In October 2021 it was announced that Marriott Bonvoy will eliminate award charts and introduce dynamic award pricing as of March 2022. Then in February 2022 we learned the exact date this policy would go live — Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
This is a reminder that this change is imminent, and you have just a couple of days remaining to lock in redemptions before prices change at some properties. Let’s recap all the details, in case you’re considering any last minute bookings.
In this post:
Marriott Bonvoy dynamic award pricing launches March 29
Marriott Bonvoy’s new award pricing will be implemented as of Tuesday, March 29, 2022, though it’ll take about a day for pricing at all properties to be updated.
As a reminder:
- With this system, award redemption rates will more closely align with the cash cost of a stay, and occupancy will also be factored in
- For stays in 2022, roughly 97% of hotels will continue to be priced between the current minimum and maximum number of points required
- For stays in 2022 at approximately 200 hotels (3% of the portfolio), the maximum points redemption rates will be higher than they currently are
- For stays in 2023 and beyond, there will no longer be a minimum or maximum number of points required at a particular hotel
How much will Marriott Bonvoy award pricing be increasing?
It’s anyone’s guess what redemption rates will look like for 2023 and beyond (I’ve provided my speculation), but we do now have a sense of how much we can expect prices to increase in 2022. For the roughly 200 hotels that will no longer consistently be priced within current limits, how high should we expect rates to go?
- Some of those hotels will be increasing in cost by a maximum of up to 5,000 points per night
- Some of those hotels will be increasing in cost by a maximum of up to 30,000 points per night
- Of these hotels, roughly 40 hotels may charge more than 100,000 points per night (the current maximum for Category 8 properties)
Here’s the list of hotels that will be increasing by up to 30,000 points per night (sorted by region), which is the biggest increase we’re seeing:
- Asia The Ritz-Carlton, Koh Samui
- Asia The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko
- Caribbean The Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa
- Caribbean The Westin St. John Resort Villas
- Europe Cristallo, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Cortina d’Ampezzo
- Europe Five Seas Hotel Cannes, a Member of Design Hotels
- Europe Paris Marriott Champs Elysees Hotel
- Europe Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hotel
- Europe Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel
- Europe The Bodrum EDITION
- Europe The Pantheon Iconic Rome Hotel, Autograph Collection
- Mexico Casa Maat at JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort & Spa
- Mexico Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos
- Middle East The Jaffa, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Tel Aviv
- Middle East The Ritz-Carlton Jeddah
- Middle East The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert
- United States Beaver Creek Lodge, Autograph Collection
- United States Bethany Beach Ocean Suites Residence Inn
- United States Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville, Autograph Collection
- United States Grand Bohemian Hotel Charleston, Autograph Collection
- United States Hotel Park City, Autograph Collection
- United States JW Marriott Essex House New York
- United States JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort
- United States Key West Marriott Beachside Hotel
- United States Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph Collection
- United States Playa Largo Resort & Spa, Autograph Collection
- United States The Cavalier Virginia Beach, Autograph Collection
- United States The Cloudveil, Autograph Collection
- United States The Lodge at Sonoma Resort, Autograph Collection
- United States The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara
- United States The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
- United States The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale
- United States The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay
- United States The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel
- United States The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota
- United States The Saint Hotel Key West, Autograph Collection
- United States The West Hollywood EDITION
- United States The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas
- United States The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka’anapali
- United States The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas
- United States The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa, Avon, Vail Valley
- United States Wailea Beach Resort – Marriott, Maui
You can find the full list of roughly 200 hotels initially adopting flexible points pricing here.
Top off Marriott Bonvoy free night awards as of April 2022
In October 2021, it was also announced that it will soon be possible for Marriott Bonvoy free night awards (FNAs) to be topped off with up to 15,000 Bonvoy points to stay at a more expensive property.
In other words, if you have a free night certificate valid at a property costing up to 50,000 points, you could redeem the certificate plus 15,000 points for a stay at a property costing up to 65,000 points. Previously you were limited to staying at properties within the points price range of the certificate, with no option to pay the points difference to stay at a more expensive property.
You can expect that it will be possible to top off free night awards as of late April 2022 (though there’s no exact date yet).
