Marriott’s Award Terms
Marriott switched to the new peak and off-peak award pricing a couple of months ago. The new award pricing will apply to all 7,000+ hotels. So now a night will set you back anywhere from 5,000 points for an off-peak Category 1 stay to 100,000 points for a peak Category 8 room. Here’s the award chart:
New Terms
To make matters worse, the following line was added in the Marriott Bonvoy Terms & Conditions:
Select properties may have redemption rates in excess of the Category 8 Redemption Rates.
Base on that, some hotels could be priced even higher than the 100K point required for Category 8 peak pricing. For now the news is not as bad as first thought. TPG reports that the change in terms was made because of the addition of North Island, a Luxury Collection Resort, Seychelles into the Marriott International portfolio. Marriott is looking to make this property available for award stays in the near future.
Marriott also confirmed that “there are no current plans to raise prices at existing Category 8 properties”.
Conclusion
Charging over 100K points per night for a North Island stay makes sense. The property only has 11 ocean-view villas, hidden amidst 201 hectares of exquisite natural beauty, each measuring over 450sqm with private plunge pools and direct access to the beach.
But adding the new link in the terms of the Marriott Bonvoy program, also opens the door to other properties going up in price. Marriott says that there are no current plans to raise prices at existing Category 8 properties, but since the option is there, those plans might change in the future.
Let us know what you think!
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I got wise about 18 months ago and switched loyalty to Hilton. Never looked back and don’t miss them. I have no problem finding a great hotel in any city that isn’t part of their brand.
It’s Marriott. They’ve pretty much destroyed any semblance of credibility over the last few years, which is why Bonvoyed is a thing. If I planned on having a future with them, I’d be very concerned.
I have held a Marriott Visa card for well over 30+ years and earned without any MS by our regular spending on that card to at one point nearly 4MM points. I have over 800 nights in some form of a Marriott. I am now lifetime Titanium Elite. Because of what Marriott has done to their points system, in one year we will have burned over 1 MM points and now are at about 600K. It is very clear to me that Marriott values me and my loyally very, very little. We rarely get an upgrade due to the “our suites are booked” comment we hear so often. Also, Marriott thinks its reward system is on par with Hilton, yet any of the Hilton cards earn way more than a Marriott card, plus those Hilton points are easy to snag. We now look for the Hyatts when travelling up and down the road visiting family, or short trips. We have not spent one dime on the Marriott cards we have in well over a year. Marriott can do whatever they want with their system. They have cheated on me too many times and once those 600K are gone, we are divorced.
To be fair, as much as I dislike how Marriott treats loyal members, Hilton points worth around half that of Marriott, which is why it seems easier to get Hilton points, but you can easily spend 120,000 Hilton points for a mediocre hotel. Marriott also have far more properties than Hilton, which makes it easier for me to just stay with them. That said, I’ve converted almost all my Marriott points into airline mileage last month when there was a 30% bonus, but I’m still struggling to use my Hilton points at rates I believe is fair. However I did get much more upgrades in Hilton than Marriott. As a reference I scored around 2M Hilton and close to 1M Marriott in the past 5 years.
Agree, Hilton points are easier to snag. As a Diamond with Hilton, I book a standard room, get an upgrade, free breakfast, and lounge access where available, and I’ve been staying at Hiltons that generally have a lounge. As a Diamond, paid stays at Hiltons really rack up the points.