This past week, Marriott Bonvoy announced some new winter promotions and a generous gift for elite status members. It’s clear that there’s been a reduction in travel and hotel stays over the past year. So, Marriott is enticing people to stay with them this winter and rewarding their loyal members.
This first Marriott promotion of 2021 includes an amazing 50% bonus in elite night credits for Bonvoy members. Plus, Marriott is offering a double points & double elite nights promotion and a discount on off-peak point redemptions. Overall, these promotions & enhancements could help current Marriott Bonvoy members maintain their elite status until February 2023!
50% bonus elite night credits
Last year, Marriott Bonvoy announced that they would reward members by topping up their accounts with 50% bonus elite nights based on their current elite status. Well, it seems that Marriott is repeating the same measure this year.
Sometime in February 2021, Marriott will deposit half the elite nights of current elite Bonvoy members status. This could help members to re-earn their 2020 elite status tier (or higher) which would be valid till February 2023!
Here is a summary of the different Marriott Bonvoy elite status tiers and how many elite nights you can expect to receive.
Overall, this is a really good initiative from Marriott as it helps members (who may not travel as frequently this year) easily retain their elite status.
Bonus 15 elite nights with the Marriott Bonvoy Amex card
Also, these bonus nights will also stack with the 15 elite nights you receive from the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® card! This card automatically gives your Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status and an annual free night award (up to 35,000 points).
So, if you currently have the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® card, it’s even easier now to retain your elite status tier. You would receive 15 nights from the card and the 50% bonus elite nights from your 2020 status.
Based on your status last year, you would now have in 2021 :
- Silver Elite = 20 nights (5 nights away from Gold)
- Gold Elite = 28 nights (22 nights away from Platinum)
- Platinum Elite= 40 nights (10 nights away from Platinum)
- Titanium Elite = 53 nights (22 nights away from Titanium)
- Ambassador Elite = 65 nights (10 nights away from Titanium or 35 nights from Ambassador)
Thus, Silver and Gold Elite members retain their status tier. Otherwise, Platinum Elite members only need 10 nights to retain their status.
Titanium Elites achieve Platinum status with no hotel stays needed this year and only need 22 nights to retain their status. Lastly, Ambassador Elites also immediately achieve Platinum status and are 10 nights away from Titanium.
Reduced spend for Ambassador Elite status
Ordinarily, top-tier Ambassador Elite status requires 100 elite nights and US$20,000 in spend. For 2021, Marriott has decided to reduce this spend requirement by 30% down to only US$14,000.
So, current Ambassador Elite members with the Marriott Amex card only need 35 nights and spend US$14,000 on hotel stays to retain their status.
2x points and 2x elite nights
On top of the 50% elite night credits, Marriott announced another global promotion for this winter. It will offer members double points and double elite nights on stays of two nights or more between February 16 and April 27, 2021. Registration is required but is not open currently.
Also, stays will need to include at least one paid night to receive the double elite night credits. So, a stay with 5 award nights (like my stay at the TownePlace Suites Petawawa) and 1 paid night should be eligible for 12 elite qualifying nights.
Overall, this promotion should make it fairly easy for most Marriott members to maintain their current elite status. Or, they could climb to a higher elite tier. Nonetheless, it seems this promotion is aimed at those who wish to travel safely during this global pandemic.
10% points reduction on off-peak rates
Also announced is Marriott’s promotion for stays booked with Bonvoy points. Marriott will reduce off-peak redemption rates by 10% for future hotel reservations till September 30, 2021 and booked by February 21, 2021.
As a reminder, the number of Marriott Bonvoy points required for a stay depends on the hotel category which ranges from 1 to 8. Here is the redemption chart with the 10% discount for off-peak pricing.
This means that a category 1 property (like the TownePlace Suites Petawawa) could potentially cost 4,500 points per night instead of 5,000. Same goes for a category 5 hotel (like the Sheraton Gateway Toronto airport hotel) which could cost 27,000 points instead of 30,000 points.
The trick will be to find off-peak pricing at your desired hotel and travel dates!
Summary
It’s great to see Marriott offer so many promotions early in the year! The 50% bonus elite nights is a welcome gift for many Bonvoy members who won’t be traveling as much this year but can still easily keep their elite status until February 2023.
For those who plan on traveling between February 16 and April 27, 2021, the double points and double elite nights promotion is certainly worth considering. It could play in their favour to help retain their Bonvoy elite status or even upgrade to a higher status tier!
Finally, Marriott is offering a 10% reduction in off-peak award rates for reservations until September 2021 and booked by February 21, 2021. If your travel plans coincide with one of these off-peak dates, certainly consider redeeming your Bonvoy points for your stay.
Will you be receiving the 50% bonus elite credits from Marriott Bonvoy? Do you plan on staying at Marriott hotel during this promotion? Let me know in the comments below.
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