From now to 26 September 2021, 11.59 a.m SGT, Marriott Bonvoy members will receive a mystery bonus when they purchase points. As per my understanding, this maxes out at a 50% bonus, but do sound out if you were targeted for something higher.
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| Check your Marriott Bonvoy bonus here |
Marriott Bonvoy normally charges 1.25 US cents per point, so a 50% bonus reduces the price to 0.83 US cents per point.
For reference, the most recent Marriott Bonvoy sale offered a 30% discount on points, which worked out to 0.875 US cents each. Go back a bit further, and most of the points sales we’ve seen max out at a 50% bonus, although there was a 60% bonus offered in November 2020 (0.78 US cents/point).
You can normally buy a maximum of 50,000 points per year, but for this sale, Marriott has doubled the cap to 100,000 points.
A new member may buy points 30 days after enrollment if their Marriott Bonvoy account has a qualifying activity (like a stay). Otherwise, they’ll need to wait 90 days to purchase points.
What can you do with Marriott Bonvoy points?
As a reminder, here’s Marriott’s award chart. Marriott has now introduced off-peak and peak pricing, and these dates may change every month.
| 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 |
The best scenarios to buy Marriott Bonvoy points typically exist at the extremes of the spectrum- either Category 1 or Category 8 hotels. Do the math and see whether buying points is cheaper than paying the revenue rates, and keep in mind that you don’t need to pay taxes when redeeming points.
It’s probably not a good idea to buy points with the goal of redeeming Singapore staycations, however, as staycation packages tend to offer a better deal (e.g breakfast, late check-out).
Marriott Bonvoy points can also be converted to airline miles with the following programs:
| Marriott Bonvoy Airline Transfer Partners (Bonvoy: Partner) | |||
| FFP | Ratio | FFP | Ratio |
| AEGEAN Miles+Bonus | 3:1 | Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club | 3:1 |
| Aeroflot Bonus | 3:1 | Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles® | 3:1 |
| Aeromexico ClubPremier | 3:1 | Iberia Plus | 3:1 |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 3:1 | InterMiles | 3:1 |
| Air China PhoenixMiles | 3:1 | Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank | 3:1 |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | 3:1 | JetBlue TrueBlue | 6:1 |
| Air New Zealand Airpoints | 200:1 | Korean Air SKYPASS | 3:1 |
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan™ | 3:1 | LATAM Airlines LATAM Pass | 3:1 |
| Alitalia MilleMiglia | 3:1 | Multiplus Fidelidade | 3:1 |
| American Airlines AAdvantage® | 3:1 | Qantas Frequent Flyer | 3:1 |
| ANA Mileage Club | 3:1 | Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 3:1 |
| Asiana Airlines Asiana Club | 3:1 | SAA Voyager | 3:1 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 3:1 | Saudia Alfursan | 3:1 |
| British Airways Executive Club | 3:1 | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer® | 3:1 |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 3:1 | Southwest Rapid Rewards® | 3:1 |
| China Eastern Airlines Eastern Miles | 3:1 | TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | 3:1 |
| China Southern Airlines Sky Pearl Club | 3:1 | Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus | 3:1 |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | 3:1 | Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 3:1 |
| Delta SkyMiles® | 3:1 | United MileagePlus® | 3:1.1 |
| Emirates Skywards® | 3:1 | Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 3:1 |
| Etihad Guest | 3:1 | Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer | 3:1 |
| FRONTIER Miles | 3:1 | ||
Assuming a ratio of 3:1 (and factoring in 5,000 mile bonus for transferring 60,000 points), you’re paying 2 US cents per mile when buying Marriott points with a 50% bonus.
That may be a bit steep for Alaska Mileage Plan (where members are sometimes targeted for a 60% bonus, or 1.85 US cents/mile), and way too steep for KrisFlyer. However, if you happen to have miles in an “exotic” account that doesn’t partner with any bank in Singapore, that could be a way of topping it up.
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:
| Card | Earn Rate | Remarks |
 Citi RewardsApply here | 4 mpd | Cap of S$1K per s. month |
 UOB Visa SignatureApply here | 4 mpd | Min S$1K Max S$2K FCY spend per s. month |
 SCB Visa InfiniteApply here | 3 mpd | Min spend S$2K per s. month |
 UOB PRVI MilesApply here | 2.4 mpd | No cap |
| S. Month= Statement Month | C. Month= Calendar Month | ||
I generally don’t advise you to use the DBS Woman’s World Card, as past data points have indicated there are issues with getting the bonus points credited.
Conclusion
A 50% bonus is one of Marriott’s better offers, but it might be prudent to wait and see which countries Singapore decides to lift SHN for in September before deciding to purchase.
Don’t buy points speculatively, as there’ll always be future sales.
Still can’t make the maths work on Bonvoy – > Skywards even with recent Skywards bonus for buying and factoring in a 20% reduction through the subscription.