Marriott Bonvoy offering 50% bonus on points purchases (buy Alaska Miles at 2 cents each)

Buy Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.83 US cents each, and convert them to Alaska Mileage Plan miles- an equivalent price of 2 US cents each.

Since Marriott Bonvoy merged together Marriott Rewards and SPG, the unified program has run three points sales. The first one (in April 2019) offered 25% off, and the subsequent two (in September and November 2019) offered 30% off.

I’ve been a bit lukewarm about these sales so far, but Marriott has just launched another one which runs from now till 26 March 2020, 12.59 p.m SGT. With this sale, you can get a 50% bonus on points purchases. 

Buy Marriott Bonvoy points at a 50% bonus here

Note that this is a bonus, not a discount. When you buy points with a 50% bonus, your equivalent cost per point is 0.83 US cents per point.

Here’s how that compares with previous sales:

 25% off30% off50% bonus
Cost per point0.9375 US cents0.875 US cents0.83 US cents

As you can see, a 50% bonus represents the lowest price Marriott has offered so far. 

You can normally buy a maximum of 50,000 points per year, but for this sale, Marriott is doubling the cap to 100,000 points (pre-bonus). You can buy a maximum of 50,000 points (pre-bonus) per transaction, so you’ll need to make two transactions to max out your limit. 

A new member may buy points 30 days after enrollment if your Marriott Bonvoy account has a qualifying activity (like a stay). Otherwise, you’ll need to wait 90 days to purchase points. 

What can you do with Marriott Bonvoy points?

St Regis Maldives

As a reminder, here’s Marriott’s award chart:

CategoryOff-Peak StandardPeak 
15,000 7,50010,000
210,00012,50015,000
315,000 17,50020,000
420,000 25,00030,000 
530,000 35,00040,000
640,000 50,00060,000
750,00060,00070,000
870,00085,000100,000

If you bought points at 0.83 US cents each, a night at the St Regis Maldives (Category 8) could cost about US$564 a night with the fifth night free. That’s well below half the usual rate, but still pretty expensive. Moreover, with a per night cost of 85,000 points and a purchase cap (post-bonus) of 150,000 points, you’d find it hard to accumulate enough points for a worthwhile stay. 

If you’ve got Maldives envy, a much better option is to buy Hilton points at the current 100% bonus sale, then redeem the Conrad Maldives. With the fifth night free factored in, you pay US$380 a night. Score!

In my opinion, a much better option is to look at buying points for miles transfers. Marriott points transfer to more than 40 airlines at a 3:1 ratio, and you get a bonus 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points transferred.

Suppose you bought 60,000 points (US$500), then transferred them to 20,000 (base) + 5,000 (bonus) Alaska Mileage Plan miles. Your equivalent cost per mile is 2 US cents, well below the 2.15 US cents offered during the most recent sale. 

Japan Airlines Business Class

You could then redeem a one-way Business Class ticket to Tokyo on Japan Airlines for US$500 plus taxes, which is obviously not as fantastic as it was before (on account of the JAL one-way trick nerf), but still decent value in and of itself. 

Alternatively, you could redeem a one-way Business or First Class ticket to the USA on Cathay Pacific for 50,000 (US$1,000) or 70,000 (US$1,400) miles, also a good option. 

Here’s the full list of Marriott Bonvoy airline transfer partners:

FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMSPOINTS : MILES
AEGEAN Miles+Bonus3:1
Aeroflot Bonus3:1
Aeromexico ClubPremier3:1
Air Canada Aeroplan3:1
Air China PhoenixMiles3:1
Air France-KLM Flying Blue3:1
Air New Zealand Airpoints200:1
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan™3:1
Alitalia MilleMiglia3:1
American Airlines AAdvantage®3:1
ANA Mileage Club3:1
Asiana Airlines Asiana Club3:1
Avianca LifeMiles3:1
British Airways Executive Club3:1
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles3:1
China Eastern Airlines Eastern Miles3:1
China Southern Airlines Sky Pearl Club3:1
Copa Airlines ConnectMiles3:1
Delta SkyMiles®3:1
Emirates Skywards®3:1
Etihad Guest3:1
FRONTIER Miles3:1
Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club3:1
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles®3:1
Iberia Plus3:1
InterMiles3:1
Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank3:1
JetBlue TrueBlue6:1
Korean Air SKYPASS3:1
LATAM Airlines LATAM Pass3:1
Multiplus Fidelidade3:1
Qantas Frequent Flyer3:1
Qatar Airways Privilege Club3:1
SAA Voyager3:1
Saudia Alfursan3:1
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer®3:1
Southwest Rapid Rewards®3:1
TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go3:1
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus3:1
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles3:1
United MileagePlus®3:1.1
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club3:1
Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer3:1

There are other programs with great sweet spots, but the issue again is accumulating enough Marriott Bonvoy points to get the miles required.

For example, if you put your points into Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, you could redeem a round-trip Japan to New York First Class trip on ANA for 120,000 miles, or US$2,388- not jaw-droppingly cheap, but still cheaper than paying full fare (there’ll be additional fuel surcharges). However, this requires transferring 300,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. 

Similarly, with ANA Mileage Club, you can redeem a round-trip Business Class ticket from Singapore to the USA from as low as 100,000 miles (US$2,000). This will require 240,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. 

So my advice is to stick with Alaska Mileage Plan miles, unless someone else knows of other feasible sweet spots given the points purchase limit. 

What card should I use to buy Marriott Bonvoy points?

Purchases of Marriott Bonvoy points are processed by Points.com in USD, so they won’t code as hotel purchases. Here’s the best cards to maximize the miles earned on your purchase:

 Earn RateCapRemarks
OCBC 90N Card
4 mpdNoneUntil 29 Feb 2020
Citi Rewards Visa
4 mpdS$1,000 per statement period 
UOB Visa Signature
4 mpdS$2,000 per statement periodMin FCY spend of S$1,000 per statement period
DBS Woman’s World Card
4 mpdS$2,000 per calendar monthUse caution- some people report not getting the bonus 2.8 mpd, only the base 1.2 mpd
SCB Visa Infinite
3 mpdNoneMin spend S$2,000 per statement period
BOC Elite Miles 
3 mpdNone 

Remember that the 4 mpd on FCY purchases with the OCBC 90N Card only lasts till 29 Feb 2020, so be sure to buy before then if you intend to use it. 

Conclusion

A 50% bonus on Marriott Bonvoy points purchases can make sense if you’re looking at very high end properties (although you’d arguably do better by buying Hilton points in that case), or if you want to buy Alaska Mileage Plan miles.

If you have upcoming travel plans, do the maths and see whether this makes sense for you. Remember, don’t buy points speculatively! 

(HT: freedom)

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

Similar Articles

Comments

9 COMMENTS

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

9 Comments
Oldest
Newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
sammy

Hi Aaron, any article regarding on Marriott points transfer?
After points transfer, How about redeem points for 6 nights at St. Regis Maldives which will waive the seaplane cost?

Regards,

Falco

Oh interesting – thank you! Where may I find more about the St Regis Maldives waiving Sea Plane Transfer fees? Can’t seem to find that.

Falco

Thanks! Also seem to be offering it for their cash paid half-board packages. Doesn’t show discounted at booking though, so you have to rely on them taking it off at check-out.

freedom

Think it is exactly 2 US cents per miles.

K’

What about just transferring to Krisflyer?

Johnny

How many miles do you usually hold in your balance?

CREDIT CARD SIGN UP BONUSES

Advertisment

Featured Deals

Advertisment

Follow us

7,110FansLike
10,408FollowersFollow

TAGS