Marriott Rewards Megabonus from September 15, 2011 - January 15, 2012 offers most “low stay activity” members the opportunity to earn one free night after two Marriott brand stays paid with VISA for a maximum of two earned free nights at Category 1-4 hotels for redemption from September 15, 2011 – May 31, 2012.

Paid with VISA means any VISA card is acceptable. You do not need to use a cobranded Marriott Rewards Visa card.

MegaBonus promotion registration is required by October 31, 2011.

Why I like Marriott Rewards MegaBonus for my primary backup promotion.

Not all Marriott Rewards members receive the targeted two stays earns one free night offer. Infrequent guests with Marriott typically get the free night as a default offer. More active Marriott Rewards members may have a targetted points version for meeting a nights threshold.

This Loyalty Traveler post is written for people like me who rarely stay at Marriott Hotels. Marriott Rewards MegaBonus is a high value rebate for the infrequent Marriott Rewards guest.

This is the third Marriott Rewards MegaBonus promotion for 2011. Marriott Rewards does not seem to put a whole lot of effort in designing clever promotions since MegaBonus has basically been the same deal all year for the infrequent guest with two stays earns one free night at a category 1 to category 4 hotel for a maximum of two free nights during the promotion.

Marriott Rewards is my primary backup hotel plan.

This is the third time this promotion has run in 2011 providing an opportunity to earn 6 free nights with just 12 paid nights at Marriott brand hotels. The redemption restriction of category 1 to 4 hotels in the Marriott Rewards system prevents using the free nights in many major cities where most hotels are category 5 or 6 and the top of line resorts and luxury hotels at category 7 and 8. But there are plenty of $200 per night hotel redemption opportunities in the category 4 hotels and it is quite easy to earn a free night with Marriott Rewards MegaBonus for less than $200 with two one-night sub-$100 rates.

Marriott MegaBonus 2011 #1 – Earn February 1-April 30, 2011. Redeem free nights by September 30, 2011. Register by March 31, 2011.

Marriott MegaBonus 2011 #2 – Earn June 1-August 31, 2011. Redeem free nights by December 31, 2011. Register by June 30, 2011.

Despite Marriott Rewards being two-time Hotel Program of the Year in the Americas winner at the Frequent Traveler Awards 2010 and 2011, my stays at Marriott brand hotels are rather infrequent. I like the Marriott brand hotels I visit and I have seen plenty of new build Fairfield Inn properties alongside the new Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn hotels dotting the American landscape.

I only have need for so many hotel nights in a year and Marriott takes 50 nights to reach mid-tier Gold elite. Most hotel loyalty programs offer routes to top elite level with high value benefits for far fewer hotel nights in a year. That makes Marriott Rewards a backup program for me. Free nights are a valuable asset to have in reserve and Marriott Rewards free nights are easily earned with MegaBonus. Marriott currently has more than 3,000 hotels in the USA and over 500 international hotels with plenty of choices for paid and free nights.

Marriott Rewards MegaBonus is a recurring promotion for infrequent Marriott Rewards guests to earn one free night after two hotel stays.

Other targetted variations of MegaBonus promotion offer bonus points with VISA payment. Here are some other offers posted on FlyerTalk.

• 5,000 bonus points every second stay, up to 20,000 bonus points (8 stays) - Marriott Rewards Platinum member.
• 25,000 bonus points after 15 paid nights + additional 15,000 bonus points after 20 nights – Marriott Rewards Platinum member.
• 35,000 bonus points after 20 paid nights + additional 15,000 bonus points after 25 nights – Marriott Rewards Platinum member.

Finding the Fall MegaBonus promotion:

Register online or call 1-888-627-7468 and register by phone through October 31, 2011. You must have your account earning preference set to “points” to see the Fall MegaBonus promotion offer. When I did not see this offer last week I checked my account and saw it was set to miles. Once I changed my account earning preference to points the Fall MegaBonus offer for one free night after two stays paid with VISA showed up immediately in “Promotion Central” under “My Account”.

Loyalty Traveler Promotion Rating = 4 keys out of 5. This is my primary backup promotion for a high value rebate when I can’t find higher value in any other hotel program. Over the course of 2011 it has been possible to stay 12 nights and earn six free nights. Marriott Silver elite requires only 10 nights in Marriott Rewards and earns 20% bonus points for hotel stays.

 

 

 

 

Marriott, Starwood, Best Western and Choice have free night promotions allowing you to pay now and stay free later on another trip. They all have restrictions on the type of free night allowed, so read the rules carefully and see if the free night looks like one you can use.

Marriott Rewards – One Free Night after Two Stays June 1 – August 31.

Marriott International hotel brands: Marriott, JW Marriott, Marriott Vacation Club, Renaissance, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, Courtyard, SpringHill Suites, TownePlace Suites, Autograph Collection, Ritz-Carlton, Edition. (AC Hotels is Marriott’s new brand in Europe, but AC Hotels are not listed as a participating brand for this promotion.)

