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Your guide to Marriott Bonvoy

Your guide to Marriott Bonvoy

Cory Santos

By Cory Santos

🗓️

Updated: October 09, 2024

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Hotel loyalty programs are designed to offer regular guests enhanced perks during their hotel stays. From free Wi-Fi to complimentary breakfast, suite upgrades, spa credits and more, these programs offer significant value for the brand-dedicated traveller. Marriott Bonvoy is the largest hotel program worldwide, covering more than 10,000 global properties across 30 brands. But how does it work? Here’s everything you need to know about the Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty program.

What is the Marriott Bonvoy program?

The Marriott Bonvoy program is regarded as one of the most exceptional hotel rewards programs available and prides itself on offering elite-level benefits and excellent redemption value for Canadian travellers with brand loyalty.

Marriott Bonvoy is the product of three loyalty programs: Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest. These programs merged to form Marriott Bonvoy in 2016. All told, Marriott Bonvoy has more than 200 million global members, as of the start of 2024, making it one of the largest loyalty programs in the world.

What hotels are part of the Marriott Bonvoy program?

The following hotels and resorts make up the Marriott International portfolio and participate in Marriott Bonvoy:

  • AC Hotels
  • Aloft
  • Autograph Collection
  • Bulgari Hotels
  • Courtyard by Marriott
  • Element
  • Fairfield Inn
  • Four Points
  • Gaylord Hotels
  • Homes & Villas by Marriott
  • JW Marriott
  • Le Meridien
  • Marriott Hotels & Resorts
  • Regis
  • Renaissance Hotels
  • Residence Inn
  • Ritz-Carlton
  • Sheraton
  • SpringHill Suites
  • TownePlace Suites
  • W Hotels
  • Westin

Pros and cons

Pros

Pros

  • Value: Bonvoy points are worth between 0.5 and 1.5 cents per point, which is among the more valuable loyalty points in Canada

  • Redemption options: You can book hotels with points or a mix of points and cash or transfer points to over 40 airline loyalty programs

  • Hotel options: The program classifies hotels into five distinct categories, providing a broad spectrum of choices, including luxury, premium, select, longer stays and collections

  • Co-branded credit cards: You can maximize your rewards with a Marriott Bonvoy credit card from American Express

Cons

Cons

  • Points expire: Marriott Bonvoy points expire after 24 months of inactivity on the account

  • Dynamic pricing: The program uses dynamic pricing for its award nights, making it challenging to predict the number of points required for booking trips

How to join Marriott Bonvoy

Joining the Bonvoy program is simple and straightforward. First, you’ll need to visit the Marriott Bonvoy sign-up page where you’ll need to provide some basic personal information:

  • Full name
  • Address
  • Valid email address

From there you will need to set a password. After that, just click “join” and you're enrolled. 

How to earn points with Marriott brands

The primary method of earning Marriott Bonvoy points is by staying at Marriott properties. As a Marriott Bonvoy member, you will earn points for every dollar spent at most Marriott hotel brands. The rate of earning varies depending on the property, but for most brands, it’s 10 points per dollar spent. 

Marriott brand Points per $1
Marriott Executive Apartments 2.5x points per dollar spent
Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Element, Homes & Villas 5x points per dollar spent
All other Marriott brands 10x points per dollar spent

Earn points with Marriott credit cards

If you want to supercharge your Marriott Bonvoy points-earning potential, a co-branded hotel credit card is an excellent option to consider. Marriott issues two co-branded hotel credit cards with American Express in Canada: Marriott Bonvoy® American Express® and Marriott Bonvoy® Business American Express®.

Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®

Apply now

4.3

up to 55K pts

Welcome offer

Good

Suggested credit score

Earn 55,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points* after you spend $1,500 on your Card within your first 3 months

Apply now

Pros

  • Annual free night award — Receive an Annual Free Night Award for up to 35,000 points†

  • Earn points with every eligible card purchase

  • Complimentary upgrade to Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status

  • Flexibility to transfer to other frequent flyer programs

  • Includes travel accident insurance†

  • Generous welcome bonus

Cons

  • Annual fee—$120

  • Travel medical insurance not included

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Required Annual Personal Income

$0

Required Annual Household Income

$0

Pros

  • Annual free night award — Receive an Annual Free Night Award for up to 35,000 points†

