Marriott has just launched its last bonus points earning promotion of the year where Marriott Bonvoy members will be able to earn bonus points for their stays at Marriott properties worldwide.
Registration for this promotion is required and is open from now until 31 December 2019. The period to stay from runs from 29 October 2019 to 14 January 2020.ย
2,000 bonus points after 2nd stay, targeted offers from 3rd stay onward
In this promotion, Marriott Bonvoy members who register their accounts and make two stays within the promotion window will first receive 2,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points into their account. After their second stay, members will be sent an email with a targeted offer where further details will be given on the number of bonus points they will be able to earn from their third stay onward.
This makes for a very interesting promotion as you will never know what your targeted offer will be untilย after your second stay. As a recap, all Marriott Bonvoy members will earn 10 base Marriott Bonvoy points per US$1 spent (pre-tax) on the amount spent on the room rate as well as all incidentals during your stay at all Marriott properties except Element, Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites hotels, where youโll only earn five points per US$1.
Compare this to their last promotion where you earned double points on all stays starting from the second stay which, made the mechanics of the promotion much more transparent.
In contrast, Hilton’s and Hyatt’s current promotions seem to be much more generous. Members will earn up to triple points starting from their their second stay for World of Hyatt members and double points from their first stay for Hilton Honors members.
Concluding Thoughts
This new promotion from Marriott confuses me a little given that their previous promotions have all been those of the likes of double points on all stays. A targeted personal bonus that might be underwhelming might just deter loyal Marriott Bonvoy members to clock more stays with Marriott as compared to a blanket bonus where all members will know with confidence what additional bonus they will be receiving for their future stays.
If you are planning some stays with Marriott during the promotional period, be sure to register your account for this promotion before making your stays.
(Cover Photo: Marriott)
A bit underwhelming indeed. The thing that confuses me is the fine print on what is a stay:
โ *A ‘stay’ is defined as consecutive nights spent at the same hotel, regardless of check-in/check-out activity on any points-eligible rate (โQualifying Rateโ).โ
(note the word โconsecutiveโhere)
Does this mean one needs to spend at least 2 nights to have a qualifying stay, and that 2x (2 stays) to โopenโ the mystery Personal promotion ? I have a 2-nighter and a 1-nighter in different hotels early November so I guess I will know then.
2 separate 1 night stays at Marriot hotels in diff countries donโt count? Geee
that’s confusing to me too, but I think you will have 2 stays. Promo is totally underwhelming
Itโs just that already decided to stay in JW Marriott in Surabaya and Bangkok before end Dec. If I get 2000 bonus, great. if not, itโs ok as wasnโt planning for it.
and that is exactly the attitude you should be taking towards this promotion. if you already had stays planned, great, see this as a bonus. if not, there’s no reason to switch business to take advantage of it.
Back in the SPG days, when you could earn status based on the number of stays in addition to the number of nights, I knew folks who would travel for work and book a 4-night stay as 4 separate 1-night reservations, checking out and back in each day, to get credit for 4 stays. SPG put a stop to that with a rule similar to this one. So, my understanding of this is that your 1-nighter counts for the promo, whereas two consecutive nights in the same hotel, even if booked as two separate reservations, would count as a single… Read more »
Just a FYI, I had a 1 night stay last week but it is not counted as a “stay”