Marriott Bonvoy put Peak and Off Peak rates in place last week creating new strategies for finding best rates. I initially though peak and off peak rates would apply seasonally, however, Marriott Bonvoy reward rates can change from standard rates to peak rates to off peak rates all in the same week. One of the main strategies to keep in mind when trying to maximize your Bonvoy points value for reward nights is try and book reward nights on the lowest priced dates when there is flexibility in your travel schedule.
Marriott Rewards has a flexible dates function to facilitate these reward searches for the best value dates with a monthly calendar showing the price of reward nights for every date of any specific month at a specific hotel.
How to see Marriott Bonvoy reward rates by month
Step 1: Search a city
Step 2: Click on the dates box to see the option for Flexible Dates search.
Step 3: Select a month from the flexible dates list to see reward rates for each date in monthly calendar view
All the hotels in that city will show in a list, however, you need to select a specific hotel to see monthly calendar view since each hotel has different reward rates.
Step 5: View Rates for the month at each hotel you want to check.
Monterey Marriott
Marriott Monterey is a Marriott Bonvoy category 6 hotel reward. October has standard, peak and off-peak rates during the month. Saturday nights tend to be peak rates at 60,000 points, while Sunday nights tend to be off peak rates at 40,000 points.
Calendar view allows the Marriott Bonvoy member with flexibility in hotel stay dates to choose trip dates with lower priced reward nights.
5th Night Free Reward
One change to 5th Night Free Reward rates from the old system is the new rate calculation reduces the price of a reward night by the lowest reward rate night among the 5 reward nights. This is different than a simple 20% reduction on the total cost for 5 reward nights. In fact, any 5th night free reward stay with more than one reward rate will result in a discount of less than 20% with the Marriott Bonvoy 5th night free reward.
For example, Oct 23-Oct 28 includes 2 nights at 50,000 points, 2 nights at 60,000 points and 1 night at 40,000 points for 260,000 points total. 20% off the total rate would be 208,000 points, but the actual 5th night free reward rate is 220,000 points. The lowest reward rate night on Oct 27 at 40,000 points is the discounted 5th night free.
- Oct 23 = 50,000 points
- Oct 24 = 50,000 points
- Oct 25 = 60,000 points
- Oct 26 = 60,000 points
- Oct 27 = 40,000 points
You might think this is simply the 5th night of an October 23-28 stay is reduced in price by 40,000 points due to the 5th night being a 40,000 points rate. That is not how the 5th night free rate is calculated. The 5th night free removes the reward night price for the lowest rate during the 5 nights of your stay.
For example, October 10-15 also has three different rates with the final night being 50,000 points, however, the 5th night free rate is only reduced by 40,000 points for the lowest priced night on the 4th night of the 5-night stay for a rate of 210,000 points rather than 200,000 points.
- Oct 10 = 50,000 points
- Oct 11 = 50,000 points
- Oct 12 = 60,000 points
- Oct 13 = 40,000 points
- Oct 14 = 50,000 points
Checking monthly calendar rates for different Marriott brand hotels for your destination has become a little more complicated now that a category 5 peak rate reward night is the same price as a category 6 off peak reward night. When there is flexibility in your schedule for reward nights at different hotels or on different dates, you will find the Marriott Bonvoy flexible dates calendar a useful tool for locating the best deals with your points.
Also see Loyalty Traveler – Marriott Bonvoy reward rates analysis: Standard, Peak, Off Peak, Cash+Points and PointSavers
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