• Register for this promotion by June 30.
• Stays at Marriott brand hotels worldwide qualify for promotion.
• Maximum of two free nights may be earned per member during promotion period after 4 stays.
• Free night is valid for any hotel category 1 to category 4 hotel worldwide. These are the lower category hotels, but includes around 2,500 hotels globally.
• Free night may be redeemed from June 5 to December 31, 2011.
• Award nights are not transferable and may not be gifted.
• Loyalty Traveler May 16 post on this Marriott promotion.

Strategy for Marriott Rewards promotion: My wife and I have traveled where one night at a hotel is a reservation in my name and the second night is a reservation in her name. First person should check out and get a hotel stay folio before second person checks in under different member account to be sure the stays credit appropriately to each member’s account for the free night credit.

This allows longer stays without changing hotels while maximizing promotion credit. Just tell the hotel you are staying on two different reservations to maximize the Marriott Rewards promotion and you might not need to change rooms during your hotel stay.

Starwood Preferred Guest – One Free Night at a Starwood Resort after Three Stays, May 1 – July 31.

Starwood Hotels brands: Westin, Sheraton, Four Points, Aloft, Element, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Le Meridien.

• Register for this promotion by June 30.
• Stays at Starwood brand hotels worldwide qualify for promotion.
• No limit to earned free nights during promotion period.
• Free night is valid at over 200 Starwood Resorts worldwide.
• Free night may be redeemed any day of week to December 21, 2011.
• Redeem free nights by calling Starwood customer service 1-888-625-4988 (toll-free) and requesting Award ID 3FRN
• Award nights are not transferable and may not be gifted.
• Loyalty Traveler April 15 post on this promotion.

 

Choice Hotels – 8,000 points after Two Stays, May 19 – August 11, 2011.

Choice Brands: Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, Ascend Collection, MainStay Suites, Suburban, Rodeway Inn, EconoLodge.

• Register for this promotion to increase earning limit to 4 bonuses for 32,000 points, otherwise the limit is 2 bonuses for 16,000 points. Elite Platinum and Diamond members may earn bonus 10 times for 80,000 points.
• Must be a resident of U.S., U.S. territories or Canada.
• Book at ChoiceHotels.com or 1-800-4CHOICE. (Elite platinum and elite diamond may book through any channel.
• Important to note: a minimum 2-night stay is required for an eligible stay at the Choice Hotels budget brands of EconoLodge and Rodeway Inn and extended-stay brands Suburban and MainStay Suites.
• 8,000 points is sufficient for about 1,500 hotels or 25% of all Choice Hotels. Many hotels will require 16,000, 20,000 or 25,000 points for a free night.
• Loyalty Traveler May 16 post on Choice Hotels promotion.

 

Best Western Hotels – One free night after three stays June 19-August 14, 2011.

Best Western hotels are all one brand, but in 2011 three tiers were created with most of the worldwide 4,000+ properties remaining Best Western and about 800 hotels as Best Western Plus and around 100+ hotels (mostly outside U.S.) as Best Western Premier.

• Register for this promotion by logging into account, click My Account tab, and in section titled “Membership Overview” click the tab “Special Offers Sign-Up“.  This promotion should be listed.
• Here are the promotion terms.
• Promotion registration only open for residents of U.S., Canada, Bahamas and U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Stay at any Best Western worldwide to qualify for free night.
• Limit of one free night voucher per member during promotion period.
• Free night voucher expires January 31, 2012.
• Free night voucher valid only at Best Western hotels in U.S., Canada, Bahamas and U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Elite members of Best Western Rewards earn 6,500 bonus points if two of three stays are in two different tiers of Best Western (Best Western, Best Western Plus (about 800 hotels), Best Western Premier (100+ hotels). Limit of one elite bonus per member.
• Earn an additional 6,500 bonus points if each of three stays paid with Best Western Rewards MasterCard. Limit of one credit card bonus per member.

Marriott Rewards offers members 4x miles from June 1 through August 31, 2011 beginning with your second hotel stay during the promotion period. The design of Marriott Rewards site requires your member account be set to earn miles rather than points to enable the 4x miles promotion page to load. Promotion registration begins June 1.

Marriott Rewards members on FlyerTalk state the miles promotion and points promotions can both be earned if you switch your earning preference and register for both promotions. This makes it possible to toggle between earning points for the MegaBonus offer of one free night at a category 1 to 4 hotel after two stays which is great for one night hotel stays and then earn miles for longer, more expensive stays when the bonus miles will add up quickly. You just need to manage your earning preference by switching between  miles or points  to maximize the best earning option for each hotel stay.

