Last updated on January 9th, 2023
Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s loyalty rewards program, is currently offering its members a bonus point promotion. Members can now earn 2,000 bonus points for each time they stay at a Marriott property.
Anyone can sign up for Bonvoy online for free. You can even join with your Facebook account (if you’re into that sort of thing). However, Marriott offers Bonvoy rewards on its credit cards, too. Cardholders get all the same Bonvoy perks in addition to higher earning rates for points and miles and exclusive access to extra benefits.
What Is Marriott Bonvoy?
If you’re wondering what Marriott Bonvoy is, you’re not alone. Some of us here at BestCards.com were trying to piece together whether this was a re-branding, a loyalty program, or a collection of credit cards. In fact, most of the general public was a little confused when Marriott debuted this initiative in a commercial during the 2019 Oscars. The website is a little vague about it, too, and the hotel behemoth seems to be emulating other marketing campaigns that depend on mystique to raise public interest.
In reality, Marriott Bonvoy was the result of merging several brands’ loyalty programs under a single name. Marriott International is currently the largest hotel company in the world, with about 30 big-name hotel brands under its umbrella. The relatively new Bonvoy loyalty program includes the old Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest.
Membership & Benefits
Membership in Marriott Bonvoy is free. You don’t need to have a credit card in order to benefit from the rewards. However, Chase Bank also issues several Marriott Bonvoy credit cards that earn cardholders even more rewards.
There are loads of benefits to joining this loyalty program. For starters, members get special pricing at most Marriott International properties. It’s a small discount of 2% to 5% (depending on the day of the week), but still considerable for a free loyalty program.
Additionally, members get complimentary in-room WiFI, which isn’t included in many bookings. Nevertheless, the most attractive feature of this program, however, is the opportunity to earn points on Marriott purchases. This include, of course, hotel stays. However, even if you dine at a restaurant within a Marriott property without staying at the hotel, you can still earn points.
Considering that Marriott International is the largest hotel company in the world, Marriott properties are ubiquitous. And your choices of accommodations are nearly limitless.
Special Promotion for 2020
Marriott Bonvoy members can now take advantage of a limited-time promotion – the first of 2020 for Bonvoy members. Members can earn 2,000 bonus points on each hotel stay booked between March 17th and Jun 14th, 2020. This is what Marriott refers to as Elevated Earning.
However, if you’re not a Bonvoy member, you need to register by May 31st, 2020 to take advantage of this promotion. Furthermore, you must book your hotel stays directly through Marriott brands.
This means you will not earn any points (even the regular points) if you book through agencies, third-party booking sites, or other rewards sites. In fact, the whole purpose of the Bonvoy loyalty program is to reward customers for booking directly through Marriott brands. Booking direct saves Marriott International from paying commissions to third-party companies, like Priceline and Expedia.
Furthermore, there are some additional limitations to how you can earn these 2,000 bonus points. You must set your earnings to points and not miles. You won’t earn 2,000 miles on your stays. Only points. Therefore, if your account settings are set to earning points, you won’t earn anything, at all.
Some Other Limitations
Additionally, are also some exceptions to the properties where you can book rooms and still earn these 2,000 bonus points. Bookings at Marriott International, Execustay, Marriott Executive Apartments will not earn you bonus points. Owner-occupied weeks at Marriott Vacation Clubs will also not earn you bonus points.
There is another minor detail that members should consider before they rush out to book hotel stays. You only earn 2,000 points per stay and not per night. This was a little confusing at first for the BestCards.com team, and we had to carefully examine Bonvoy’s terms and conditions to fully understand it. So, no matter how long you stay at a property, you’ll only earn 2,000 bonus points on your booking.
Nevertheless, you will still earn your regular points for all your Bonvoy bookings. The bonus points are just icing on the cake of this hotel company’s popular loyalty program. Furthermore, there is no limit to how many bonus points you earn within the promotional period. If you want, you can stay at a different Marriott hotel every night and earn 2,000 bonus points on each stay.
