Home » Marriott Points Guide: Points Calculator, Redemption and Purchase

Marriott Points Guide: Points Calculator, Redemption and Purchase

Marriott points are a significant benefit for Marriott Bonvoy members. When you sign up as a Marriott Bonvoy member, you can earn points on almost all purchases at Marriott hotels. This includes accommodation, dining, and spa services. The earned Marriott points can be used to offset your next stay at a Marriott hotel, allowing you to save money.

In this article, we will discuss how much is a marriott point worth? how to accumulate them rapidly, and book Marriott hotels with points at a minimum of 50% discount.

Marriott Point Value

Before discussing Marriott’s points strategy, let’s first estimate the value of Marriott’s points:

10,000 points = $72

With this Marriott Points value ratio, it’s easy to decide whether to redeem your points for a free room.

For instance, a Marriott hotel room requires 40,000 points for a redemption, and the cash reservation price is $354 USD.

If you choose to redeem points for the room, it would cost approximately $288 USD to purchase 40,000 points. In other words, you can reserve this hotel room for about $288 USD, and no taxes apply for point exchanges.

However, if you opt for a cash booking, it will cost you $365 USD, plus an additional $65 USD in taxes. This totals to $430 USD. On the plus side, cash bookings allow you to earn about 3,650 points.

Compared to two scenarios, it’s more cost-effective to book a room at this hotel using points rather than cash.

What are Marriott Dynamic Points?

Marriott is implementing its Dynamic Points Redemption Policy from March 29, 2022.

Under this policy, the points required for Marriott hotels are not fixed. Instead, they are calculated individually for each hotel based on room availability and off-peak seasons.

In my experience, there are few instances where points can be used for several times their value. If you are a new Marriott member, you don’t need to spend too much time researching points redemption. After all, everything is real-time and dynamic. The value exchange ratio determines whether you can redeem points or need to use cash to book a room..

Here are some additional details about Marriott’s Dynamic Points:

The dynamic points are the same whether you book on the Marriott official website or the app.
Dynamic points do not affect the price at which you purchase points.
The points required for hotel redemption may experience daily fluctuations.

Below, we shares the previous points redemption table. Under the previous points policy, all Marriott hotels were divided into 8 levels, known as CAT1-CAT8. This table can help you understand the hotel’s level and point value.

Validity Period of Marriott Points

According to Marriott’s official website, if a member’s account remains inactive for 24 consecutive months, all accumulated points will be forfeited.

To put it simply, Marriott membership points are valid for 24 months. To prevent the points from expiring, members must earn or use the points at least once within this period.

Meeting this requirement should be straightforward. Even if you don’t need to stay at a Marriott hotel for 2 years, your points will remain valid if you use them to make a purchase or even redeem airline miles.

Redeem Marriott Points for Free Rooms

Redeeming points for free rooms isn’t unique to Marriott; it’s a common practice among all hotel groups.

So, what are the benefits and strategies of redeeming Marriott points for free rooms?

Unlike cash bookings, when you redeem points for a free room, there’s no need to pay taxes and service charges.
Generally, you can cancel a room booked with points one day in advance for free. The points will be returned to your account via the original method after cancellation.
Even when you redeem points for free rooms, you can still enjoy Marriott membership benefits such as free breakfast and room upgrades, and accumulate room nights (though no points can be accumulated).
You can enjoy a ‘stay four nights, get one free’ offer where only four nights’ worth of points can redeem five consecutive nights. This benefit is not available when booking with cash.
With “PointSavers“, you can redeem a free room at Marriott using fewer points.
If you don’t have enough points, the “cash + points” method allows you to redeem at Marriott Hotels.

You can redeem points for free rooms on Marriott’s official website.

How to avail the ‘Stay Four, Get One Free’ offer?

To enjoy this offer, you need to be a Marriott Bonvoy member. If you’re not already a member, you can register for free. Use points to book a stay at the same hotel for 5 consecutive nights. The night with the lowest point redemption is free.

The offer is available at all-inclusive resorts.
Points can be used only for booking basic rooms, not superior ones.
For a 10-night redemption stay, the cost of the two cheapest nights will be deducted.
Once a booking is successful, no refunds can be issued.
The rewards are not applicable for cash + points rewards, upgrade rewards, suite night rewards, and promotional rewards.
The stay must consist of five consecutive nights at the same hotel.

How to use ‘PointSavers’ effectively?

While checking out hotels for point redemption, if you see the term ‘PointSavers’, it means you can use fewer points than usual on that day, saving up to 20%. Don’t miss this opportunity.

How to book using the ‘Cash + Points’ method?

The minimum requirement for redeeming points for free rooms is 3,500 points. If you don’t have enough points, you can book a Marriott hotel using the following method:

Minimum usage of $55 + 3,500 points with Marriott Cash + Points

Search for hotels on the Marriott official website or app. You can then book directly using the ‘cash + points’ method.

How to redeem points for free rooms at Marriott?

On the Marriott official website or app, log in to your Marriott Bonvoy membership account.
When searching for a hotel, check ‘Use Points/Certificates’ to view the hotel’s redemption points.
It’s recommended to select ‘Flexible Dates’ when querying, to view a month’s worth of redemption points.
Even though points are redeemed, credit card information is needed to guarantee the reservation. If you fail to check in at the hotel, the room fee will be deducted.