Earn 8 miles per $1 for most charges at these hotel brands:

• JW Marriott
• Marriott Hotels & Resorts
• Renaissance
• Autograph Collection
• Marriott Vacation Club
• Edition

Earn 4 miles per $1 on room rate only at these hotel brands:

• Courtyard
• Residence Inn
• Fairfield Inn
• TownePlace Suites
• SpringHill Suites

Participating Airlines for 4x Miles:

• Aeroplan (Air Canada)
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific Airways
• Delta Air Lines
• Frontier Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JetBlue Airways
• Jet Airways JetPrivilege
• Kingfisher Airlines
• LifeMiles (Avianca-TACA)
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines
• US Airways

Southwest Airlines normally earns 600 points per stay for any Marriott hotel brand, so quadruple points = 2,400 points per stay at any hotel brand.

JetBlue with this promotion earns 4 points per $1 at upper tier brands (Marriott, Renaissance) and 2 points per $1 at the lower tier hotel brands (Courtyard, Residence Inn) shown above.

Marriott Rewards 4x Miles Promotion link (registration begins June 1).

4x Miles Promotion Terms & Conditions.

Please note: You must have your Marriott Rewards member account earning preference set to earn miles in order to load the webpages in these links. They will not load if your account is set for earning points.

Related Loyalty Traveler post: Marriott Rewards MegaBonus June 1-August 31, 2011 (May 16)

Purchase Marriott Travel Cards at 10% to 20% face value discount Monday, April 11, 2011 at DiscoverAmerica.com. The sale begins at 12 noon ET (New York time).

DiscoverAmerica.com Daily Getaways link.

• $50 Marriott Travel Card for $44.   (Maximum purchase = 5 cards.)
• $100 Marriott TravelCard for $89.   (Maximum purchase = 5 cards.)
• $250 Marriott TravelCard for $222.   (Maximum purchase = 2 cards.)
• $500 Marriott TravelCard for $445.   (Maximum purchase = 2 cards.)
• $1,000 Marriott TravelCard for $890.   (Maximum purchase = 1 card.)
• Get an extra 10% off purchase price for payment with any American Express card.
• You can buy up to five $100 cards and up to five $50 cards and so on.
• Marriott TravelCards will be delivered via U.S. mail within 10 days.

The primary advantage to Marriott TravelCards over buying Marriott Rewards points is the ability to earn hotel stay credit for points and promotions when paying for Marriott stays with Marriott TravelCards. The terms and conditions for these cards appear to have restrictions for rates and state no Marriott points earned, but in practice based on anecdotal evidence from last year’s DiscoverAmerica sale (FlyerTalk 2010 thread), the Marriott TravelCards are accepted for rates like AAA and points are earned.

There are few restrictions associated with Marriott TravelCards. The main thing is to treat the card like cash and not lose the card since it will not be replaced. Otherwise, the Marriott TravelCard value does not expire and may be used to pay for any Marriott brand hotels worldwide.

DiscoverAmerica.com Daily Getaways

A similar month-long Daily Getaways sale was offered last May 2010. Last year’s sale offered some of the greatest discounts of the year for hotel points in programs like Hyatt, Starwood, Choice and IHG points.

Last year I purchased several Daily Getaway offers for discount priced hotel loyalty points. The rates last year were actually closer to the American Express discount for this year without the need to use American Express for payment. 

These hotel discount sales are high value discounts and some items sell out quickly. You need to be ready to make a purchase at the start of the sale if you really desire one or more of these items. 

About DiscoverAmerica.com

DiscoverAmerica.com is the official travel and tourism website of the United States. The Daily Getaways are sponsored by American Express and prices are discounted by 10% when using American Express as payment. DiscoverAmerica.com has 25 days of discounted travel opportunities with a focus on hotels and car rentals through its “Daily Getaways”.

Hyatt Gold Passport points Daily Getaway offer, Friday, April 15 – 12 noon ET

Hyatt Gold Passport points are available at a significant discount through DiscoverAmerica.com ($9.38/1,000 points with American Express discount at $225 for 24,000 points) compared to the purchase price through Hyatt Gold Passport ($24/1,000 points).

Currently the first three weeks of DiscoverAmerica.com DailyGetaways offers have posted.

Week 1: April 11-15, 2011

 

Week 2: April 18-22, 2011

 

Week 3: April 25-29, 2011

Related Link: Marriott Gift Cards (essentially same type of card).

Today, Monday March 7, is the last day to book reward nights at 351 hotels being assigned to a higher  hotel reward category on Tuesday, March 8. Most of these hotels will cost 5,000 points per night more for hotels rising one category level.

There are 35 hotels rising from category 4 to category 5 which will make them ineligible for free night certificates earned from Marriott Rewards MegaBonus and Marriott Rewards Visa credit card enrollment free night certificates limited to category 1 to 4 hotels.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis of Marriott Rewards 2011 hotel category assignment changes

First trend – Aruba, Netherland Antilles Caribbean island is the Marriott hot spot.

5-night Marriott stay = 140,000 points today or 160,000 points tomorrow.

Marriott’s Aruba Resort & Stellaris Casino, along with two Marriott timeshare properties, Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club and Aruba Ocean Club, leap to the prestigious category 8 reward level. 