My take on these latest Marriott Bonvoy updates
The band-aid regarding these changes was mostly ripped off several months back, so there’s nothing too surprising here.
I’d say the fact that award redemption rates for the remainder of 2022 will increase by at most 30,000 points per night compared to the current maximum cost is probably good news. That’s of course still a major devaluation, but it could have been worse. Who knows what 2023 and beyond holds, though…
Bottom line
Marriott Bonvoy’s dynamic award pricing will launch for bookings as of Tuesday, March 29, 2022, so this is a great time to lock in any last minute redemptions.
With this, hotels will no longer be priced based on an award chart. However, for 97% of properties, you won’t pay more than the current maximum number of points for the remainder of 2022. For the other 3% of properties, you’ll pay up to an additional 30,000 points per night, and around 40 properties will have pricing that can be over 100K points per night.
Lastly, you can expect that you’ll be able to use points to supplement a free night certificate as of April 2022.
What do you make of the upcoming Marriott Bonvoy devaluation?
Okay it’s the end of April and of course nothing …. “ You can expect that it will be possible to top off free night awards as of late April 2022 (though there’s no exact date yet).”
Personally, I would appreciate it if it really works with clarity. While I certainly don't like devaluation, I get really frustrated when I'm shopping for a Cat 8 hotel and several pop up, but then are Cat 8 with 500,000 points for a night. What's the use of saying Cat 8, if it's not anyway.
Crikey! I stayed at the St Regis Florence last Nov. Redeemed 2 nights for 85,000 points per night and then stayed a 3rd night (revenue) Just checked this Nov - and the redemption rate just went supernova to 338,000 points per night!
As far as I'm concerned status with Marriott is irrelevant. This is my 2nd year as an Ambassador Elite and to me there's zero difference between Amb and Plat. Service is inconsistent,...
Crikey! I stayed at the St Regis Florence last Nov. Redeemed 2 nights for 85,000 points per night and then stayed a 3rd night (revenue) Just checked this Nov - and the redemption rate just went supernova to 338,000 points per night!
As far as I'm concerned status with Marriott is irrelevant. This is my 2nd year as an Ambassador Elite and to me there's zero difference between Amb and Plat. Service is inconsistent, recognition almost non existent, upgrades are mythical things etc.
I'm doing what another poster suggested and simply transferring my points to an airline program. Makes much more sense...
Most hotels in touristic cities have seen huge increases. Moxy Miami went from 40k to 110k in may - a 200% increase.
Anyone found a better rip off?
Marriott should be held accountable for what they published as it is completely false and many people likely made decisions based on this information.
https://help.marriott.com/s/article/Article-33764
Lifetime Plat Here
Done with Marriott after 2022. They misled us about 3% of the properties being impacted. They also misled about this being peak/off peak pricing. How is staying in Park City in May or June peak season? Where is the snow? Those properties saw 30K increases even in summer months. The vast majority of people are redeeming at these high tier properties. It may be only 3% of the Marriott porfolio which is...
Lifetime Plat Here
Done with Marriott after 2022. They misled us about 3% of the properties being impacted. They also misled about this being peak/off peak pricing. How is staying in Park City in May or June peak season? Where is the snow? Those properties saw 30K increases even in summer months. The vast majority of people are redeeming at these high tier properties. It may be only 3% of the Marriott porfolio which is diluted by courtyards, four points, fairfield Inns, etc. I bet you those 3% of properties represent 40-50% of actual points redeemed.
I'm happy that I burned all my free nights and 600K points prior to the devaluation. Will shift my loyalty to Hilton until they devalue and then I will only choose VRBO / AIRBNB.
A couple of years ago I chased airline status every year and the airlines implemented dynamic pricing. I decided the logical choice was to become an Airline free agent and only use transferable points currencies. I will make the same choice when it comes to hotels. Hotels dont have the same monopolistic hubs and wont be able to get away with it as easily as airlines.
RIP Courtyards, FairField Inns, Four Points, and any other low tier Marriott business hotel in the portfolio. The days of staying at inferior properties for work and for leisure to maintain loyalty are over.
Free Agent
The dynamic pricing kicked in at midnight last night and it is far worse than Marriott published. It was completely misleading. All the category 8 hotels that they said would go up by as much as 20K actually went up 35K, a 41% increase!! Bookings I had or looked at went from 85K per night to 119,500 point per night! It looks like they made all those 85k nights that used to be standard night...