Marriott Points Redemption Recommended Hotels

If you use points to redeem expensive high-end hotels and island resorts, it is also very cost-effective to use the stay 4 get 1 free offer. Recommended hotels are as follows:

The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort

Maldives W Spa Resort

The Relo Hotel, Hawaii, Autograph Collection

The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort

Chengdu W Hotel

JW Marriott Hotel Zhengzhou

Most low-end Marriott hotels are suitable for redeeming points, such as Courtyard by Marriott and some Marriott hotels. You can generally save 10%-50% by redeeming points. The following are recommended hotels:

Shanghai Courtyard by Marriott China Construction

Courtyard by Marriott Shanghai Greenland

Courtyard by Marriott Beijing Renji

Suzhou Marriott Hotel

Ningbo Marriott Hotel

Renaissance Shenyang Sun Lion Hotel

How to earn Marriott points?

At most Marriott hotels, you can earn 10 points for every $1 spent.

If you book a Marriott apartment, villa, or resort, you can also earn points. Here, you will earn 5 points for every $1 spent.

Spending at hotels isn’t limited to accommodation. You can use points for dining, laundry, SPA, and other expenses at the hotel.

With a Marriott membership account, you can accumulate points for up to 3 rooms. If you book more than 3 rooms and check in on the same day, I recommend using a family member’s membership account to prevent point wastage.

If you are organizing a conference or team building event and need to book more than 5 rooms, visit the Marriott Meetings & Events Bonus Points Page. Here, you can search for hotels and make reservations, and one member account can earn all the points spent at the conference.

Note that when you book a room with cash, you need to pay additional taxes, which are about 16% of the room rate. This fee cannot be accumulated.

Earn Bonus Points Based on Membership Level

Members with a Marriott Silver Card or higher can earn additional bonus points on top of the basic points. The higher the membership level, the more points you can earn. The rules for Marriott Bonus Points are as follows:

Marriott Silver Card: Extra Bonus 10%
Marriott Gold Card: Extra Bonus 25%
Marriott Platinum Card: Extra Bonus 50%
Marriott Titanium and Ambassador: Extra Bonus 75%

Bonus points are calculated based on the basic points. For example, if a Marriott Platinum card member earns 1,000 basic points, they will receive an additional 50% bonus, which translates to 500 bonus points.

Marriott Extra Points Bonus: Quarterly Points Bonus Event

Like other hotel groups, Marriott launches at least one points bonus program almost every quarter.

The method of participating is basically the same for all events.

You need to register first, then log in to your member account and book a room on the Marriott official website.

For the latest promotions, refer to the GTV summary on Marriott’s latest hotel reservation promotions and bonus points activities.

Examples of points reward activities include: earning double points starting from the second stay within the activity period, or earning 1,500 points for each stay of 2 or more nights, etc.

If you want to quickly earn Marriott points, staying at a Marriott hotel during the event period and participating in points bonus events can be very effective.

Earn Extra Marriott Points: Buy Points

In addition to accumulating points through accommodation and dining, buying points directly is the fastest way, especially during point-purchasing activities.

You can purchase points daily on Marriott’s official website: $12.50 buys 1,000 points.

Buy points on Marriott official website

During points activities, the same $12.5 can buy up to about 1,500 points. If there’s a new point purchase activity, we will also update it Marriott’s latest hotel reservation promotions and points bonus activities.

Here’s what you need to know about buying Marriott points:

You must be a Marriott Bonvoy member for more than 30 days to purchase points.
Each person can purchase a maximum of 50,000 points per year. If the limit is not enough, you can purchase points with a family member’s account and then transfer them to your account.
Each account can transfer up to 100,000 points per year and receive up to 500,000 points each year.

If you plan to stay at a Marriott hotel, it’s recommended to participate in the Marriott points purchase event. It’s a cost-effective way to redeem free rooms using points.

How to calculate Marriott points?

Let’s take a separate example to see how Marriott Points are calculated. For example, if you stay in a hotel, the room fee is 100USD + tax is about 20USD + the meal or SPA cost is 50USD.

The Marriott Base Points you can earn are calculated as:

Base Points = (Room + Meals, etc.) × 10

The example given above (100+50) × 10 = 1500 base points

To clarify, taxes and fees are not creditable, and the part that can be credited is the room rate and other purchases at the hotel. Speaking of which, remind you that all purchases in the hotel remember to put them on your the room bill, which can make it more convenient to earn points.

Depending on the membership level, you can add membership bonus points:

Silver: Base Points × 1.1

Gold: Base Points × 1.25

Platinum: Base Points × 1.5

Titanium and Ambassadors: Base Points × 1.75

Helpful Links for Marriott Points Redemption

GTV Summary

To book a Marriott hotel at a lower cost, make the most of membership benefits and points. Here’s a quick summary:

Buy points at a discount during Marriott points promotions. For promotional information, visit Marriott Hotel Latest Offers.
Register for the Marriott reward points program. Even if you don’t end up staying, you won’t lose anything.
With Marriott’s implementation of dynamic points, you no longer need to spend a lot of time researching CAT1-8 hotel grades. Simply find the best price for your travel period based on your needs.

If you have any questions about Marriott membership, feel free to leave me a message. The travel tabloids you need are summarized here.