Marriott Bonvoy

What Marriott Bonvoy is

Not every property of the group takes part: Bulgari Hotels and Resorts do not participate at any location. Check before you book whether the hotel is in the program.

Earning points

The base rate is 10 points per U.S. dollar of eligible spend. The official earning page speaks of up to 10 points per U.S. dollar on hotel stays. Some brands pay less: Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Element, Four Points Flex and Homes & Villas give only 5 base points per U.S. dollar, and StudioRes gives 4.

Several rules limit what counts. Points are awarded for up to 3 rooms with the same check-in and check-out dates. Taxes, service charges, gratuities and other fees on the room rate earn no points. And if you book through a tour operator, an online travel channel or another third-party channel, you pay a non-qualifying rate and get no points.

Instead of points you can earn airline miles, but only one of the two currencies at a time. With the preference set to miles, Elite bonus points are not awarded.

Points can also be bought. The regular price is USD 12.50 per 1,000 points. Buying and gifting together are capped at 150,000 points per calendar year. You may transfer at most 100,000 points per calendar year to another member. We could not confirm on the official pages which country-specific routes or credit cards earn points in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, so we name none.

Redeeming points

Award stays start at 12,000 points per night. That is a starting value, because the points or cash per night for Premium Room awards are updated continuously. The requirements can vary by property, room type and season. Premium rooms are rooms with a better size, view or amenities, and they include suites.

With Cash + Points you can mix cash and points for one or more nights in a standard room. The amounts per night are also updated continuously. On the cash portion you pay taxes and service charges.

This applies to Standard Redemption or PointSavers award stays only: if you book five consecutive nights on one reservation with points, you redeem points for only four nights.

A Free Night Award is issued through a program benefit, a promotion or a partner program. Resort fees can come on top when you redeem the Free Night Award of the Annual Choice Benefit at 75 nights. The program names no amounts in CHF or EUR, so we give no value per point in cents or rappen.

Converting points into miles

Points can be converted into airline miles at a designated ratio. We did not find the ratio or the partners on the official pages. In most cases the miles are posted within 1 week.

For Emirates Skywards, the earning page lists a ratio of 3:2.

Points expiry

Points are kept only if there is qualifying activity at least once every 24 months. That includes earning or redeeming points or miles, among other things. Expired points, awards and other benefits are deleted and cannot be reinstated.

Elite status at Bonvoy

Status depends on the Qualifying Nights collected between January 1 and December 31 of a calendar year. Each qualifying night earns 1 Elite Night Credit. Award stays count, except at StudioRes, because an award stay at a participating property is a Qualifying Stay.

Silver Elite

Silver Elite requires 10 to 24 Qualifying Nights. It adds 10% bonus points.

Gold Elite

Gold Elite requires 25 to 49 Qualifying Nights. The bonus is 25% bonus points. You can request a late check-out until 2 p.m.. An upgrade depends on availability at arrival and applies only to your own room at no extra charge.

Platinum Elite

Platinum Elite requires 50 to 74 Qualifying Nights. The bonus is 50% bonus points. From this tier you can check out as late as 4 p.m. local time, and with one companion in the same room you get lounge access, only at participating brands and during normal opening hours. Nightly Upgrade Awards can be redeemed for advance-confirmed upgrades to select Premium Rooms or suites. As an Annual Choice Benefit at 50 nights there are, among other things, 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards, or you can gift Silver Elite status to a friend or family member.

Titanium Elite

Titanium Elite requires at least 75 Qualifying Nights. The bonus is 75% bonus points. As an Annual Choice Benefit at 75 nights you can gift Gold Elite status, or you choose a Free Night Award with a redemption value of up to 40,000 points.

Ambassador Elite

Ambassador Elite requires at least 100 Qualifying Nights and at least USD 23,000 in annual qualifying spend. Eligible members can grant Ambassador Elite status to another member. Ambassador Elite also gets 75% bonus points.

Lifetime status

Lifetime Silver requires 250 Qualifying Nights and 5 years as Silver Elite or higher. Lifetime Gold takes 400 nights and 7 years as Gold Elite or higher, and Lifetime Platinum 600 nights and 10 years as Platinum Elite or higher.

Which miles program is the best: Switzerland, Germany, Austria

Whether Bonvoy suits you depends mainly on your hotel nights. We could not confirm country-specific earning routes for Switzerland, Germany and Austria. How hotel chains compare is covered in the overview of hotel programs.

Who Marriott Bonvoy is not for

Sources and further reading

More programs are listed in the program archive.