  • Earn points with every eligible card purchase

  • Complimentary upgrade to Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status

  • Flexibility to transfer to other frequent flyer programs

  • Includes travel accident insurance†

  • Generous welcome bonus

Cons

  • Annual fee—$120

  • Travel medical insurance not included

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Required Annual Personal Income

$0

Required Annual Household Income

$0

points for every dollar in eligible Card purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®

5x

points for every $1 in all other Card purchases

2x

Annual Free Night Award for up to 35,000 points at eligible hotels and resorts worldwide every year after your first anniversary

1

Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status membership

1

Elite Night Credits each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card.

15

Purchase APR

21.99%

Balance Transfer Rate

3%

Cash Advance APR

21.99%

Annual Fee

$120

Foreign Transaction Fee

2.5%

Marriott Bonvoy® Business American Express®* Card

Apply now

3.5

60k pts

Welcome offer

Good

Suggested credit score

Earn 60,000 Welcome Bonus Marriott Bonvoy® points after you spend $5,000 on your Card in your first three months of Cardmembership.

Apply now

Pros

  • Earn up to 5x Marriott Bonvoy points per $1 spent for business spending.

  • Free annual night award up to 35,000 points.

  • Travel perks like airport lounge access.

  • Business expense management tools.

Cons

  • Annual fee required.

  • Limited rewards to Marriott Bonvoy program.

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Required Annual Personal Income

$0

Required Annual Household Income

$0

Pros

  • Earn up to 5x Marriott Bonvoy points per $1 spent for business spending.

  • Free annual night award up to 35,000 points.

  • Travel perks like airport lounge access.

  • Business expense management tools.

Cons

  • Annual fee required.

  • Limited rewards to Marriott Bonvoy program.

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Required Annual Personal Income

$0

Required Annual Household Income

$0

points for every $1 in Card purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.

5

points for every $1 spent on eligible gas, dining and travel

3

points for every $1 spent on everything else

2

Annual Free Night Award automatically each year after your anniversary

1

Elite Night Credits each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card.

15

Purchase APR

21.99%

Balance Transfer Rate

3%

Cash Advance APR

21.99%

Annual Fee

$150

Foreign Transaction Fee

0%

Outside of the reward points each card earns, both cards also provide the following Marriott benefits:

  • 15 elite qualifying nights per calendar year
  • An anniversary Free Night Award worth 35,000 points
  • Gold elite status when you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year

Do Marriott Bonvoy points expire?

One of the biggest worries with reward points is the expiration. Some bad news: Marriott Bonvoy points expire after 24 months of inactivity on the member account. 

Fortunately, you can bypass those points expiring by completing an eligible transaction. Some examples of qualifying activity to keep the account active include:

  • Completed stays at a Marriott property posted to the account
  • Food and beverage purchases at a Marriott property
  • Completed Marriott Bonvoy events
  • Purchasing points online
  • Converting Bonvoy points to airline miles
  • Converting airline miles to Bonvoy points
  • Earning Marriott Bonvoy points through eligible tours and activities
  • Redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points
  • Making a purchase with a Marriott Bonvoy credit card

Members can check their Marriott Bonvoy point expiration date by logging into their account either online or through the Marriott Bonvoy mobile app.

How to redeem Marriott Bonvoy points

Redeeming points is easy. The simplest way to redeem Bonvoy points is through booking free night stays with eligible Marriott properties. 

Previously, Marriott classified its properties into nine categories, with higher scores indicating more exclusive hotels and resorts. However, in March 2022, Marriott switched to a dynamic pricing system. This change has reduced transparency for members, as the previous award chart that provided information on the points needed for free nights is no longer in use.

Previously, Marriott's award pricing for free nights was as follows:

Hotel category Off-peak Standard Peak
1 5,000 7,500 10,000
2 10,000 12,500 15,000
3 15,000 17,500 20,000
4 20,000 25,000 30,000
5 30,000 35,000 40,000
6 40,000 50,000 60,000
7 50,000 60,000 70,000
8 70,000 85,000 100,000

The new dynamic pricing means that the cost of an award stay is determined by various factors, such as the hotel's paid rates, events and occupancy levels. Unfortunately, this also means that you won't know the exact cost of your award stay until you go to book it.