The dynamic pricing kicked in at midnight last night and it is far worse than Marriott published. It was completely misleading. All the category 8 hotels that they said would go up by as much as 20K actually went up 35K, a 41% increase!! Bookings I had or looked at went from 85K per night to 119,500 point per night! It looks like they made all those 85k nights that used to be standard night awards peak awards to bump them to 100K, then added the 20K on top of that.
This is the worst devaluation of points on any program I have ever seen!!
Looks like another slap in the face of long term Marriott and Starwoods customers. Resort fees that are openly supported by the corporation, resort fees that still must be paid in full on all rewards stays (so what really is a "free stay" at Bonvoy, and now this. Looks like Hilton Honors got it right on this one since their rewards stay truly are "free" and resort fees are waived. This devaluation makes my Titanium...
Looks like another slap in the face of long term Marriott and Starwoods customers. Resort fees that are openly supported by the corporation, resort fees that still must be paid in full on all rewards stays (so what really is a "free stay" at Bonvoy, and now this. Looks like Hilton Honors got it right on this one since their rewards stay truly are "free" and resort fees are waived. This devaluation makes my Titanium membership worth a lot less. An Amex Aspire card with the $450 annual fee and automatic Diamond status in Hilton Honors is for me in 2023. Looks like Hilton Honors got this one right too.
The new point redemption rates are live and it is a Bonvoy bloodbath. A Ritz Carlton property I booked last night with my (last ever) 50K Amex cert is 82K today, and that is the lowest point rate of the month. Almost every other place that I have stayed has also jumped. The only exception is an innercity Marriott that has consistently been 50K when the cash rate was <$200. It has gone down to...
The new point redemption rates are live and it is a Bonvoy bloodbath. A Ritz Carlton property I booked last night with my (last ever) 50K Amex cert is 82K today, and that is the lowest point rate of the month. Almost every other place that I have stayed has also jumped. The only exception is an innercity Marriott that has consistently been 50K when the cash rate was <$200. It has gone down to as 'low' as 40K.
I'm done with their loyalty program and most of their hotels. They have a few properties in places that I stay regularly that are either the only decent place in the area or that are a particularly superior property, but otherwise, I will no longer book Marriott for status.
I came from Starwood. Marriott has always been a trash brand IMO. I remember about 10 years ago I was in a focus group for Kimoton hotels. There was another guy in the group who couldn’t stop taking about how he was a “big Marriott” guy and so proud he could get free breakfast for his family when they went on vacation. I thought to myself, I never want to be that guy, and at...
I came from Starwood. Marriott has always been a trash brand IMO. I remember about 10 years ago I was in a focus group for Kimoton hotels. There was another guy in the group who couldn’t stop taking about how he was a “big Marriott” guy and so proud he could get free breakfast for his family when they went on vacation. I thought to myself, I never want to be that guy, and at the time was thankful I was loyal to SPG and received a lot more value than “free breakfast”. I’m happy to shift my business to Hyatt and say bob voyage to Marriott and all of their trash small town properties! Have fun!
Well, good luck with that...
Totally agree - have been a Marriott loyalist for over 20+ yrs, and have a Marriott visa. In the last year I have tried to use points for 3 different personal stays - in New Orleans (where I was told no point redemption rooms allowed since it was an "event" week), in Amsterdam and again in Rome (where they required 265,000 pts per NIGHT). What's the point of loyalty when you can't ever use the...
Totally agree - have been a Marriott loyalist for over 20+ yrs, and have a Marriott visa. In the last year I have tried to use points for 3 different personal stays - in New Orleans (where I was told no point redemption rooms allowed since it was an "event" week), in Amsterdam and again in Rome (where they required 265,000 pts per NIGHT). What's the point of loyalty when you can't ever use the points. Future personal travel will be VRBO, and my United airlines credit card will be my new company card.
With over 3000 paid nights one might think loyalty is a two way street.
I am a lifetime Titanium,only missing ambassador due to retiring.
I generally redeem points at category 8 properties.
Back in the day it was staying at any property just for points.
if points become worthless I'm out of the program.
There is no lifetime titanium. Platinum is the highest lifetime level.
