent a great use of points, at least compared to the cash cost; there are still some limits on Marriott Bonvoy’s award pricing
- Beyond that, you’ll often find the best value using points in markets during quieter periods, where the cash rates don’t shift hugely by season; this comes down to the economics of Marriott Bonvoy, as the program pays a lot less when members redeem points at properties that aren’t close to being full
Let me use the St. Regis Aspen as an example, as this is a popular ski resort. In the peak of winter, I can find a five night award stay for 478,000 Bonvoy points (including one free night), which comes out to an average of 95,600 Bonvoy points per night (which I value at ~$669).
The cash rate, meanwhile, would be over $1,600 per night. Suffice it to say that redeeming points is quite a good value.
Another aspirational destination is the Maldives, so let’s also use the Ritz-Carlton Maldives as an example. During a busy period I can find a five night award stay for 468,000 Bonvoy points (including one free night), which comes out to an average of 93,600 Bonvoy points per night (which I value at ~$655).
The cash rate, meanwhile, would be over $2,250 per night, so that’s an amazing use of points.
So even with Marriott Bonvoy no longer having a cap on how much redemptions can cost, I’m still finding the most value when redeeming at luxury properties.
Bottom line
Marriott Bonvoy is a popular hotel loyalty program, which I’ve been participating in for well over a decade. While the program isn’t nearly as useful as back in the day, there’s still value to be had.
Nowadays Marriott Bonvoy has dynamic award pricing, so there’s no longer an award chart, and no maximum to how much an award redemption could cost. Even so, I continue to find the most value with Marriott Bonvoy to be booking luxury hotels in standard rooms for periods of five nights, especially hotels that would otherwise retail for $1,500+ per night.
What has your experience been with redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points?
My personal favorite is transferring them to Airlines. I like to xfer to Asiana, J class star alliance flights to/from Europe for 40K Asiana.
The Marriott website is incredibly slow to load . Given that in most markets Marriott has multiple properties and you may want to compare locations and prices, it's simply painful to book or research using Marriott's website. The Starwood website was much better pre-merger.
One feature I really miss is when the Starwood website would generate a table showing properties on the left and four rates on the right - you could pick what...
The Marriott website is incredibly slow to load . Given that in most markets Marriott has multiple properties and you may want to compare locations and prices, it's simply painful to book or research using Marriott's website. The Starwood website was much better pre-merger.
One feature I really miss is when the Starwood website would generate a table showing properties on the left and four rates on the right - you could pick what went there but it could be rack rate, AAA rate, points rate, and a corporate rate or packages. That made it relatively easy to see what options made sense for a date/location. To get that information now you have to change the search property by property. Combine that with the slow loading, and it's just a chore. It's enough to drive you to Hyatt. Or Kayak or booking or expedia.
Agree with the aspirational strategy, otherwise you'll be hard-pressed to break 1cpp.
Just got back from a 10cpp stay at the St. Regis Vommuli - booked a 2-bedroom ocean villa for 600,000 (cash about $5,500/night), and got upgraded to the CAE (cash about $12,000/night). Totally unexpected, but probably was a result of status, repeat visit, and the resort being at capacity.
The quality of the experience was easily worth $8-10k/night if compared to cash bookings...
Agree with the aspirational strategy, otherwise you'll be hard-pressed to break 1cpp.
Just got back from a 10cpp stay at the St. Regis Vommuli - booked a 2-bedroom ocean villa for 600,000 (cash about $5,500/night), and got upgraded to the CAE (cash about $12,000/night). Totally unexpected, but probably was a result of status, repeat visit, and the resort being at capacity.
The quality of the experience was easily worth $8-10k/night if compared to cash bookings at similar resorts and similar accommodations during the high season. So regardless if I'd ever pay cash for the same stay, I feel like I got extraordinary value from the points and enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
I think that the article didn't mention the Homes and Villas by Marriott.
If a hotel is not your thing, then check out the Homes and Villas by Marriott site which offers much better value/use of points.
The points needed for condos and homes is actually not too bad, REALLY and there are global locations.
No, I do not work for Marriott and still mourn the day that Starwood left the face of this earth.
Hotels are available in Europe in summer, But not on points or they require Delta Airline type points. e.g. London, Istanbul, Vienna, Madrid.
The fifth night free makes redeeming Marriott points a better deal. I would redeem based on the conversion of cash to points for the stay. As you said generally more expensive hotels are more cost effective to use points at such as a $1200 St Regis worth 90k per night. On the other hand I have found that some of the lower end properties also may have some good reward deals.
I have found Palm Springs to be a highly blacked out market, where rooms would be for sale if paying cash but unavailable with points
In the old days, Marriott used to have a "real" no-blackout-nights provision in its terms and conditions. This changed a few years ago. The current terms and conditions allow property owners to engage in a form of award inventory management - AKA award inventory denial. To be fair, this practice is found at Hilton and Hyatt properties.
