Marriott Bonvoy - The Guide
Marriott Bonvoy is the loyalty program of the Marriott hotel group, offering its members numerous benefits based on their membership status. With nearly 8,000 hotels worldwide, members can earn points and redeem them for unique experiences and special stays in exclusive destinations. Depending on your status level, you can enjoy perks ranging from bonus points on stays and late check-out to free breakfast, lounge access, and room upgrades to suites.
Our guide provides an overview of the program structure, how to earn points, and the benefits of each status level. We've also marked additional guides on related topics for deeper insights!
Contents
3. The different status levels
4. Collect points
5. Redeem points
6. First step - The American Express Platinum Card
7. Conclusion
2. Overview of the Marriott Bonvoy Program
Marriott was founded in 1927 in Maryland, USA, and is now the largest hotel chain in the world. Its portfolio includes almost 8,000 hotels worldwide, spread across 30 brands and accommodating 1.2 million rooms and suites. Marriott Bonvoy is not only interesting because the choice of hotels knows almost no bounds, but also because it is available in 131 countries and you will find Marriott hotels and resorts in almost every vacation region in the world. The brands include some well-known chains, but also some lesser-known chains in Europe. Most people are familiar with brands such as Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and JW Marriott - these are luxury brands. But Marriott also includes brands such as Sheraton, Le Meridien and Westin.
Marriott can boast a very large portfolio
Like many other well-known hotel chains, Marriott also offers its guests free participation in the Marriott Bonvoy hotel program. Customer loyalty plays a role even at the largest hotel chain in the world, so status guests are offered a number of benefits to keep them happy. Compared to Hilton (you can find out more in this overview), there are not just four status levels, but six! Depending on how many nights or base points you have collected in a year, the corresponding status is awarded: the “simple” Member, Silver Elite, Gold Elite, Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite status.
During your stay, you can collect lots of points and redeem them for free nights at Marriott hotels. We will give you a brief overview of the different status levels in the next chapter. We will also go into the numerous ways in which you can collect points and what it is worth redeeming them for.
Unique luxury awaits you at the Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis in particular
3. The different status levels
The Marriott Bonvoy program is particularly interesting because you can enjoy benefits from the very first level as a “Marriott Bonvoy Member”. These become increasingly valuable from Silver Elite, Gold Elite, Platinum Elite and Titanium Elite to Ambassador Elite status and range from collecting points to late check-out, free breakfast, upgrades to suites or lounge access. Especially as a Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite member, you quickly notice the priority and highly appreciative treatment by the hotel staff. You can find out how to achieve Gold Elite status without free nights and earn lots of Marriott points in one go in the chapter “A first step - the American Express Platinum credit card”!
Participation in the Marriott Bonvoy program is free of charge and a prerequisite for obtaining one of the popular statuses and collecting valuable points through stays at hotels in the Marriott chain. As the list of benefits and amenities associated with a particular status is long, we will only give you a brief overview below with a few excerpts for each status. However, we have put together an extra guide with all the benefits, requirements and strategies on how to achieve Gold Elite quickly and easily and even reach the already very rewarding Platinum Elite status with little effort. Below is a brief overview:
Marriott Bonvoy Member:
Earn 10 points per $1 spent on hotel stays
Digital check-in and room key via mobile
Free Wi-Fi and other benefits
Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite:
All Member benefits
Earn 11 points per $1 (+10%)
Priority late check-out and guaranteed reservations
Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite:
All Silver Elite benefits
Earn 12.5 points per $1 (+25%)
Late check-out until 2 PM, additional welcome points, and room upgrades based on availability
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite:
All Gold Elite benefits
Earn 15 points per $1 (+50%)
Late check-out until 4 PM, lounge access, free breakfast, suite upgrades, and a choice of annual benefits
Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite:
All Platinum Elite benefits
Earn 17.5 points per $1 (+75%)
48-hour room guarantee and additional annual benefit options
Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite:
All Titanium Elite benefits
Personalized concierge service and flexible check-in and check-out with Your24™
With Gold Elite status, you receive 25% more points and valuable room upgrades. But these are by no means all the benefits.
Collect points
There are numerous ways to collect points with Marriott Bonvoy, unfortunately not all of them are really worthwhile. However, what always pays off and quickly leads to a full points account is collecting points for hotel stays. Even as a simple member, you collect 10 points for every dollar spent in hotels in the Marriott chain. This includes not only the cost of overnight stays, but also all expenses for meals, spa visits or other activities. Marriott Bonvoy members receive 10 points per dollar, with Silver Elite status it is 11 points. Gold Elite status earns 25% more, i.e. 12.5 points per dollar, and Platinum status earns 15 points per dollar. Only as a Titanum Elite or Ambassador Elite member do you receive a whopping 17.5 points per dollar.
You can also collect many more points via the Marriott website by searching for tours, activities, restaurant visits, etc. It is also interesting to be able to earn miles for stays in Marriott hotels. There are often attractive promotions where you can earn additional Miles & More miles for stays in a Marriott hotel, for example, if you simply book via the Miles & More homepage.
The higher the status, the higher the points credited per dollar spent
For families or couples, it is also possible to collect points via pooling. Marriott allows up to 10 members to collect points together on one account. Of course, participation is free for everyone.
