Marriott Bonvoy Points Multiplier: Should you use it?

Marriott Bonvoy runs periodic points sales, which allows members to purchase additional points outright from the programme. There’s one going on right now which offers a 40% bonus for purchases made by 24 September 2024.

However, there’s an annual purchase cap that limits how much you can buy, and these sales, while frequent, aren’t available year-round. If you need another avenue to purchase more points, you might be interested to know about Marriott Bonvoy’s new Points Multiplier feature, which is similar to what we’ve seen IHG and British Airways Executive Club do. 

Marriott Bonvoy Points Multiplier

Points Multiplier

The new Marriott Bonvoy Points Multiplier feature allows members to multiply points earned from the latest qualifying stay within the past 12 months by up to 4X.

After you login to your account on the landing page, you’ll see a summary of all the points eligible for multiplication. This does not include: 

• Points purchased from Marriott Bonvoy through their regular points sales
• Points transferred from airline miles
• Points earned from credit card rewards programmes

For example, here’s what I see in my account. 

My previous qualifying stay earned 6,186 Marriott Bonvoy points, so I can choose to buy an extra 12,372 to 24,744 points per the table below.

The cost per point ranges from 0.94 to 1.06 US cents apiece, with the price getting lower as my purchase quantity increases.

Is that a good deal? Well, for context, the highest-ever points sale we’ve seen in the past 12 months offered a 50% bonus, which reduced the cost to 0.83 cents. Therefore, it’s still cheaper to buy points during these regular sales.

However, points sales only take place during certain times of the year, while the Points Multiplier feature is available year round. Moreover, points sales have a purchase cap of 100,000 per year.

Therefore, if you’ve already exhausted your annual purchase limit via points sales, or simply need points quickly during a period where there isn’t an ongoing points sale, then that’s where the Points Multiplier would fit in. 

For context, I typically aim to get at least 0.7 US cents per point in value for Marriott Bonvoy redemptions. 

What card should I use to buy Marriott Bonvoy points?

Regardless of whether you’re buying points via regular points sales or Points Multiplier, the purchase will be processed by Points.com in USD, and code as MCC 7399 (Business Services Not Elsewhere Classified).

Here’s the best cards to maximize the miles earned on your purchase:

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	Cap of S$1K per s. month
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd	Min S$1K, max S$2K FCY spend per s. month
SCB Visa Infinite Apply	3 mpd	Min S$2K per s. month
Maybank Horizon Apply	2.8 mpd	Min S$800 per c. month
UOB PRVI Miles Apply	2.4 mpd	No cap
S. Month= Statement Month | C. Month= Calendar Month

Remember, you can pair the Citi Rewards Card with the Instarem Amaze Card to earn 4 mpd on Points.com purchases, while paying lower FCY fees than banks.

Don’t use the DBS Woman’s World Card or the HSBC TravelOne Card for Points.com purchases, as MCC 7399 is on the exclusion list.

Conclusion

Marriott Bonvoy members can now buy points year-round through the Points Multiplier feature, at a price ranging from 0.94 to 1.06 US cents each.

It will usually be cheaper to buy points from the periodic points sales, but that really depends on what bonus you’re targeted for, and there’s also an annual purchase cap to contend with. 

Moreover, the extent to which you can make use of Points Multiplier depends on how many points you’ve earned from qualifying stays over the previous 12 months. If you stay mostly or entirely via points, you might not find this very useful!