Points are redeemable for stays in three different ways: PointSavers, points, or cash and points.

  • PointSaver: PointSaver is a revolving list of Marriott properties and offers the best value for money, with increased discount rates. Redemptions with PointSaver start as low as 4,000 points for off-peak stays, 6,000 for regular stays and 8,500 points for peak-season stays
  • Points: Points are the primary method of redemption with the Bonvoy program, with free nights starting at 5,000 points for off-peak stays at Category 1 properties, 7,500 for typical stays, and 10,000 for peak-season stays
  • Cash and points: Cash and points allows Bonvoy members to pay for part of their stay with points – paying the rest with cash. Redemptions using cash and points start as low as 1,500 points and $55

Marriott Bonvoy points transfer partners

One of the best features of loyalty programs like Marriott Bonvoy is the ability to transfer points to other reward programs.

  • American Express Membership Rewards points

    +

    A great way to get more Marriott points is by transferring American Express Membership Rewards points. Amex MR points transfer to Marriott Bonvoy at a ratio of 1:1.2 in Canada (and 1:1 in the United States), meaning you’ll receive 1,200 Bonvoy points for every 1,000 Amex MR points you transfer to your Marriott account.

    American Express credit cards provide some of the most lucrative welcome bonuses available in Canada today making them a great one-two punch to combine with your Marriott account to quickly amass a huge tally of Bonvoy points which you can apply towards your next stay. The Platinum Card features a welcome bonus we value at over $700, for example.

  • Other transfer partners

    +

    But Marriott Bonvoy points transfer to more programs than just Amex. Points also transfer to more than 40 airline frequent flyer programs worldwide, including:

    ● Aegean Airlines

    ● Asiana Airlines

    ● Aeroflot

    ● Avianca LifeMiles

    ● Aeromexico

    ● Air Canada Aeroplan

    ● Air China

    ● Air France/KLM Flying Blue

    ● Air New Zealand

    ● Alaska Airlines Mileage pLAN

    ● All Nippon Airways

    ● American Airlines AAdvantage

    ● British Airways

    ● Cathay Pacific DragonMiles

    ● China Eastern Airlines

    ● Copa Airlines

    ● Delta Air Lines SkyMiles

    ● Emirates

    ● Etihad

    ● Frontier Airlines

    ● Hainan Airlines

    ● Hawaiian Airlines

    ● Iberia

    ● Japan Airlines

    ● Jet Airways

    ● JetBlue TrueBlue

    ● Korean Air

    ● LATAM LATAM Pass

    ● Lufthansa Miles & More

    ● Qantas

    ● Qatar Airlines

    ● Saudi Airlines

    ● Singapore Airlines

    ● South Africa Airways

    ● Southwest Rapid Rewards

    ● Thai Airways

    ● Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

    ● United Airlines MileagePlus

    ● Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

    ● Virgin Australia

    Transfer rates of Bonvoy points to frequent flyer miles are uniform, with a few notable exceptions. Most airlines offer frequent flyer miles for Bonvoy points at a rate of three points for every mile (3:1). The following, however, are exceptions:

    ● Air New Zealand: 200 Bonvoy points for every mile (200:1)

    ● JetBlue: Six Bonvoy points for every point (6:1)

    ● United MileagePlus: Three Bonvoy points for every 1.1 miles. This rate is unique, as United Airlines offers a 10% bonus on every point transfer (3:1.1)

Marriott Bonvoy elite tiers

The Bonvoy loyalty program provides a variety of perks and amenities for members. These perks vary depending upon your tier status, with the following tiers enjoying the following benefits: 