Category 8 has been the exclusive domain of world class destinations like New York, London, Paris and Rome.

Now Aruba ties London and New York for most Marriott category 8 hotels at three each. Paris is only two and Rome just one.  

The Asians must be getting a team ready for 2012 competition. Australia can’t be far behind.

Marriott Aruba has a 23.74% hotel tax.

For now, dock the yacht in Aruba at 40,000 points per night, or possibly more points if you want to see the ocean from your hotel bedroom when you’re off the boat. Of course, go Dutch and you can live social in Aruba at 20,000 points per night each for two. Unfortunately you need 160,000 points in one account to get the Marriott Rewards 5^th night free rate, so going Dutch might not be so practical or economical if you need to buy points to reach 160,000 points.

Actually Marriott Rewards allows free transfer of points for spouses and domestic partners from one account to another to reach the amount needed for a specified award redemption level.

You can buy 50,000 points in a calendar year for $625. That is a fairly high price for buying points. For a location like Aruba the points might be worth the cost if you had 60,000 points and could buy 100,000 for $1,250 and redeem for a 5-night vacation. Aruba is a place where $500 per night is not uncommon.

Renaissance Aruba Beach rises to category 6 on March 8. 120,000 points for 5 nights makes this Aruba location the poverty jetsetter’s retreat.

Hey babe, Virginia Beach, Virginia or Zurich and Vail?

Category 7 hotel rewards share the realm of New York, London, Paris, Boston, Miami, South Lake Tahoe and San Francisco.

People must really like Virginia Beach.

I went to Virginia Beach once in 1973 when I was in 7^th grade and lived at Fort Eustis, north of Newport News, Virginia. My memory is a beach of jelly fish.  The area might be appealing to me now if I were to return, but I don’t know about a Residence Inn and SpringHill Suites moving from category 6 to category 7 in 2011.

Hotel names like Grand Cayman Marriott Resort and Key West Marriott Beachside Hotel and Zurich Marriott in Switzerland sound like places for legal and illegal financiers to mingle with pirates in the lobbies. Vail Marriott Mountain Resort is a jetsetter vacation getaway. JW Marriott Washington D.C. has fantastic location near White House and IHG’s The Willard and Starwood’s W hotel.

Then, there are the Residence Inn and SpringHill Suites Virginia Beach Oceanfront properties rising to category 7 and 35,000 points per night. Fairfield Inn Virginia Beach rises to Category 6 on March 8.

Hotels rising from Category 5 to Category 6 reward nights are evenly divided between 10 international and 10 domestic hotels. Aruba, Australia and Canada are places where room rates have risen and the dollar has weakened. The domestic hotels look like popular tourist destinations and of course Courtyard JFK Airport has a high traffic location.

Hotels rising from Category 4 to Category 5

Important: Book today if you want to use certificates for these Category 4 hotels rising to Category 5 hotels.  These hotels are rising from 20,000 points to 25,000 points per night.

Toronto, Munich and Cologne in Germany, Sao Paulo, Cairo, Moscow are places with rising hotels.

In the U.S. are Disneyland, San Diego, Miami, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Boston, Boston Logan, Raleigh, La Guardia (LGA) airport.

The majority of changes involve current category 1, 2 and 3 hotel assignments.

112 hotels increasing from category 3 to category 4.

About half of the 15 international hotels include full-service Marriott and Renaissance properties in  Shanghai, Bogota, Sao Paulo Airport, Stuttgart, Germany, Kuwait City, and Cebu City. Canada has several Courtyard and Residence Inn hotels rising.

97 of the hotels rising from category 3 to category 4 are in the U.S. The interesting aspect of these changes is the rates at U.S. hotels have actually been lowest of all the global regions. The changes affect Courtyard, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites across the country.

115 hotels are rising from category 2 to category 3. These are nearly all in the U.S. and geographically diverse.

There is a net loss of 42 hotels from the category 1 level at 7,500 points per night. With all but 3 hotels of about 250 in category 1 located in the U.S., the loss of 42 hotels is a significant shift of hotels out of the bottom category for U.S. travelers. The blow is only an additional 2,500 points.

The shift of 227 hotels from categories 2 and 3 to categories 3 and 4 is not balanced in any way by the 55 hotels moving down from categories 4 and 3 to catagories 3 and 2. This is a net shift of 172 hotels, about 7% or 1 in 15 Marriott brand hotels in the U.S. going up 5,000 points per night tomorrow.

The past two years have seen room rates fall across the U.S. and the U.S. has one of the lowest average daily room rates across the globe. Looks like Marriott is picking up some of the rate difference through higher hotel reward cost for U.S. travelers.

See  March 2 Loyalty traveler post for a complete list of hotels changing category March 8.

The good side of the hotel category changes

89 hotels decrease in reward cost on March 8.

There are no hotels currently in category 7 or 8 that are decreasing a category level.

