Marriott Bonvoy has launched a promotion called “Week of Wonders”, which runs from 8-15 October 2020.
During this period, Marriott Bonvoy will exclusively have off-peak pricing at more than 7,000 participating properties, allowing you to save a significant number of points.
Marriott Bonvoy off-peak pricing promotion
From 8-15 October 2020, Marriott Bonvoy members can book award nights at the vast majority of Marriott property worldwide at off-peak rates. Stays must be completed by 30 November 2020.
As a reminder, here’s what the Marriott award chart currently looks like.
| 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 |
Depending on the category, this could save you up to 30,000 points per night.
If you’ve already booked an award night during this period at standard or peak rates, it will not automatically be repriced. You will need to cancel the existing reservation and make a new one to enjoy the off-peak pricing (it’s always best practice to do the latter before the former).
Since an overseas trip by 30 November 2020 is sadly out of the question, here’s the options available in Singapore:
| Property | Off Peak Cost |
| Courtyard Singapore Novena* | 30,000 |
| Four Points by Sheraton Riverview | 30,000 |
| Le Meridien Sentosa | 30,000 |
| Marriott Tang Plaza | 30,000 |
| Sheraton Towers | 30,000 |
| Vagabond Club | 30,000 |
| Warehouse Hotel | 30,000 |
| Westin Singapore* (not participating in promo) |
30,000 |
| JW Marriott South Beach* (not participating in promo) |
40,000 |
| St Regis Singapore | 40,000 |
| W Sentosa Cove | 40,000 |
| The Ritz-Carlton Millennia does not participate in the Marriott Bonvoy program *Not yet approved for staycation guests |
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I did a search for a random date in November, and while most hotels are showing off-peak pricings, there were some exceptions. The JW Marriott was pricing at 45,000 points (off peak: 40,000), and the Westin Singapore at 35,000 points (off peak: 30,000).
I reached out to Marriott about this, and was told that the JW Marriott and Westin Singapore were not participating. They were unable to to provide me with a list of participating and non-participating properties, so look at the prices and make your decision accordingly.
Buy Marriott Bonvoy points with a 50% bonus
From now till 23 October 2020, Marriott Bonvoy is selling points with a 50% bonus. Under this promotion, the cost per point is lowered to 0.83 US cents each.
Buy Marriott Bonvoy points with a 50% bonus here
So is purchasing points to redeem staycations worth it?
| Property | Nightly Cost @ 0.83 US cents/ point |
| Courtyard Singapore Novena* | US$249 |
| Four Points by Sheraton Riverview | US$249 |
| Le Meridien Sentosa | US$249 |
| Marriott Tang Plaza | US$249 |
| Sheraton Towers | US$249 |
| Vagabond Club | US$249 |
| Warehouse Hotel | US$249 |
| Westin Singapore* (not participating in promo) |
US$291 |
| St Regis Singapore | US$332 |
| W Sentosa Cove | US$332 |
| JW Marriott South Beach* (not participating in promo) |
US$373 |
| The Ritz-Carlton Millennia does not participate in the Marriott Bonvoy program *Not yet approved for staycation guests |
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Probably not. As the table above shows, you’re paying US$249 (~S$338) for most hotels, and US$332 (S$451) for the St Regis and W Sentosa Cove. For that price, you could snag a staycation package with extras like breakfast, dining credits, late check-out etc.
However, certain hotels (e.g W Sentosa) have very expensive pricing on the weekends that could go up to S$600 for a base room, and in that case, it may be worth a look. Keep in mind though, that award nights don’t come with any inclusions (unless you book a room with Executive Lounge access, in which case you’ll get breakfast, tea and evening cocktails).
Conclusion
Award nights are fully refundable, so there’s no harm in making a speculative booking or two if you have the points handy.
The problem is I no longer have Marriott Platinum status, which makes points bookings a lot less enticing (no free breakfast, no late check-out, no shot at a decent upgrade). So I’ll probably opt for staycation packages at Marriott properties in Singapore instead, and save my points for future overseas trips.
St Regis is is at 35k points on non-weekly stays so thats around USD 291 / SGD 395 SGD as compared to cash rates of around SGD 411. Assume you have status (Plat) with points to burn, can re-consider.