Marriott’s 4Q 2023 worldwide promotion is now live

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While the latest World of Hyatt global promotion doesn’t go live until next month, Marriott’s idea of a 4Q 2023 promotion is now live so if you haven’t already registered, now is probably the time to do so.

As usual, no one will be earning a ton of Bonvoy points from this latest ‘attempt at a promotion from Marriott, but as some bonus points are always better than no bonus points, and as none of the major hotel chains appear to feel the need to tempt us to make more bookings, I guess we should be grateful that Marriott is offering us anything at all.

Marriott’s ‘Go Your Way’ 4Q 2023 promotion

• Register (here) by 22 November 2023.
• Stay between 12 September and 6 December 2023.
• Earn 1,500 bonus points per stay.
• Earn an additional 3,000 bonus points for every three brands at which you stay.

Note: There is no cap on earnings in this promotion.

Key terms

• Registration of your Marriott Bonvoy account is required (here).
• Marriott Bonvoy members who register for this promotion by November 22, 2023, will earn 1,500 bonus points per eligible paid stay, plus an additional 3,000 bonus points after three eligible paid stays, each at a different participating Marriott Bonvoy hotel brand, during the 85-night promotion earning period.
• The promotion earning period is for eligible paid stays, personally completed and paid for by the registered member, between September 12, 2023, and December 6, 2023, at participating Marriott Bonvoy properties.
• Only eligible paid stays completed after registration and during the promotion earning period will qualify toward the promotion.
• A “stay” is defined as consecutive nights spent at the same hotel, regardless of check-in/checkout activity on any points-eligible rate
• Award redemption stays including Cash + Points Awards, Free Night Awards, or a points redemption are not eligible for the promotion.
• Rates available through most third-party online retailers and select travel agency rates do not qualify for this promotion.
• Stays at The Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection, Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott Executive Apartments®, and owner-occupied weeks at Marriott Vacation Club®, Marriott Grand Residence Club®, Sheraton Vacation Club®, Westin Vacation Club®, The Ritz-Carlton Club®, St. Regis Residence Club® and Luxury Collection Residence Club, are not eligible for bonus points for this promotion.
• Only one room at one property per stay is counted toward a member’s stay for the promotion.
• The 1,500 bonus points per eligible paid stay will be awarded to the member’s account within 7 business days after checkout and will post with the completed stay.
• There is no limit on the number of times a member can earn the 1,500 bonus points on each eligible paid stay completed during the promotion earning period.
• The additional 3,000 bonus points after completing three eligible paid stays at different Marriott Bonvoy participating hotel brands, will be awarded to the member’s account up to 6 weeks after the promotion earning period ends.
• To earn the additional 3,000 bonus points, members can only stay once at each participating Marriott Bonvoy hotel brand during the promotion earning period.
• A member who elects to earn miles is not eligible for this promotion.
• For a list of current participating Marriott Bonvoy properties, visit www.marriott.com/loyalty/earn/hotels.mi.

Link to full terms and conditions

Quick thoughts

As has been the case with most (all?) Marriott global promotions over the past few years, there’s not much value to be had here.

I value Bonvoy points at 0.6 cents each so, effectively, the main part of this Marriott promotion is offering me a rebate of just $9 per stay. That’s not exactly the kind of effective rebate that’s going to get me rushing to book more Marriott stays or to get me to move any stays away from Marriott’s competitors.

The 3,000 bonus points on offer for every three Marriott brands that I stay at feels even less generous as, effectively, I’m being offered an additional rebate of just $18 for making three paid stays.

That’s just $6 per stay and I still have to make sure that each of those stays is at a different Marriott brand.

Also, it’s worth keeping in mind that not only do award stays not count for this promotion, but all other stays that aren’t paid for entirely with cash are excluded as well. ‘Points + cash’ bookings and bookings made with free night certificates will not qualify for these bonuses and that will make it even harder to earn any bonus points economically.

Overall, anyone booking single night cash stays with Marriott will do best out of this promotion, but with “best” being a very relative word in this context, no one should be getting excited about Marriott’s 4Q 2023 global offering.

Bottom line

Another quarter, another super-weak promotion from Marriott. Perhaps it’s time to add ‘pathetic Bonvoy promotions’ to Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote about death and taxes the next time the quote is used?

Still, as I said at the very beginning of this article, some points are better than no points at all, so you may as well register for this promotion regardless of how poor it actually is.

Even if you have no plans to book a Marriott stay, you should probably register anyway as you never know when your plans may change and, as I always seem to write, it would be a shame to miss out on some points just because you didn’t take 30 seconds out of your day to sign up.

Link to registration page