Dropping from Category 6 to Category 5 (3 hotels)

Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg, Florida Golf just isn’t the same with Tiger Woods a fallen angel, but this golf resort goes for less in 2011.

Ledra Marriott Athens, Greece.  You might sense a little anti-American  sentiment, but you can get it for a little less per night as this hotel drops from 120,000 points for a 5-night stay to just 100,000 points.

Casa Magna Marriott Puerto Vallarta for a zinging beach experience. A high floor should keep you out of target. I jest of course. VallartaToday.com, the English language local newspaper, says your chance of being a crime victim in the U.S. is 8% compared to 1.3% in Mexico.  I avoid those 8% neighborhoods around California.

Dropping from Category 5 to Category 4 (15 hotels)

JW Marriott Beijing or JW Marriott Caracas are a little bit cheaper on March 8. You can tell me all about the joys and authenticity of hostels, home rentals and couch surfing. When I am in Caracas, I’ll take the JW Marriott as a top recommendation. Although the Renaissance La Castellana Caracas is also category 4 and is ranked #1 on TripAdvisor today for Caracas hotels.

Boca Raton and Doral are the cheap vacation reward destinations with four full-service Marriott and Renaissance hotels dropping category. Renaissance Hotels in Tampa and Cleveland drop too. BWI Airport Marriott will cost less for a layover.

Dropping from Category 4 to Category 3 (29 hotels)

Beijing is the cheap place to be with two Marriott and two Renaissance hotels dropping to category 3 at 15,000 points per night. These hotels are 60,000 points for a 5-night stay. Getting that visa into China should go a little easier when your hotel address is an extended stay with Marriott Hotels.

Florida locations, Dallas and San Antonio Texas, Salt Lake City and full service Marriott hotels in Oklahoma City and Greenville, South Carolina are all dropping category. Norfolk Marriott at 60,000 points for 5-nights is a 10-mile drive to the category 7 Residence Inn of Virginia Beach.

Dropping from Category 3 to Category 2 (26 hotels)

Looking at these hotel names is like reading the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices for worst performing housing markets in the U.S. – Phoenix, Las Vegas, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa-St. Pete, Ohio and Michigan.

Dropping from Category 2 to Category 1 (16 hotels)

Rural, suburbs, undesirable locations that you do not want to find yourself staying overnight. I actually am not familiar with any of these locations. Enough said.

Check the list, study it twice and see if there are any last minute reward nights you want to book before the hotels increase in category level on Tuesday March 8.

Marriott Rewards announced it will raise the hotel reward category at 350 hotels and lower the category for 100 hotels on March 8. Members can make reservations at the lower reward level for hotels moving up by ordering certificates before March 8. Members can receive an adjustment in points for existing reservations after March 8 for hotels moving down.

Marriott Rewards has only released the names of 50 hotels changing category in current categories 5 through 8. Of these 50 hotels, 31 are increasing in category and 19 are decreasing in reward category. The other 400 hotels changing category are currently in category 1 through 4.

Marriott Rewards has not posted a complete list at this time of the 450 hotels changing reward category on March 8, 2011. Last year Marriott Rewards never posted the complete hotel list prior to the 2010 category changes taking effect.

Loyalty Traveler excoriated Marriott Rewards for its lack of transparency last March when it chose not to publish the full list of category changes prior to the new reward category levels taking effect. Obviously my rants had no effect as Marriott Rewards has chosen to follow a similar strategy again for 2011.

The hotel reward costs what it costs, so what’s the big deal about an incomplete list of changes?

Marriott Rewards has announced it will change the hotel reward category assignment at 450 hotels. The 350 hotels moving up in category represent 10% of Marriott’s global hotel portfolio which was 3,507 hotels as of December 31, 2010.

The changes released in Marriott’s advance notice to members of Marriott Insiders and FlyerTalk include only 31 hotels of the 350 hotels increasing reward category March 8. That is less than 9% of the hotels revealed that will cost more points as of March 8.

There will be an increase in points needed for a reward night at 319 other Marriott brand hotels on March 8. Making a reservation at the lower reward level is rather difficult when members do not know the names of these 319 hotels.

Marriott Rewards Free Night Certificates Often Restricted to Category 4 and Lower

Currently Marriott Rewards offers MegaBonus 2011 for a free night certificate after two hotel stays. The free night certificates earned from the MegaBonus promotion are only valid at Marriott Rewards category 1 to 4 hotels.  New members of Marriott Rewards Visa card also receive a free night certificate restricted for use at Category 1 to 4 hotel rewards. 

Marriott Rewards members holding these types of free night certificates do not have a list of the hotels that will be increasing to category 5 on March 8. The reassignment of hotels to category 5 hotel rewards will likely make dozens of Marriott hotels ineligible for free nights as of March 8, even though these hotels are currently eligible with a Category 4 free night certificate earned from credit card membership or MegaBonus.

At least this year I am seeing numerous requests to Marriott Rewards from members seeking the full list of hotel reward category changes before the changes go into effect. More voices calling for transparency create a louder voice.