Ahh yes, the good ole days
Ironically PSP is a very white area
While it's getting harder and harder to find a great deal on hotel stays (especially in the US), I've historically had great luck finding some pretty great Marriott Moments redemptions. You're definitely not going to win or find outsized value at every opportunity (especially some of the bigger draws like Superbowl/Coachella), but we've been able to get some great 2 or 3 star meals for under the cost of a hotel night in a luxury property. Worth keeping in mind!
Is the 0.7 per point correct?
It is very much YMMV. The dispersion among redemptions is huge. Some are worth substantially less. Others are worth substantially more. It takes work to achieve a better average. But, if you want to enjoy the view, ya gotta climb the mountain. Best of luck.
"In the peak of winter, I can find a five night award stay for 478,000 Bonvoy points (including one free night), which comes out to an average of 95,600 Bonvoy points per night (which I value at ~$669). The cash rate, meanwhile, would be over $1,600 per night. Suffice it to say that redeeming points is quite a good value."
"Another aspirational destination is the Maldives, so let’s also use the Ritz-Carlton Maldives as...
"In the peak of winter, I can find a five night award stay for 478,000 Bonvoy points (including one free night), which comes out to an average of 95,600 Bonvoy points per night (which I value at ~$669). The cash rate, meanwhile, would be over $1,600 per night. Suffice it to say that redeeming points is quite a good value."
"Another aspirational destination is the Maldives, so let’s also use the Ritz-Carlton Maldives as an example. During a busy period I can find a five night award stay for 468,000 Bonvoy points (including one free night), which comes out to an average of 93,600 Bonvoy points per night (which I value at ~$655). The cash rate, meanwhile, would be over $2,250 per night, so that’s an amazing use of points."
"Even so, I continue to find the most value with Marriott Bonvoy to be booking luxury hotels in standard rooms for periods of five nights, especially hotels that would otherwise retail for $1,500+ per night."
Lucky - given these comments, and given how inflation has impacted hotel prices, doesn't this suggest your Marriott valuation (0.7 cents per point, and essentially unchanged for years) is too low? FWIW I also think your Hyatt and Hilton valuations are low.
“ FWIW I also think your Hyatt and Hilton valuations are low.”
Ben’s Hilton valuation is 0.5¢/ point.
Given that Hilton *sells* points at 0.5¢ about 300 days a year, enlighten us as to how you think the value is higher?
I routinely redeem Hilton points at 0.7 cents or higher. Hilton selling points is basically a way for engaged members to pre-purchase stays at a slight discount. I am glad they offer it.
My valuations are 1 cent for Marriott, 0.7 cents for Hilton, 1.8 or so for Hyatt. You could argue 2 for Hyatt.
I've treated cash+points availability as a unicorn and is at best rare. It, like Marriott's award pricing algorithm is inconsistent/illogical. There's so much variance between the point pricing and cash pricing, much moreso than Hilton Honors. Not sure what it's tied to or if the algorithm will remain illogical.
When helping family book their lodging for an upcoming Hong Kong trip: Sheraton was pricing at 41000-42000 points per night, JW Marriott was pricing at 47000-48000....
I've treated cash+points availability as a unicorn and is at best rare. It, like Marriott's award pricing algorithm is inconsistent/illogical. There's so much variance between the point pricing and cash pricing, much moreso than Hilton Honors. Not sure what it's tied to or if the algorithm will remain illogical.
When helping family book their lodging for an upcoming Hong Kong trip: Sheraton was pricing at 41000-42000 points per night, JW Marriott was pricing at 47000-48000. Points+cash were available for both properties but cashwise, the JW Marriott was twice the price.
Just like Hyatt’s C+P, seems like only when glitched a good deal will come across.
Also, don’t book into Sheraton or JW at HK unless you’re aware what you’re getting into, both hotels are charming but past prime.
I’d choose W for the highest point value, (and only about 10K per night more than Sheraton or JW), especially considering the looming devaluation.
Like Hyatt C+P in the old days, when the "cash" component was a set price versus "half of the hotel's current cash rate" like it is right now. The first time I ever saw it was on a booking at the Le Meridien Stuttgart last year where it worked out to "pay 14500 points to save 206 EUR."
And funny you mention the W Hong Kong. These family members have previously stayed there and hated...
Like Hyatt C+P in the old days, when the "cash" component was a set price versus "half of the hotel's current cash rate" like it is right now. The first time I ever saw it was on a booking at the Le Meridien Stuttgart last year where it worked out to "pay 14500 points to save 206 EUR."
And funny you mention the W Hong Kong. These family members have previously stayed there and hated the location. Basically boiled down to "it's on the wrong subway line to where we want to go for food and we always had to call a taxi to get anywhere." As for the JW, the pictures appear to show the rooms having been remodeled within the last 5 years?