Hotel loyalty programs occasionally offer bonuses to new members. Marriott Bonvoy, the world’s largest hotel loyalty program, has recently improved its offer for new members, so let’s go over the details. Admittedly I can’t imagine many OMAAT readers are eligible for this, given that the program has hundreds of millions of members.
In this post:
Marriott Bonvoy’s bonus for new members
New Marriott Bonvoy members can earn up to 7,500 Bonvoy bonus points for joining the program through this link:
- Earn 500 bonus points for registering
- Earn 2,000 bonus points after completing your first stay
- Earn 5,000 bonus points after completing your second stay
All activity must be completed within 90 days of registering, so you might want to time this offer carefully, if eligible. It can take up to six weeks for bonus points to post.
There’s no published end date for this promotion, but it’s being marketed as a limited time offer.
Is this Bonvoy new member promotion worth it?
If you’re going to join Marriott’s loyalty program, then obviously it’s worth taking advantage of whatever offer is available.
For context on how worthwhile this is, I value Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each. In other words, this promotion offers ~$3.50 of value just for joining, an incremental ~$14 of value after completing your first stay, and an incremental ~$35 of value after completing your second stay.
That’s pretty decent, especially if you’re making shorter stays at less expensive properties. This is also in addition to all the other points earning opportunities through the Bonvoy program. If you’re new to Marriott Bonvoy, also make sure you register for whatever global promotion Marriott is offering.
If you want to further jumpstart your points earning, don’t forget about the Marriott Bonvoy credit cards, which can earn you tons of points.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
The one other thing I should mention is that Marriott Bonvoy also has a refer-a-friend program, and that could potentially be more lucrative for new members (and the people referring them):
- If you’re referred to Marriott Bonvoy by an existing member, you can receive 2,000 bonus points per stay in the first year, for up to the first five stays; that’s a maximum of 10,000 bonus points
- For the existing Marriott Bonvoy member doing the referring, you can receive 2,000 bonus points for each stay the new member makes, for up to the first five stays; you can earn bonuses for referring up to five friends, for a total of up to 50,000 Bonvoy bonus points through this offer
So if the new member is planning exactly two stays, then the standard offer could be better. Meanwhile if they’re planning more stays than that, the refer-a-friend offer could be worth taking advantage of.
Bottom line
New Marriott Bonvoy members can earn up to 7,500 Bonvoy bonus points, thanks to a new member bonus. You can earn 500 points just for registering, 2,000 points after the first stay, and 5,000 points after the second stay. While this isn’t the most exciting offer on earth, it’s better than nothing. It’s always nice to get an additional bonus for joining a loyalty program, so hopefully some non-Bonvoy members can benefit from this.
My husband isn't a member, because I always book our trips and I have a Marriott card. If we can move up a couple of our summer trips to spring this might be a good deal for us if still available!!
Gone are the days of 25k free night.
I have no trouble using my annual 25k point free night certificate.