I see many the repricing appears to have completed and looks terrible across the board! Even hotels that werent in the PDF list for hotels to increase pricing has went up, such as Ritz Carlton Amelia Island (which I last evening applied some of my remaining bonvoy brilliant 50k certificates to book a few nights in August), and many others even ordinary Residence Inns and Courtyards in random locations!
At this rate with free night...
I see many the repricing appears to have completed and looks terrible across the board! Even hotels that werent in the PDF list for hotels to increase pricing has went up, such as Ritz Carlton Amelia Island (which I last evening applied some of my remaining bonvoy brilliant 50k certificates to book a few nights in August), and many others even ordinary Residence Inns and Courtyards in random locations!
At this rate with free night certificates becoming more useless might as well close my Amex Marriott Bonvoy credit cards after the next AF posts!
Sadly, this is merely a continuation of the trend that began when Marriott bought Starwood. R.I.P. Starwood.
Thank goodness Hilton's free night awards are still worth something at the moment. My big fear is that those are next on the list to be devalued.
Fear not, it won't happen.
So I read about the Pantheon Iconic Rome going up by 30K. I had booked at 70K for mid-October dates prior to the change. Just for fun, I decided to look now (after midnight EDT March 29) and those dates are not 100K, they are 140K, so that's DOUBLE. The end of the week when I plan to stay, the rate drops to a mere 120K. So much for dynamic pricing.
OK, so I read elsewhere that the new dynamic pricing won't take effect until "late EDT today". So out of curiosity, I rechecked this hotel.
As of 2:30pm EDT, it's showing 70K. And for stays starting Friday of that week ( the day I check out), it drops to 60K.
I will be curious to see the rates once "late EDT" pricing kicks in. For sure, last night's pricing was a bit of a shock, so hoping that it's not that horrific, although it isn't going to impact my booking.
Where did you read about "late EDT today" for the effective date? When I call Marriott today, they say there is no definitive effective date. One agent said to try the end of April! I'd like to book using a 35k certificate and top off points as per the new policy but can't. Might be a solution to finally being able to use certificates.
I was referring to "late EDT today" for the new dynamic pricing to take effect. Nothing to do with the top off of certificates. Sorry if that confused you.
Just rushed to book a 5 night stay at St Regis Bal Harbor (after deciding around 8pm EST today lol) between Christmas/New Years for 400k points which would have a cash rate of $16k, and presumably going up after midnight to another 150k points for the same stay!
Wife's account (who is Plat and I'm not) had just 180k points just a couple hours ago, so I transferred 100k from my account which is the...
Just rushed to book a 5 night stay at St Regis Bal Harbor (after deciding around 8pm EST today lol) between Christmas/New Years for 400k points which would have a cash rate of $16k, and presumably going up after midnight to another 150k points for the same stay!
Wife's account (who is Plat and I'm not) had just 180k points just a couple hours ago, so I transferred 100k from my account which is the limit that brought her balance to 280k points. Then bought another 120k points just now using the promo for 50% bonus points and it cost $1k to bring her balance to exactly 400k! Thanks to your website for all the information that lead to this working out! Now to try to see if her SNA's can be applied (Cant aim too high but we did stay at the stunning Atlantic Suite at this hotel a few years ago on a points stay where we were offered the suite for extra $750/night back then)
Fire the new CEO who does not know what loyal customers all about.
Unless you're running hundreds of thousands of dollar charges via cards, not sure how anyone can accumulate enough points for a decent personal trip. My free night certificates are basically worthless now because all the properties except for bargain basement or decent properties in bad/remote locales are the only way I can ever use them. Hyatt was always better, but now they're doing the same as well.
I have recently went for a long weekend in Barcelona (second week of March). All the good Bonvoy properties iin the central areas were overpriced. But Intercontinental and Kimpton were available for both Chase free nights and points so burned my expiring certificates there...
My only regrets as a lifetime Titanium are:
1) Why I still have some unused points?
2) Why I was not staying in Hyatt all the time?
It took awhile but people are starting to wake up. 300K points for your air ticket....couple hundred thousand points for your hotel for a few nights. Airline X or credit card Y offers 120K bonus points for signing up. BFD! Points are becoming useless. Value has been shrinking for years. Imagine what it will look like in the years to come.
