Ryan is a writer by trade, but when he isn’t meeting deadlines, he’s also a hobbyist magician who has learnt over the years the best tricks are cheating XMMs and SYTs the Krisflyer stopover and Alaska JAL tricks. He’s also a sucker for every major city’s speakeasies, not resting until he has hunted each of them down. He’s sworn to keep their whereabouts safe, but buy him a whisk(e)y and he’ll shamefully spill all secrets
One of the topics Aaron briefly touched on during the Hotel Hacks session of April’s Miles Masterclass was the different hotel loyalty programs and the benefits of having elite status with them.
It can be rather daunting trying to understand the various requirements to achieve elite status. Typically, members have to clock a number of stays before being able to reap benefits like redeeming free nights from loyalty points.
But from now through August 28, Marriott is offering new members of their Marriott Rewards program a welcome bonus of sorts. New members can earn a free night certificate after just two stays (not the same as two nights) at any of their hotels. You only need to sign up with this link to be eligible for the promotion.
Although the promo will run well into when the new combined Starwood-Marriott loyalty program kicks off, qualifying hotels do not include any Starwood properties. Redeemed nights can be used for a standard room in any Category 1-5 hotels, based on Marriott’s existing hotel categories. The free night will not also count towards any elite status.
If you look only at Category 5 hotels, you’ll find plenty of decent hotels, especially within Asia. These include:
- Courtyard Bali Seminyak Resort
- JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity
- Rayong Marriott Resort & Spa
- Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon
- The Shanhaitian Resort Sanya
Conclusion
Whether you’ve been hemming and hawing about signing up with Marriott, or new to the miles and points community, this is an excellent way of entering the Marriott fray. The June holidays just around the corner represent a good opportunity to bring your family on a vacation whilst earning a free night with this promotion.
Any credit card in Singapore that offers Elite status with just 1 or 2 night stays at Marriott? Thanks!
Amex platinum card offers free SPG gold that matches to Mariott gold with 0 night required.
I assume you are talking about the Plat charge card which I don’t have, unfortunately.
Maybe I should just forget about it since my stay is the coming Tuesday. Probably out of time.
Promo been extended to 28 November – see the landing page of the offer.