Marriott Rewards points expire after two years of inactivity effective February 1, 2016

Marriott Concierge is busy on social media this week. First there was the announcement that 1 in 3 Marriott Hotels worldwide is changing category on March 19, 2015 with 75% of those hotels going up in reward category.

Yesterday a new policy was announced that Marriott Rewards points expire after two years of inactivity effective February 1, 2016.

Starting February 1, 2016, members who do not have a qualifying activity in the prior 24 months will forfeit all accumulated points. If you have not engaged in a qualifying activity since January 31, 2014 you have until January 31, 2016 to do so before the policy is enforced.

We make it pretty easy to maintain active status in the Marriott Rewards program. Qualifying activities include:

• Make a paid (or redemption) stay at any of our 3,800+ participating hotels worldwide
• Redeem points
• Make a purchase through a Marriott Rewards credit card
• Earn points with one of our program partners
• Purchase points
• Hold a qualifying meeting or event through the Rewarding Events℠ program

The following activities do not count toward maintaining an active status in the Marriott Rewards program:

• Gifting or transferring points; however, converting Points to Miles or Miles to Points does count toward maintaining an active status
• Receiving points as a gift or transfer
• Earning points through social media programs, such as #MRPoints

For full details and updated terms, please visit: http://www.MarriottRewards.com/PointsPolicy

Over the years I have shared a story about how Marriott Rewards points I earned in 2000 from transfers of LatinPass miles to Marriott Rewards for a hotel reward stay left me with about 15,000 points in my account for years. I redeemed those points around ten years later when I traveled to Albany, New York. Marriott Rewards had a competitive advantage over other hotel programs with non-expiring points.

IHG Rewards Club is another hotel loyalty program with a policy of points never expire.

There are reasons for loyalty members who have been active in a hotel loyalty program to stop activity for a period of time. One of the easiest and least expensive ways to maintain Marriott Rewards account activity is to buy 1,000 Marriott Rewards points for $12.50. That is a small price to pay to prevent thousands of points from expiring.

The new policy begins February 1, 2016. Any activity between now and January 31, 2016 will extend your points life for another two years from that date.

Source: FlyerTalk.com – Marriott Rewards® points will now expire

Related Post: Loyalty Traveler – Marriott Rewards March 19, 2015 hotel category changes are bad news (Feb 26, 2015)