Statements like these are utterly mindless in my view,
Duh! Does $1 US still have the value it had in the 1980s when the current loyalty program model was launched? No!
Has that stopped anyone from trying to earn even more USDs? No!
Then why should points currencies be expected to avoid the fate of hard currencies and maintain the same values at perpetuity...
Statements like these are utterly mindless in my view,
Duh! Does $1 US still have the value it had in the 1980s when the current loyalty program model was launched? No!
Has that stopped anyone from trying to earn even more USDs? No!
Then why should points currencies be expected to avoid the fate of hard currencies and maintain the same values at perpetuity when nothing escapes changes due to passage of time?
The thing to do is simply to find ways to keep up with the inevitable changes...or just call it quits.
"Duh! Does $1 US still have the value it had in the 1980s when the current loyalty program model was launched? No!"
Of course. But here's the difference. Take UA Mileage Plus for example. I used to earn a ton more points under the old rules than I do now, say for a trip to Asia. In the meantime redemption rates have gone up so we're getting hit on both ends. In your example I'm...
"Duh! Does $1 US still have the value it had in the 1980s when the current loyalty program model was launched? No!"
Of course. But here's the difference. Take UA Mileage Plus for example. I used to earn a ton more points under the old rules than I do now, say for a trip to Asia. In the meantime redemption rates have gone up so we're getting hit on both ends. In your example I'm earning more now than I was in 1980 so I'm for the most part keeping up with inflation. The same cannot be said for many of these loyalty programs.
There is no difference. People are also earning tons of miles/points now through credit card signup bonuses, offers, spend and other venues that had not even been thought about in the 1980s.
Congratulations
We've been "BONVOYED" once again.
I basically will not bother with Marriott Bonvoy status anymore. I will just stick with Hilton and Hyatt and Intercontinental from now on. If I need to stay in Marriott, I will just pay for a better room, rather than begging for an upgrade room. For breakfast, I will just get a breakfast rate, instead of arguing if I will get free breakfast or not. Marriott is just a terrible hotel chain now and it...
I basically will not bother with Marriott Bonvoy status anymore. I will just stick with Hilton and Hyatt and Intercontinental from now on. If I need to stay in Marriott, I will just pay for a better room, rather than begging for an upgrade room. For breakfast, I will just get a breakfast rate, instead of arguing if I will get free breakfast or not. Marriott is just a terrible hotel chain now and it will be my last choice. Canada seems to have plenty of Marriott Airport properties so I will stay there sometimes, but I will just pay for a breakfast rate now.
And why is that and why now,, considering that Hilton has been using dynamic award pricing that Marriott is transitioning to since 2017, though it admittedly remains unclear how Marriott will implement it, and Hyatt just massively devalued their high-end awards, despite still having a fixed award chart?
Inquiring minds wanna know!
And why is that and why now,, considering that Hilton has been using dynamic award pricing that Marriott is transitioning to since 2017, though it admittedly remains unclear how Marriott will implement it, and Hyatt just massively devalued their high-end awards, despite still having a fixed award chart?
Inquiring minds wanna know!
The net will be less loyalty to Marriott. Maybe switch to earning AA points for Marriott stays instead of Bonvoy points.
I you have Lifetime Status - you are a free agent.
So frustrating! Bonvoy is usually the cheapest option when traveling to my work locations.
Stuck booking them even though the points are increasingly useless!
I'm curious about this:
"award redemption rates will more closely align with the cash cost of a stay"
In Thailand, for example, the nightly rates of some very nice properties can often be had for well below $150, while, in the USA, much more mediocre properties will go for more.
Is it possible these "lower priced, but very nice hotels" may see a slight reduction in points required?
I hate to bring you bad news. I'm going to say it might be opposite.
As some have theory of being tied to cash price, I'm more in the area of being tied to expected occupancy. So not expecting crazy 200k price but more 10-25k jump between nights.
"Here’s the list of hotels that will be increasing by up to 30,000 points per night (sorted by region), which is the biggest increase we’re seeing:
...I hate to bring you bad news. I'm going to say it might be opposite.
As some have theory of being tied to cash price, I'm more in the area of being tied to expected occupancy. So not expecting crazy 200k price but more 10-25k jump between nights.