Tier Requirements Points multiplier Perks
Member N/A 10x Mobile check-in, digital key, free Wi-Fi
Silver 10 nights 11x Mobile check-in, digital key, free Wi-Fi, reservation guarantee, elite reservation phone line, late check-out
Gold 25 nights 12.5x Mobile check-in, digital key, upgraded free Wi-Fi, reservation guarantee, elite reservation phone line, room upgrades (where available), late check-out, welcome gift
Platinum 50 nights 15x Mobile check-in, digital key, enhanced free Wi-Fi, reservation guarantee, elite reservation phone line, suite upgrades (where available), late check-out, welcome gift
Titanium 75 nights 17.5x Mobile check-in, digital key, enhanced free Wi-Fi, reservation guarantee, 48-hour room guarantee, elite reservation phone line, suite upgrades (where available), late check-out, welcome gift, suite upgrades at Ritz Carlton, United MileagePlus Silver Premier status, lounge access
Ambassador 100 Nights + $20,000 in spending 17.5x Annual choice benefit, mobile check-in, digital key, enhanced free Wi-Fi, reservation guarantee, 48-hour room guarantee, elite reservation phone line, late check-out, welcome gift, room upgrades (including at at Ritz Carlton), United MileagePlus Premier status, lounge access, personalised Ambassador service

Marriott Bonvoy Moments

Marriott Bonvoy Moments is a program that offers members access to a collection of exclusive experiences and events around the world. These experiences range from cultural and culinary events to sports and entertainment. Members can use their loyalty points to bid on or purchase these experiences, making their travel more rewarding and memorable.

What experiences you can expect with Marriott Bonvoy Memories can vary considerably, with the program offering a wide range of traditional experiences with more unusual events popping up on occasion.

For example, 2024 is an exciting time for Bonvoy members, with some of the unique Memories including:

  • Access to exclusive tickets and events at the Olympic Games in Paris, France
  • A ride on the Royal Railway to Utopia Station: An immersive dining experience on a cruise ship bound for the Bahamas, featuring a Wild West-themed train carriage restaurant with a Western-inspired menu and immersive theatre
  • Witness Her: Naked Fashion Show, Melbourne, Australia: An exclusive women-only event aimed at promoting body positivity and empowerment through a naked fashion show, providing a safe and nurturing space for women to celebrate their natural bodies

These events are in addition to the Memories you'd typically expect to find from an experience portal, including skydiving over the Grand Canyon, tickets to Broadway shows, cooking classes in Italy, food tours in Mexico City, educational experiences and more.

Is it worth it?

The Marriott Bonvoy program offers various ways to earn points, including through co-branded credit cards with American Express and through converting American Express Membership Rewards points. With more than 7,000 properties worldwide and more than 20 brands to choose from, Bonvoy has a hotel (and room) that’s just right for your next trip. 

The Bonvoy program offers significant value if you frequently travel and prefer to stay with a Marriott brand like Ritz-Carlton, Sherwood, Marriott, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn or any other eligible property. Gaining elite status with the program is straightforward and unlocks valuable perks like free Wi-Fi, complimentary breakfast, late check-out and more. The ability to book award nights with a combination of cash and points is equally enjoyable and helps increase flexibility when redeeming.

The chance to transfer points to more than 40 international frequent flyer programs is equally great, with many transfer partners offering favourable rates and a simple way to book award flights almost anywhere worldwide. 

American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information, click the Apply Now link. If you apply and get approved for an American Express Card, (I/we) may receive compensation from American Express, which can be in the form of monetary payment.

FAQs

  • What are Marriott Bonvoy points worth?

    +

    The value of Marriott Bonvoy points varies depending on how you choose to redeem. You’ll get your best value when redeeming for free nights at Marriott International properties, but the actual value will depend on things like time of stay, hotel brand and location. Typically Marriott points are worth about 0.5 to 1.5 cents per point.

  • How long does it take to transfer points to another program?

    +

    Moving Bonvoy points to another loyalty program (or vice versa) usually takes between 48 and 72-hours — or two to three business days.

  • Does Marriott offer free in-room Wi-Fi?

    +

    Yes. As a basic Marriott Bonvoy member, you can enjoy access to complimentary in-room Internet access when you book through the Marriott website or app.

  • Does Marriott offer free breakfast?

    +

    In some cases, yes, but it’ll require elite status Platinum Elite status, which is the upper mid-tier level of the program (requires 50 nights per year). But you can expect complimentary breakfast at eligible properties once you reach that target.

Cory Santos Finance editor

Cory Santos is a finance writer, editor and credit card expert with nearly a decade of experience in personal finance. Cory joined Wise Publishing from BestCards, with bylines in numerous print and digital publications across North America, including the Miami Herald, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Debt.ca, AOL, MSN and Medium as well as financial podcasts like KOFE Talk.

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