Marriott Bonvoy is selling points at 25% discount for $9.38 per 1,000 points from the normal $12.50 per 1,000 points price when you buy 5,000 or more points. Members can buy or receive as a gift a combined maximum of 50,000 points in a calendar year. I received this offer today from Marriott Bonvoy to my member account email.
This sale lasts through May 15, 2019.
Program RulesÂ
- Transactions must be completed between 9:00 AM ET April 15, 2019 and 11:59 PM ET May 15, 2019 to be eligible for the discount.
- Purchased points do not count towards Marriott Bonvoy Elite status.
- A member may purchase or receive as a gift from another member a combined maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year.
- Points may be purchased in increments of 1,000.
- Excluding promo periods, purchase rate is 12.50 (USD) per 1,000 points.
- Please allow 24-48 hours for transaction to be completed and points awarded to recipient.
- You must be a member in good standing to both purchase and receive points.
- A new member may purchase points thirty (30) days after enrollment if their Marriott Bonvoy account reflects qualifying activity as described in the Marriott Bonvoy Program Rules. After ninety (90) days from enrollment, a new member is eligible to purchase points regardless of their account activity.
- Once points have been purchased or gifted, no refunds will be permitted.
- Purchasing points using a Marriott BonvoyTTMÂ or The Ritz-CarltonTMÂ credit card will result in earning one point per dollar spent on these transactions.
- All Marriott Bonvoy Program Rules apply and can be found at https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/terms/default.mi
Is this a good deal?
My first thought was this is the first time I have seen Marriott sell points. Marriott participates in the U.S. Travel Association annual Daily Getaways sale, happening again in May 2019, but only sells 20% off travel cards.
My second thought on this sale is the SPG points sale May 2018 offered a lower rate since we knew Starpoints would transfer to Marriott points 1:3. That sale offered up to 30,000 Starpoints at $22.75 per 1,000 points, which transferred to 90,000 Marriott Rewards points at an equivalent purchase rate of $7.59/1,000 points.
I don’t see much value in paying $9.38 per 1,000 points without a specific redemption in mind. Personally, I will wait and see what Marriott Bonvoy offers in Daily Getaways next month before making a final evaluation on this offer.
Also, 50,000 points is a low annual purchase limit that should be raised by Marriott Bonvoy. Since the purchase limit is rather low compared to other hotel loyalty programs, a bonus points offer would be more advantageous for members who want to buy a large number of points.
For example, if Marriott Bonvoy offered 40% bonus points, then spending $625 to buy 50,000 points would add 20,000 bonus points for a price of $8.93 per 1,000 points and the option to buy 70,000 points in the calendar year.
Anyway, this is an opportunity to buy Marriott Bonvoy points if you are close to the points level you desire for a reward stay. I might be interested in buying 7,000 points for a hotel stay this summer where paying $66 for points would allow me to book a high value 25,000 points hotel reward night that would be a nice deal for somewhere I plan to be.