"Here’s the list of hotels that will be increasing by up to 30,000 points per night (sorted by region), which is the biggest increase we’re seeing:
Asia The Ritz-Carlton, Koh Samui"
A mediocre Ritz that is currently over categorized will now become worst redemption there. Avoid that Ritz.
Yes
This definitely way better than Hilton Honors
Marriott Bonvoy is the best
I'm prepared for the worst and hoping for some positive in the lower end spectrum of hotels
Marriott on the whole has become a disgrace overall
So many issues with stays not posting and repeated calls to fix,stingy declining elite benefits @ hotels and executives that think they are doing us favor by letting us stay.The website is atrocious where as you can't add guest comments or add an additional guest who may...
I'm prepared for the worst and hoping for some positive in the lower end spectrum of hotels
Marriott on the whole has become a disgrace overall
So many issues with stays not posting and repeated calls to fix,stingy declining elite benefits @ hotels and executives that think they are doing us favor by letting us stay.The website is atrocious where as you can't add guest comments or add an additional guest who may be sharing the room with you.
I constantly book at competing sites due to their business behavior ignorance
The Bonvoid Customer Service has nose dived since the merger and the pandemic with regard to their call centers.I'm prepared at a moments notice to stop and cancel all revenue rooms if I think the changes are massively greedy this week.In my 30 years plus with Marriott I've never been this anxious about changes.I've lost trust with brand & program assurance and I regret this may likely be the final nail in the coffin.
I remember when I was excited to become a Life Time Titanium. Its hard to believe how good SPG was back in the day where loyalty was typically appreciated /honored and requirements so much less .RIP SPG (Sigh)
The new Bonvoid is a sad state of affairs indeed .The greatest business opportunity of a lifetime damaged by clueless Marriott Execs who are fully out of touch with the voice of their customers
Whenever I see the words ‘Bonvoy’ and ‘change’ in the same sentence, I immediately assume the position and ask for more, please…
What a freakin’ dumpster fire
Surprised that Amex and Chase have not said anything. Although maybe they have. All of their Marriott cards are becoming far less valuable.
I think what’s ridiculous is they still haven’t changed how many points you earn. If you introduce dynamic pricing, that’s fine but help the customer as well by being able to earn more points based off stays or card spend.
Are they eliminating the 5th night free option ??
no, not yet:)
The good news is that you can add points to a free certificate. That's great because it is often difficult to find an appropriate hotel for the value of the certificate. That is also in line with other hotel groups. The dynamic pricing is the bad news. It already costs too many points at many properties, especially in Asia. Many people such as the bloggers put a dollar or cents figure on the value of...
The good news is that you can add points to a free certificate. That's great because it is often difficult to find an appropriate hotel for the value of the certificate. That is also in line with other hotel groups. The dynamic pricing is the bad news. It already costs too many points at many properties, especially in Asia. Many people such as the bloggers put a dollar or cents figure on the value of the points. I actually think it is better to compare what you would use it for. Let's say that you would use the points usually for a room costing $1,000 at 85,000 points. then a room costing 30,000 points at $350 would not make sense for example. I do not think the redemption changes are good.
I joined the program in 1984 as a Marriott Marquis member and still have statements from back then. Want to know what 150,000 points got you? Sit down.. 10 nights at any hotel or resort worldwide PLUS 2 system wide tickets on participating airlines PLUS 7 days car rental of a full-size car.
This is the third Marriott devaluation I've gone through and each time Marriott prefaced it as being "new and exciting". Being a...
I joined the program in 1984 as a Marriott Marquis member and still have statements from back then. Want to know what 150,000 points got you? Sit down.. 10 nights at any hotel or resort worldwide PLUS 2 system wide tickets on participating airlines PLUS 7 days car rental of a full-size car.
This is the third Marriott devaluation I've gone through and each time Marriott prefaced it as being "new and exciting". Being a Titanium for life makes it all the harder because I've been saving points up for years and just as I'm about to retire I feel like I've been punched in the gut by Marriott because they never entertained a grandfather clause - it's all or nothing.
I suppose once I use all of my points I'll say goodbye to the brand because I have been nicer to them over the past three decades than they have been to me.
