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After what seems like an inordinate amount of time, Marriott has finally published a new promotion to take us through to the end of the year (almost) but considering just how long Bonvoy members have had to wait for the chance to earn a few bonus points, Marriott has, once again, been less than generous with its offering – set your expectations low and you won’t be disappointed.
The Promotion
- Earn 1,500 bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points on every stay
- Earn a further 3,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points when you stay at a Marriott all-inclusive property.
Note: You may need to be signed in to your account to see the promotion
Key Terms
- Registration is required (here)
- Marriott Bonvoy members who register for this promotion by November 28, 2021, will earn 1,500 bonus points per eligible paid stay, plus 3,000 additional points per eligible paid stay at All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy resorts, during the promotion earning period.
- The promotion earning period is for stays between September 14, 2021, and December 12, 2021, at participating Marriott Bonvoy properties.
- Only stays made after registration 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 (“Qualifying Rate”).
- Award redemption stays where points are redeemed for the entire stay 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.
- Homes & Villas by Marriott International, Marriott Executive Apartments®, and Marriott Vacation Club® owner-occupied weeks are not eligible for bonus points, and nights spent while redeeming an award are not eligible for bonus points.
- Only one room per hotel is counted toward a member’s nights or stay.
- Bonuses of 1,500 points per stay will be awarded to the member’s account within 7 business days after checkout.
- Bonuses of 3,000 points for stays at All-Inclusive resorts will be awarded to the member’s account up to 6 weeks after the promotion ends.
Full terms and conditions are on the promotion page.
Thoughts
The first thing I should probably point out is that you should register for this promotion asap as only stays made post registration will earn the bonus points that are on offer.
A further important point is that while the terms and conditions say that “stays where points are redeemed for the entire stay are not eligible for the promotion”, that doesn’t mean that you can’t earn the promotion bonus while redeeming points on a stay – a stay where one night is paid for in cash and any remaining nights are paid for with Bonvoy Points should qualify for this promotion.
Overall, this is clearly a promotion that’s going to favor travelers who will make multiple short stays during the promotion period over travelers who will make one or two longer stays, so this is a promotion that’s aimed at road warriors/business travelers more than it’s aimed leisure travelers.
As I value Marriott Bonvoy Points at 0.6 cents each, this promotion is effectively rewarding guests with a rebate of $9 for each qualifying stay (if the stay is not at an all-inclusive resort) and whichever way you look at it, that’s not a rebate that going to get many people excited. It’s also not a rebate that’s going to encourage new bookings.
Yes, the promotion is noticeably better for those staying at an all-inclusive resort but as most stays at all-inclusive resorts are for multiple nights, I don’t see a $27 effective rebate convincing anyone to book a stay they weren’t already planning to book or to change their plans.
As usual, this is another very weak promotion from Marriott.
Bottom Line
Marriott is finally back with a new promotion and unsurprisingly, it’s as rewarding as a slap in the face. If you try very hard you can find some positives in the details – the fact that bonus points are available on every stay (the first stay isn’t excluded) and the fact that it’s possible to redeem points and still earn bonus points are both nice – but the reality is that it won’t be hard to find better value promotion elsewhere.
[…] any new stays or to encourage people to move any bookings over to Hyatt, but considering that Marriott’s year-end promotion is only offering guests an effective rebate of $9 on most stays and that this isn’t Hyatt’s main year-end promotion, this is clearly a good promotion […]
Not in my account and this is the result of using your link:
We’re sorry, but there was an error in directing you to this promotion.
The reason for this error could be:
You’re trying to access a miles promotion and are a points-earner, or vice versa
You are not eligible for this promotion
This promotion has expired
I had the same issue but it was resolved when I logged in – you should see it the “Promotions” section of the Marriott website.
[…] stays with a Hilton co-branded credit card. Overall, this is a considerably better promotion than the one we’ve just seen Marriott publish as it offers travelers a great chance to rack up some easy Honors points without too much […]
Nope, it’s a week later and still nothing. If it’s not fixed, I’ll be canceling my paid Marriott stays and booking Hyatts.