Will Marriott Rewards listen to their members’ voice before March 8?

Update: February 28, 2010

Here is Marriott’s official response to members’ request for a complete list of hotel reward category changes before the changes go into effect on March 8, 2011.

“The entire list is considered proprietary.”

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/15948807-post43.html

Update Wednesday, March 2: Marriott posted today on FlyerTalk the full list of properties changing categories on March 8.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2011/03/02/marriott-posts-complete-list-of-hotel-reward-category-changes-for-march-8/

Marriott International posted 2010 Q-4 room rate increases of 2.3%, however, there was a decline in room rates overall for the full year 2010 compared to 2009. 

• Autograph Collection launched in 2010 to brand 13 independent hotels in the U.S. with Marriott.
• Edition Waikiki opened as the first property in a new Marriott luxury brand.
• AC Hotels, a Spanish hotel group will be a new Marriott brand in 2011 and add 90 hotels in Spain, Portugal and Italy.
• Marriott had net growth of 125 hotels in 2010 with the majority being U.S. hotels in Fairfield Inn (28), Courtyard (27) and SpringHill Suites (18).

 

 

Source: Marriott International 2010 Results (2-14-2011)

Marriott Rewards PointSavers discount the cost of a hotel reward night by one category level.  Book three nights at a category 5 hotel and only pay the category 4 reward price – 20,000 points instead of 25,000 points per night. PointSavers are available at select hotels. Some hotels currently have PointSavers dates listed into December 2011.

The current list is limited with only 20 hotels in the U.S. and 5 international hotels. But this is a great opportunity for a winter vacation in Michigan or spring in Cologne, Germany if you are in the area.

Ritz-Carlton Hotels also participate in PointSavers, however, there has been a dramatic decline in participation since the September 2010 launch of Ritz Carlton Rewards. The current list has only Ritz Carlton Seoul Korea and only for two single night dates in January and February.

On a side note: I notice two new Ritz-Carlton Hotels added since launch of Ritz-Carlton Rewards in September 2010. 

• The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong

• The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong

  Both hotels enter the system at the top Tier 5 for 70,000 points a night.

I guess entry at the Tier 5 top of the reward chart is appropriate for Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong since it will occupy the 102^nd to 118^th floors and hold the distinction of the tallest hotel in the world when it opens in March 2011.

Marriott PointSavers Reward Chart

The Marriott Rewards system for PointSavers means the discount is lower as the reward category increases in Ritz-Carlton Rewards. Marriott Rewards category 3 and Ritz-Carlton Rewards category 1 hotels are the sweet spot in the PointSavers system for the maximum 33% points savings.

At the top three Marriott categories of 6, 7 and 8 and Ritz-Carlton Tiers 4 and 5, the PointSavers discount falls below 20% overall.

Marriott PointSavers

United States

Arizona

Marriott Vacation Club  Canyon Villas, Phoenix (Marriott Rewards category 6)

• - January 30 – February 13, 2011

The Buttes, A Marriott Resort, Tempe (Marriott Rewards category 5)

• - May 23 – September 5, 2011
• - November 18-27, 2011
• - December 16 – 25, 2011

 

California

Marriott Vacation Club  Desert Springs Villas II, Palm Desert  (Marriott Rewards category 6)

• - April 30 – May 13, 2011

Marriott Vacation Club Shadow Ridge I-The Villages, Palm Desert (Marriott Rewards category 6)

• - January 2 – March 6, 2011
• - April 30 – May 25, 2011

Napa Valley Hotel and Spa

• - October 31 – March 31, 2011 (Sundays – Thursday)

San Francisco Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf

• - January 13 – February 13, 2011
• - February 18–27, 2011
• - March 4–16, 2011
• - March 22–31, 2011

Warner Center Marriott Woodland Hills

• - January 7, 2011 – December 30, 2011 (weekends only)

 

Florida

World Golf Village Renaissance St. Augustine Resort

• - February 2-18, 2011
• - February 24 – March 5, 2011

Hawaii

Kaua’i Marriott Resort

• - March 27 – April 6, 2011
• - May 1-15, 2011
• - June 1-15, 2011
• - August 15-31, 2011

 

Michigan

Courtyard Detroit Dearborn

• December 15, 2010 – March 31, 2011 (except 12/31/10, 1/9/11-1/12/11)

Courtyard Detroit Troy

• - December 15 – March 31, 2011 (except 12/31/10, 1/13/11-1/15/11) 

Courtyard Detroit Warren

• - December 15, 2010 – March 31, 2011 (except 12/31/10)

Residence Inn Detroit Warren

• - December 15, 2010 – March 31, 2011 (except 12/31/10) 

Residence Inn Dearborn

• December 15, 2010 – March 31, 2011 (except 12/31/10 & 1/9/11-1/12/11)