Sounds familiar. I joined the same time and lifetime Titanium. I have stayed close to 3000 nights in Marriott’s and I barely get upgraded anymore. Remember when Platinum was introduced and the general manager would walk you to your suite. I had over 2.5 million points at one time but I used them before they made them worthless. Down to 650k. I have given up on blind loyalty to this second rate hotel chain.
I have ~1.5 million points. I've been staying with Hyatt for the past two years, so I guess its time to either lock in some Marriott stays using points or transfer over to an airline. I refuse to give Marriott cash, so I guess I'll let my lifetime Titanium gather some dust.
Same here. It's been a nice run.
You can switch from earning Bonvoy points to AA LP, by changing you Bonvoy profile.
It will no longer be worth the cost of keeping their branded credit card.
SPG was so good and as a lifetime member they looked after me. Marriott Bonvoy makes me feel totally insignificant and it is a not worth being involved any more . Greedy and so lacking in customer care or loyalty.
After 50 years staying in Sheratons and Westin hotels worldwide they now treat me like shit everywhere
Really makes you question why you should stay loyal to Marriott. Rarely do you see upgrades anymore.
So this basically turns the Bonvoy Brilliant into a card where you prepay $150 for a free night ($450 minus the $300 Marriott credit) that is unlikely to yield amazing value given that a lot of aspirational properties will soar past 50k?
(London is a good example, where during peak season, NOW, there are not a lot of 50k properties that aren’t just kinda “meh” Residence Inns).
Good thing I can ditch my Brilliant in late 2022, absent a compelling retention offer…
A little off topic but trying to find some points availability before these changes go into effect. My issue is the flexible date search on the app or Marriott website rarely works for me which makes searching for stays frustrating. Just curious if anyone else is having this problem or can suggest a fix? Thanks!
I was told you could top off your certificates with 15000 point beginning in March. I booked a trip at the end of March into the start of April. Now Marriiott has delayed the program start & my certificates expire in June. Looks like Marriott doesnt care about their Bonvoy members & just wish to increase their point reauirements.
+1. If you have expiring certificates then top off will come way too late. Marriott should bump them out a few months but I’d be pretty surprised if they throw us that bone.
Marriott use to be my go to. Not any more!! Very disappointed with points system. I can book through Sapphire for fewer points than booking direct with Bonvoy.
As a lifetime titanium elite this is truly sad. My 3.5 million points have been reduced to a few nights stay. A lifetime of accumulating since 1983 will be gone due to new management's lack of understanding what loyalty is all about. Truly a different Marriott than what Bill Marriott's vision was. Glad I am retired. Will use my points and ride into the sunset.
Definite bummer there - looks like cash rebate cards are king and so is the Hyatt program - more incentive to look at independent hotels than Marriott’s as well
Any idea if they would change the rates for the transfer of points to airline miles?
Ugh, sucks to be Bonvoy loyalists. Sorry, folks.
The smart money dumped them 3 years ago (as I did) once the immediate destruction of all that was good about Starwood/SPG commenced.
How did you dump them. I’m a disappointed Starwood/SPG owner
I guess it will soon be time to dump World of Hyatt as well, considering that the recent massive devaluation of the program's high-end awards may be as brutal as BonVoy's is being predicted to be...
The 3% of hotels that will increase award redemptions represent nearly 100% of the truly awesome aspirational properties in the Bonvoy portfolio.
Went back yo your linked expectations article and it’s an interesting take. You could be very right but it seems very risky - I as a consumer can’t see and frankly don’t care about occupancy and program costs. If I can’t discern a connection to the price I see, it badly damages my view of the program. Even now I laugh when I see say Orlando hotels at 50k posts and a rate of $102....
Went back yo your linked expectations article and it’s an interesting take. You could be very right but it seems very risky - I as a consumer can’t see and frankly don’t care about occupancy and program costs. If I can’t discern a connection to the price I see, it badly damages my view of the program. Even now I laugh when I see say Orlando hotels at 50k posts and a rate of $102. So it Looks like the changes are only going to opaquely hurt customers on the upside and do nothing on the low end. I am as a result now fully to the Delta model of near fixed price. Whar we actually have is turning instead into all downside and no upside for consumers.
