In this article, I am sharing the best ways to redeem Marriott Bonvoy points for maximum value.
How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points
1) Hotel stays
Staying in a Marriott Bonvoy property earns you points. Points are only earned on paid room rates and other spending (dining, spa etc.) during your stay, excluding taxes and fees.
On top of that, Platinum member or higher can also earn 500 to 1,000 welcome points at selected hotel brands.
Here’s how much points you will earn at each membership level.
| Membership | Points per USD |
|---|---|
| Normal | 10 |
| Silver | 11 |
| Gold | 12.5 |
| Platinum | 15 |
| Titanium | 17.5 |
Additional note: Members earn just 5 base points per USD at some brands like Element and Residence Inn.
2) Buy points
Marriott Bonvoy runs regular points sales where members can buy points for as little as 0.8 cents (USD) each.
3) Convert credit card points
Marriott Bonvoy is a credit card transfer partner of HSBC, OCBC and American Express Singapore. Unfortunately, all of them have poor transfer ratios.
Marriott Bonvoy sweet spots
Although most award bookings made on Marriott Bonvoy hotels come with free-cancellation, some cash rates reflected in the table below are non-refundable and require pre-payment. This means that the “value” can be higher if you choose to compare them against flexible nightly rates.
It is also worth noting that you do not have to pay any taxes or fees on most award bookings, except for some resorts in North America and Maldives that impose substantial surcharges, even on award bookings.
❗A quick reminder (and warning), not to get yourself into a value trap, when redeeming hotel points:
Just because a hotel costs a lot in cash, does not necessarily mean that it is worth that much to you. For example, some hotels add a huge premium to their cash rates, just for being near a mall or convention centre. You may not find those locations beneficial.
| Marriott Bonvoy Property | Min. Points Required | Typical Cash Rate (nett) | Buy Points* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moxy Putrajaya 📰 review | 5,500 | US$91 | US$44 |
| Four Points Desaru 📰 review | 6,000 | US$73 | US$48 |
| Four Points Surabaya, Pakuwon Indah 📰 review | 6,500 | US$65 | US$52 |
| The Westin Desaru 📰 review | 17,000 | US$170 | US$136 |
| The Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, Pacific Place 📰 review | 34,000 | US$360 | US$272 |
| W Osaka 📰 review | 43,000 | US$500 | US$344 |
| The Osaka Station | 42,000 | US$500 | US$344 |
| Le Méridien Maldives** | 42,000 | US$520 | US$336 |
| TA’AKTANA Labuan Bajo | 37,000 | US$590 | US$296 |
| The St. Regis New York | 84,000 | US$820 | US$672 |
| Al Maha Desert Resort, Dubai 📰 review | 88,000 | US$1,200 | US$704 |
| The St. Regis Bora Bora | 96,000 | US$1,350 | US$768 |
| The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto 📰 review | 90,000 | US$1,410 | US$720 |
| The Gritti Palace, Venice 📰 review | 88,000 | US$1,450 | US$704 |
| The Ritz-Carlton, Maldives** | 88,000 | US$2,390 | US$704 |
*Buy points at 0.8 cents (USD) each. Check the latest offer.
**Points and cash rates exclude seaplane transfer costs.
Fifth Night Free when booking with Points
Marriott Bonvoy members receive 1 free night when booking at least 5 consecutive nights.
For example, if you manage to find 5 days in a property that costs 10,000 points per night, you will only have to pay 10,000 x 4 = 40,000 points. This brings down your nightly average to just 8,000 points.
Convert to Air Miles
Marriott Bonvoy points can also be converted into miles of most frequent flyer programs at a ratio of 3:1. Receive 25k miles per block of 60k points (bonus 5k miles).
Bottom line
As a Singapore-based traveller, Marriott Bonvoy is my preferred hotel loyalty program because of the quality of hotels in this region. The sweet spots shared in this article offer better value when redeeming points instead of cash on most nights, if not all.
Check out sweet spot articles of other hotel loyalty and frequent flyer programs.
Is w maldives considered a sweet spot?
JAL one way from Singapore to Japan on business no longer costs 25k miles and now cost 50k miles on Alaska.
Thanks! Updated it.
Hi nice article as always. anyway i check at marriott 100 usd get 8000+2000point
how to get 0.8 cents (USD) each?
Hi Ray, comparing to previous offers, the current one is pretty bad. The next one should come in October/November 2022 and we hope that it will at least match the all-time best offer of 0.8 cents per point!
https://suitesmile.com/buy-marriott-bonvoy-points-at-a-discount/#previous-offers
I’m looking forward to your Alaska Mileage article! haha!
Coming soon!
Great article as usual. Thanks for it. When is the article about ANA Milleage one? Waiting for it 🙂
Thank you for reading! I’m not sure if I’ll post an ANA sweet spot article as their award chart is very simple. Maybe if I run out of articles to write if the circuit breaker continues! 🙂