The Dearborn Inn

• - December 15, 2010 – March 31, 2011 (except 12/31/10 & 1/9/11-1/12/11) 

Troy Marriott 

• December 15, 2010 – March 31, 2011 (except 12/31/10, 1/14/11-1/15/11, 1/21/11-1/22/11 & 2/17/11-2/19/11)

 

New Jersey

SpringHill Suites Ewing Princeton South

• - December 17, 2010 – February 5, 2011

New York

Springhill Suites Brookhaven

• - January 1 – March 26, 2011

North Carolina

Renaissance Charlotte Suites

• - February 3-6, 12-14, 20-22, 27, 2011
• - March 6-7, 10-14, 20-21, 24, 26-27, 31, 2011 

Texas

Houston Marriott South at Hobby Airport

• - January 10 – February 28, 2011

 

International

Denmark

Copenhagen Marriott Hotel

• - December 10, 2010 – April 10, 2011

Germany

Cologne Marriott Hotel 

• - April 18 – May 1, 2011 

Renaissance Cologne Hotel

• - January 1-16, 2011
• - April 18 – May 1, 2011

 

India

Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel

• - February 15-28, 2011
• - March 1st March 31,2011

South Korea

The Ritz Carlton, Seoul

• - January 29
• - February 28, 2011

Marriott Rewards offers triple miles with any of 26 airlines for stays at any Marriott brand hotel February 1 – April 30, 2011. Triple miles begin with second stay during promotion period. Marriott Rewards members need to switch earning preference in online profile to miles in order to register for this promotion.

Marriott Rewards MegaMiles Promotion offer link.

Participating Airline Partners

• Air Berlin topbonus
• Air China
• Aeroplan (Air Canada)
• Aeromexico
• Air France / KLM
• Alaska Airlines
• Alitalia MilleMiglia
• All Nippon Airways
• Asiana Airlines
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• China Southern Airlines
• Continental Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Frontier Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Japan Airlines
• Jet Airways JetPrivilege®
• LAN
• Lufthansa
• Singapore Airlines
• TACA Airlines (As of February 1, 2011)
• United Airlines
• USAirways
• Varig
• Virgin Atlantic

 

Marriott Rewards Earn Rate for Miles

The base-level earn rate is 2 miles per $1 in hotel spend at Marriott, Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott and Autograph Collection hotel brands.  Only 1 mile per $1 earned for stays at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites.

Oddly inconsistent with Marriott Rewards is the lower earning rate of 1 mile per $1 hotel spend at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites. Hotel stays in these three brands earn full points credit at 10 points per $1, yet only 50% miles credit. Earning reduced miles for stays at Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites is consistent with 50% base points earn rate for these brands at just 5 points per $1.

Triple Miles Calculation

6 miles per dollar hotel spend at Marriott, Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott and Autograph Collection hotel brands.

3 miles per dollar hotel spend at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites.

 

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Any stay over $83 at an upper tier hotel earns more than 500 miles as a comparative data point to Hilton HHonors fixed rate of 500 miles per hotel stay for HHonors Points & Fixed Miles earners.  But HHonors members still earn points in addition to 500 miles.

Assume a 6 points/$1 Marriott stay at $800 and 4,800 miles earned, in lieu of 8,000 points. That seems like an equitable trade-off in miles.

But I would go for 10 points per dollar rather than triple miles on any stay at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites only earning 3 miles per dollar.

Marriott Rewards Excellent Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates for High Points Transfers

You can ultimately earn more miles by earning points instead of triple miles at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites during this MegaMiles promotion.

Marriott Rewards points at the 125,000 points level exchange into 50,000 miles. The 50,000 miles exchange rate is 10 points = 4 miles or the same as earning 4 miles for every dollar in hotel spend. The exchange rate available with a 70,000 or 125,000 points-to-miles transfer is better than 3 miles per dollar with this triple miles promotion.

Spend $1,000 at Courtyard and you earn 3,000 miles during this triple miles promotion.

Take 10,000 points instead.

You can exchange 10,000 points into 3,571 miles when making a 70,000 points to 25,000 miles exchange through Marriott Rewards.

10,000 points equals 4,000 miles at the 125,000 points to 50,000 miles exchange rate.

Brands offering 6 miles/$1 triple miles are a good mileage earning opportunity since this rate is higher than the points-to-miles exchange rate that maxes out at the equivalent of 4 miles/$1.

Marriott Rewards MegaBonus offers members a free night after two stays during this promotion period. Free nights may be the better offer for some members.

MegaMiles 2011 is a good triple miles offer for Marriott Rewards miles collectors, although members may want to actively adjust your online earning profile to get the better value for each hotel stay.

Related Post: Marriott Rewards MegaBonus Feb 1- April 30, 2011 (free night after two stays)

Marriott has a limited time offer giving 10 points per $1 for Marriott gift card purchases made between October 25 and December 31, 2010. Members may earn up to 25,000 bonus points for $2,500 in gift card purchases.