May make more sense to transfer Bonvoy points into miles
Exactly what I did. I liquidated all my Bonvoy points into Aeroplan miles as I will be able to use them fairly quickly. I'm Platinum this year but won't make it again next year, so I'm simply staying at Marriott properties a few more times to earn enough points so I qualify for the transfer bonus again. But after that I'm a free agent, maybe looking to Hyatt. Marriott has gone downhill so much independent...
Exactly what I did. I liquidated all my Bonvoy points into Aeroplan miles as I will be able to use them fairly quickly. I'm Platinum this year but won't make it again next year, so I'm simply staying at Marriott properties a few more times to earn enough points so I qualify for the transfer bonus again. But after that I'm a free agent, maybe looking to Hyatt. Marriott has gone downhill so much independent of the this Bonvoy nonsense: Never receive room upgrades unless I'm in Asia (and once in Europe). Lounges are all closed for Covid Theater. Most any Marriott property that isn't a brand new Courtyard all look like they're about 15 years past needing a renovation or at least a refresh. Archaic rules for elite benefits that don't apply uniformly across all brands, or even properties in the same brand since Marriott has zero control over franchisees. The list goes on.
Although I derive no value from Bonvoy, I understand why and how others do. And now I feel even worse for them.
On the heels for your St Regis London article, it appears that the brand is going up in price by 40+ percent. Same with Ritz Carlton. Massive devaluation. Punt.
I fully anticipate 200,000 or 250,000 points per night at all of the legit aspirational, 5-star hotels by 2023. And if Courtyard costs the same as the Marriott in D.C., I’m staying at the Marriott. I think this could really hurt some of the mediocre brands because who wants to use points for a Fairfield or Courtyard? People tolerate crap hotels because they gets points that can be redeemed at nice hotels. If the points...
I fully anticipate 200,000 or 250,000 points per night at all of the legit aspirational, 5-star hotels by 2023. And if Courtyard costs the same as the Marriott in D.C., I’m staying at the Marriott. I think this could really hurt some of the mediocre brands because who wants to use points for a Fairfield or Courtyard? People tolerate crap hotels because they gets points that can be redeemed at nice hotels. If the points are worthless or can’t be redeemed, I might as well as just stay at the Best Western in Sioux City.
Standard award costs of 200K or 250K BonnVoy points/night would be truly brutal. That'd be like paying ~270K or ~340K HH points/night, i.e., in HH 'premium' award costs territory!
People will want to use points for a conveniently located hotel, even when it’s a Fairfield or Courtyard when the points generation is all on OPM anyway.
Did they release the full list of the 3% of properties affected this year?
Yes. Gary Leff posted- https://viewfromthewing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Flexible-Point-Redemptions-200-hotels-list.pdf
I have 5 free night certificates expiring in June. I have travel scheduled for May. If I book some CAT 5 hotels now with those certificates and come April I want to cancel those reservations to use the certificate+points option for a higher category hotel... would the free night certificates go back to my account right away?
@ JC -- Yep, if you cancel before the cancelation deadline then the certificates redeposit instantly.
No Al Maha or Maldives properties that are increasing by 30k? Don't believe that for some reason.
@ dn10 --- While these properties have high rates when paying cash, I suspect they're rarely at capacity, and as a result not that costly for the Bonvoy program.
Fair point Ben. Really thought they'd hike those up like Hilton has done with the Waldorf Maldives, but all for that not being the case.
Rather fearing that BonVoy's implementation of dynamic award pricing would be like Hilton Honors', you should hope that it is...really.
Fully 5 years after the Honors program moved to dynamic pricing, WA Maldives and WA Cabos are the only properties, out of 6K+, with standard award costs >95K/night. With the ease of...
Rather fearing that BonVoy's implementation of dynamic award pricing would be like Hilton Honors', you should hope that it is...really.
Fully 5 years after the Honors program moved to dynamic pricing, WA Maldives and WA Cabos are the only properties, out of 6K+, with standard award costs >95K/night. With the ease of earning HH points and 5th award night free, 120K or 150K per night remains a steal, IMHO. The problem is availability of standard awards at highly coveted 'aspirational' properties, which has nothing to do with dynamic pricing.
G'day.
Looks like Maldives and Al Maha are increasing by 20k points from the Marriott PDF
they're increasing by 20k
Al Maha is already 100k/night for nearly entire calendar