The Best Way to Use Marriott Points Can Unlock $850+ in Savings or 10+ Free Nights From a Single Bonus
INSIDER SECRET: When you transfer Marriott points to airlines in increments of 60,000 points, you’ll earn a 15,000-point bonus. That’s huge!
I’m going to let you in on the best ways to use Marriott points. This is NOT a post detailing all the different ways you can use Marriott points (if you want to know every option, check out how to use Marriott points). That said, if you don’t use your points in these two ways, you may be better off with another point system.
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Best Ways to Use Marriott Points
Yes, you can buy gift cards, reserve rental cars and purchase merchandise with Marriott points. But DON’T do it. You’ll get the absolute best value for your points by using them in the following ways:
Crazy Beautiful 5-Star Hotel Stays
This is the reason most of us begin collecting hotel points: To stay for free at expensive, beautiful, exotic hotels that we wouldn’t be able to afford with cash.
Earning Marriott points with cards like the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
Credit Card is the quick path to free 5-star hotels. For example, I used 35,000 Marriott points to stay at the utterly stunning JW Marriott El Convento in Cusco, Peru after my hike to Machu Picchu.
Just remember, the golden rule is do the math. Many 5-star hotels have rates that vary dramatically from season to season. For example, the St. Regis Deer Valley (a popular ski resort) charges as little as $350 in the fall. But once the ski season begins, you’ll have a hard time finding a rate under $1,600.
Award nights at this hotel cost a lot at 85,000 points per night, so you get much better value for your points if you use them during ski season.
Always check the cash price of a hotel before you choose to burn a ton of points, and read this post to better understand Marriott points value.
Practical Hotel Stays
My favorite way to get the most value for my points is to stretch them by using them for “low category” hotels.
For example, I stayed at a TownePlace Suites just west of Chicago for only 7,500 points per night. The room easily sells for over $90, so I received a solid value of 1.2 cents per point ($90/7,500 points).
Remember, if you were to open the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless, you’d receive a welcome bonus of 75,000 Marriott points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening your account. You could stay at a cheap hotel like this for at least 10 nights, which could easily save you over $850!
5th Hotel Night Free
Marriott gives you an incentive to burn your points at their hotels: When you book five consecutive nights with points, you’ll get the 5th night for free.
Here’s how much it costs to book the AC Hotel Cincinnati at the Banks for 4 nights in February 2020, at a cost of 25,000 points per night:
And here’s how much it costs to book the same hotel for 5 nights, with the fifth night free:
This feature is especially handy if you’re staying at a high-rent hotel, like a Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis which can cost 85,000 points per night. (I used this 5th night free perk to save 60,000 points on my upcoming trip to the St. Regis Maldives!)
Transfer Points to Airlines in Increments of 60,000
You can transfer Marriott points to airlines with over 40 different kinds of airline miles at a favorable transfer ratio of 3:1 (unless otherwise specified below).
| Aegean Airlines | Aeroflot | AeroMexico | Air Canada |
| Air China | Air New Zealand (200:1) | Alaska Airlines | Alitalia |
| ANA | American Airlines | Asiana Airlines | Avianca |
| British Airways | Cathay Pacific | China Eastern Airlines | China Southern Airlines |
| Copa Airlines | Delta | Emirates | Etihad |
| Flying Blue (Air France / KLM) | Frontier Airlines | Hainan Airlines | Hawaiian Airlines |
| Iberia | Japan Airlines | Jet Airways | JetBlue (6:1) |
| Korean Air | LATAM | Lufthansa | Qantas |
| Qatar | Saudia Airlines | Singapore Airlines | South African Airways |
| Southwest | TAP | Thai Airways | Turkish Airlines |
| United Airlines (3:1.1) | Virgin Atlantic | Virgin Australia |
That means if you transfer 3,000 Marriott points to popular carriers like American Airlines, Southwest or Alaska Airlines, you’ll receive 1,000 miles. This is a great deal, as Marriott points are generally WAY easier to earn than airline miles.
There’s a secret bonus you can earn to make the transfer ratio even better. When you convert your Marriott points in increments of 60,000, you’ll end up with 25,000 miles instead of 20,000 miles, because Marriott will automatically send a bonus 15,000 points to the airline, giving you 5,000 extra miles!
These bonus miles make the ratio 2.4:1 instead of 3:1, which is a significant improvement.
If you’re going to transfer Marriott points to airlines, it’s clearly best to transfer them in increments of 60,000.
Read this post if you want to learn how to transfer Marriott points to airlines.
For more about Marriott points, check out these guides:
- Marriott Bonvoy Review
- Marriott Points Value
- Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status
- How to Earn Marriott Points
- How to Setup a Marriott Account
- How to Use Marriott Points
- Marriott Award Chart
- Do Marriott Points Expire?
Leave any questions in the comments. And remember to subscribe to our newsletter for more tips on how to be smart with your miles and points!