Marriott gift cards have a minimum $50 purchase level and maximum $9,999 per gift card.

This offer is essentially double points for Marriott hotel stays since the Marriott Rewards member earns 10 points per dollar for gift card purchase, as well as the regular 10 points per dollar when paying for Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Autograph Collection and SpringHill Suites hotel stays using the Marriott gift card. Marriott hotel brands Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites earn 5 base points per dollar for hotel stays.

Another feature of the Marriott gift cards is they work as a Visa card for Marriott promotions like the current MegaBonus requiring Visa card payment to earn two free nights after four hotel stays by January 15, 2011.

Marriott Rewards Gift Card Offer Terms and Conditions

To earn points, you simply add your Marriott Rewards number at check-out.

Offer valid on purchases of GiftCards and Certificates made online at gifts.marriott.com and Marriott reservations from October 25 – December 31, 2010. Offer not valid on Marriott GiftCards and/or Certificates purchased via other channels (IE: cards purchased at a hotel or third party channels.) Marriott Rewards members earn 10 point per dollar for each GiftCard and/or Certificate purchase made online at gifts.marriott.com. Points are earned on card and certificate value only and not on shipping or packaging. A maximum of 25,000 Marriott Rewards Points may be earned per member. Points will be posted to your Marriott Rewards account within six weeks after the promotion ends on December 31, 2010. Marriott reserves the right cancel this promotion at any time without notice. For all other terms and conditions of Marriott Rewards membership, visit marriottrewards.com.

https://gifts.marriott.com/promo_terms.aspx

TMTravelWorld blog directs you to a FatWallet.com link for 2.5% cash back on the cost of Marriott gift cards. This is not considered a third-party channel since the FatWallet.com link directs the purchase back through gifts.marriott.com.

20 bonus points per £ for Marriott UK gift card purchases

There is an additional offer through the Marriott UK site for 20 bonus points per GBP gift card purchases. This offer also has a 25,000 bonus points limit. You can earn bonuses through both the U.S. purchase site and the U.K. purchase site.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:

Getting a cash equivalent value of more than $10 per 1,000 points is common with Marriott Rewards hotel nights using points. Many upper upscale hotels are available for 20,000 or 25,000 points when the nightly rate can be $300+ per night. Even more common are 15,000 point Category-3 Marriott brand hotels with room rates over $150 per night.

• Buy $2,500 in Marriott gift cards.
• Earn 25,000 bonus points for purchase.

Assume 25,000 points can be redeemed for $250 as Marriott hotel night reward. There are many opportunities to get this cash equivalent value by redeeming points rather than pay for the hotel room.

You earn an additional 10% savings through the cash equivalent value of points earned on your overall Marriott hotel spend when buying gift cards. You also can receive 2.5% cash back by purchasing Marriott gift cards through FatWallet.com.

$2,500 in Marriott hotel spend can reasonably earn an additional 75,000 points with recurring promotions like Marriott MegaBonus or perhaps another $500 to $600 in Marriott hotel credit through Marriott’s frequent Bonus Bucks promotions offering $25 to $100 future hotel stay credit.

Three situations using these cards: 

Situation 1:

Marriott Rewards frequent guest on the cheap stays 25 times on $100 per night hotel stays averaging one-night. This Marriott Rewards member earns 25,000 base points from the hotel stays, at least 7,500 elite bonus points as Marriott Silver after 10 hotel nights and status earned in 2011 will last through February 2013. Possibly the member will earn a free night or two from ongoing promotions during the Marriott gift card paid hotel stays or perhaps earn an extra 25,000 points from promotions.

Assume 25 paid nights at Marriott brand hotels in one year paying with $2,500 in Marriott Hotels gift cards. You will likely earn 75,000 to 100,000 or 3 to 10 free nights in Marriott Rewards points cash equivalent value, depending on how you spend your points.

This can be a great offer if you plan your hotel stays to maximize the Marriott promotions.

Situation 2:

Marriott Rewards member is going to Hawaii for seven days and will have a projected $3,000 check-out bill. She wasn’t even a member of Marriott Rewards before booking this trip, but figured earning 30,000 points from the Hawaii trip is essentially a free hotel night rebate.

She buys $3,000 in Marriott gift cards and in addition to earning 30,000 points from the  hotel stay, there is the 2.5% FatWallet.com cashback on the gift cards purchase and an additional 25,000 points earned buying gift cards. That $3,000 Marriott Hawaii vacation price tag just dropped by $75 and she will have enough points after the trip for another two to five free hotel nights with Marriott.

Situation 3: 

Of course you do not need to max out this offer with $2,500 in gift card purchases. This can be a good deal even if buying $400 in Marriott gift cards. That is an extra 4,000 bonus points and after $400 in hotel spend on four hotel stays you may have  earned two free nights from the current MegaBonus and enough points for another free Marriott rewards category 1 hotel reward night at 7,500 points. Seven nights with Marriott for $400 is a Priceline priced deal.