Marriott Bonvoy to end Points Advance feature

Marriott Bonvoy offers a unique Points Advance feature that allows members to “book first, earn later”. 

How it works is that a Bonvoy member can reserve a room today, even if he/she does not have enough points to pay for it. The points need to be funded within 60 days from booking or 14 days before arrival, whichever comes first, otherwise the reservation will be cancelled. 

Unfortunately, Marriott has decided to kill off Points Advance, effective 28 March 2023.

Marriott Bonvoy ending Points Advance feature

Marriott Bonvoy has announced that the Points Advance feature will no longer be available from March 28 2023. All existing Points Advance bookings will be honoured under the current terms.

“Due to varying factors such as low demand, we are no longer offering Points Advance Reservations.”

-Marriott Bonvoy

Truth be told, this has been a long time coming. The Points Advance feature has been steadily nerfed over the years:

• From April 2019, Bonvoy members could no longer select Points Advance if they had sufficient points for the stay
• From September 2019, Marriott limited the maximum number of Points Advance bookings to three. Furthermore, with the launch of peak and off-peak pricing, Points Advance only locked in the room, not the rate. You’d pay whatever the rate happened to be at the time the points were actually deducted
• From May 2021, Bonvoy added the criteria that members needed to earn the required points within 60 days of booking or 14 days of arrival, whichever came first. Previously, members only needed to earn the points 14 days before their actual stay date

Objectively speaking, Points Advance was a very generous policy, perhaps too generous even given its propensity for abuse. Guests making speculative reservations would take away inventory from those who had confirmed plans and were willing to pay immediately. I suppose whether this is good or bad news depends on which side of the fence you fall on- some people will mourn its loss, others celebrate it. 

Marriott Bonvoy members can continue to make Points Advance reservations until 27 March 2023. As a reminder:

• A maximum of three Points Advance reservations can be held simultaneously
• Reservations must be made at least 30 days before arrival
• Reservations must be paid for within 60 days of booking or 14 days of arrival, whichever comes first
• The number of points can fluctuate between the time you make your reservation and the time you pay for it with points. You won’t know the exact cost until the time comes to pay

If you do not have sufficient points to make a reservation, you can try booking Points + Cash rates, or buy additional points during one of Bonvoy’s regular sales.

All existing Points Advance reservations can no longer be modified after 28 March 2023, so if you wish to make any changes, now’s the time to do so. 

A full FAQ regarding the cessation of Points Advance can be found here.

Conclusion

Marriott Bonvoy has been steadily tightening the T&Cs for Points Advance bookings over the last few years, and has now decided to eliminate it altogether. From 28 March 2023, the points redemption policy follows that of every other major hotel chain: book now, pay now. 

You can continue to make Points Advance reservations till 27 March 2023, subject to the prevailing rules.

Personally speaking, I haven’t used Points Advance all that much in recent years, though I can certainly see its usefulness. To the extent it leads to more award night availability especially at aspirational properties, however, I think there’s some positives to take away here.