A second very good way to collect lots of Marriott points in one go is via the American Express Gold or Platinum credit card. Just by obtaining the American Express Platinum credit card, you will receive the valuable Gold Elite status. In addition to the high welcome bonus, with both Amex credit cards (up to 50,000 Marriott points with the Platinum credit card and up to 27,000 points with the Gold credit card) you can indirectly collect valuable Marriott points through credit card payments by converting Membership Rewards points into them. You can find out more about this in the chapter “A first step - the American Express Platinum credit card”!
The last option you have to earn points is to buy them via the Marriott homepage (under “About Marriott Bonvoy” -> “Buy Points”). Fortunately, Marriott offers sales with up to 50% bonus several times a year, so buying points is even more worthwhile in this case if you intend to pay for a hotel stay with points. You will receive a high discount on points bookings where the value per point is over 1.0 cent, which justifies the purchase of points.
5. Redeem points
Anyone who collects Marriott Bonvoy points will want to redeem them accordingly. As with the mileage programs of various airlines, booking within the program is most worthwhile with Marriott - in this case for hotel stays. However, we would advise against booking activities and other offers in the hotels in most cases, as you get more value per point if you use them to pay for the actual overnight stay. In addition to various options for redeeming them during your hotel stay, such as a special dinner and activities at the hotel, you can also pay for a rental car or gift vouchers as well as shopping with points. However, in 99.9% of cases, the value per point is subterranean, so we highly recommend that you stay away from them.
Unfortunately, compared to Hilton, Marriott has abolished its fixed points tables and will adjust them “dynamically” in future. This means that the points rates for overnight stays will be adjusted accordingly depending on hotel occupancy and the season. These flexible rates will apply from March 2022. The former points categories 1 to 8 were based on the regular hotel prices - a free night in a luxury Ritz-Carlton costs between 60,000 and 85,000 points, in a more affordable Four Points by Sheraton between 5,000 and 10,000 points. These price categories can also be used as a guide in future, albeit with upward or downward fluctuations.
The alternative method of booking points is particularly worthwhile for overnight stays in regularly priced rooms
If you book five nights with points at a Marriott hotel, you will receive the last night free of charge (so-called 5th night free award), which reduces the effective price per night by 20%. This is particularly worthwhile for the sweet spots in the program, where the discount can be 50% or more compared to regular prices. No taxes or fees are added to the points prices, only tourist taxes are payable in some countries. On top of this, award stays also count towards the status - so the nights are added on and you get a little closer to the next status this way too!
Another advantage of points bookings, in addition to the enormous monetary value, is the flexible cancellation conditions. Reward stays can usually be canceled free of charge between 24 and 48 hours before arrival at the hotel and all points paid will be credited. If you do not start your stay or cancel too late, your points will not be credited back. However, as always, there are hotels that handle these conditions differently, so it doesn't hurt to take a closer look at them when booking.
Even luxurious stays in the Maldives don't have to be a comparatively expensive pleasure with Marriott points bookings
6. First step - The American Express Platinum Card
To get closer to your first sweet spot or upgrade, the American Express Platinum credit card is the perfect way to start. You will receive one of the highest statuses at many hotel chains, including the very valuable Gold status at Marriott Bonvoy. You can convert your Membership Rewards points into Marriott Bonvoy points to use them for rewards such as free hotel stays - regardless of the fact that you are given priority treatment for all stays and, for example, receive an upgrade to exclusive rooms if available.
You can also collect up to 1.5 Membership Rewards points for every €1 spent with American Express credit cards and even 12.5 points per €1 spent at Marriott Hotels thanks to your Gold status with the American Express Platinum credit card! With your sales and regularly booked Marriott stays, you will quickly accumulate thousands of points that you can use profitably for your next points bookings! Another advantage of the card is its flexible use. You can use the American Express Platinum credit card at all online stores and stores that accept American Express - there are more and more acceptance partners throughout Germany, including Rewe, Aldi, Mediamarkt and many more. So you can see that the path to your first sweet spot is not far away.
On top of that, you are also well insured with this card and do not have to take out separate insurance, such as international health insurance, fully comprehensive car rental insurance, travel interruption insurance, etc. In order not to go beyond the scope of this article, we have created a detailed overview of the American Express credit card for you, which you can find here. In our opinion, the credit card is therefore an absolute must, as the status benefits in the respective hotel chains not only enable a very high level of stays, but the all-round package of several hotel statuses, the opportunity to collect many points and the insurance policies represent a perfect combination and can convince. You can book hotels directly via the following button:
Free Marriott Gold Elite status thanks to the American Express Platinum credit card!
7. Fazit
The Marriott hotel chain's loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy, offers many benefits, depending on your status. Silver status is relatively easy to achieve and gives you access to the first, smaller amenities. It is particularly advantageous that as an American Express credit card holder you automatically receive Gold status and benefit from room upgrades, more bonus points, late check-out and many other advantages. The popular free breakfast, as offered to Hilton Honors Gold status holders, for example, is available at Marriott from Platinum status upwards.
Marriott Bonvoy Gold status is also worthwhile for travelers who only stay in hotels a few nights a year, as you will always enjoy preferential treatment for room upgrades, late check-out and many other amenities at the finest hotels worldwide. We can therefore recommend this program to everyone and are convinced that the membership will pay for itself after a short time! You can book Marriott Hotels here:
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