Marriott International has over 9,000 properties worldwide and includes many popular hotel brands, such as The Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton, and Courtyard. By earning Marriott Bonvoy points through specific hotel credit cards , you can cover some or all your Marriott award stays, immediately reducing a major travel expense.
However, it’s worth noting that not all Marriott award redemptions offer the same value. But with some quick and easy calculations, you can find out which redemptions will offer the most value for your Marriott points.
How much are Marriott Bonvoy points worth?
Based on average valuations from popular scoring models and our research, Marriott Bonvoy points are worth around 0.82 cents per point. That means 10,000 Marriott points are worth about $82. However, this value varies with each specific redemption.
Similar to many hotel and airline companies, Marriott uses dynamic award pricing for its hotel award nights. This means there’s no standard award chart and the number of points needed per night can vary based on demand, date, and other factors.
This can also affect the value of different Marriott point redemptions, as we can see in a few examples.
This room at The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver costs $383 or 67,000 points for one night. If you divide $383 by 67,000, you get a value of about 0.57 cents per point, which is much lower than our average valuation and likely not worth it.
This one-night hotel stay at the Hotel Telegraaf, Autograph Collection (Tallinn, Estonia) costs $366 or 49,000 points. This gives you a value of about 0.75 cents per point, which is much closer to the average valuation of Marriott points and what you can often expect for many award redemptions.
This room at the Sheraton Hanoi West would cost $889 or 80,000 points for five nights. That gives you a value of about 1.1 cents per point, easily beating the previous examples and the average valuation.
There may be multiple factors that explain this, but one is that this property had a PointSavers promotion, where you needed fewer points for the stay. Another point is that Marriott gives members the fifth night for free on eligible award stays of five consecutive nights or more (the benefit is called “Stay for 5, Pay for 4”).
Unfortunately, PointSavers bookings are fairly random, meaning that you can’t specifically search for them, but they can sometimes show up if you’re exploring different award bookings. However, it’s possible that you might find more PointSavers bookings if you search during a destination’s shoulder season when a property might try to entice more people to stay because of lower overall bookings.
This hotel room at The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park goes for $2,112 or 148,000 points. That’s a value of about 1.4 cents per point, which is the highest among our examples. This isn’t a PointSavers award, and it’s only for one night, so there is no fifth night free benefit. But the fact that this is a luxury hotel with high prices per night could give you some extra points value if you find a good deal.
Ways to get more value from your Marriott points
How to earn Marriott points
Credit cards
Using travel credit cards is typically one of the easiest ways to earn Marriott points because you can take advantage of two rewarding strategies:
-
Welcome offers: As a new cardholder, you can earn a credit card sign-up bonus to jumpstart your earning potential.
-
Rewards rates: Marriott Bonvoy credit cards offer points for every eligible purchase you make, including bonus points in certain categories, such as purchases at Marriott properties.
Marriott stays
It’s free to join the Marriott Bonvoy program, where you can start earning points on your stays and eligible purchases at Marriott properties. You can earn additional bonus points for eligible hotel purchases as you move up the tiers of Marriott Bonvoy elite status. For example, a Silver Elite Marriott Bonvoy member gets a 10% bonus while a Titanium Elite member gets a 75% bonus.
Buying points
You can buy Marriott Bonvoy points to boost or top off your points balance if you’re short on making an award redemption. In many cases, it’s likely not worth buying points rather than paying the cash price for a stay, but it depends on the situation. For instance, it might be worth buying points if there’s a promotional offer and you have a specific redemption in mind.
Other methods
Best credit cards for earning Marriott points
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card
Why we like it: The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex Card provides a reasonable mid-tier option for Marriott enthusiasts who want benefits like Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status and 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year. It doesn’t come with an automatic Free Night Award, but you can earn one (with a redemption level of 50,000 points or less) each calendar year you spend $15,000.
Read our full Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex Card review
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
Why we like it: The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex Card is a top-tier card for people who want the best Marriott benefits, including one Free Night Award (with a redemption level of 85,000 points or less) every year after card renewal. The Free Night Award and complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status (for complimentary room upgrades and other benefits) are easily some of the best perks available on this luxury card.
Read our full Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex Card review
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
Why we like it: The Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Card strikes an excellent balance between membership costs and value from benefits. With one benefit alone, the Free Night Award with a redemption level of 35,000 points or less, small business owners can offset their annual card costs. And that’s without considering any other card benefits or perks.
Read our full Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Card review
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
Why we like it: The Marriott Bonvoy Bold is the only Marriott credit card available with no annual fee. It doesn’t have many benefits, but it’s a no-cost option for earning Marriott points on eligible purchases, including bonus points on stays at Marriott properties.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
Why we like it: The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless has excellent benefits, considering its low annual fee. The best benefit of the bunch is receiving a Free Night Award (with a redemption level of 35,000 points or less) each account anniversary. Used properly, this perk can more than offset your annual cardmember cost each year.
Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful® Credit Card
Why we like it: The Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful is similar to the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy in that it’s a mid-tier card that strikes a balance between annual cost and valuable benefits. You get automatic Gold Elite status and 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year, but you don’t automatically receive a Free Night Reward. Rather, you have to spend $15,000 in a calendar year to receive a reward with a redemption level of 50,000 points or less.
FAQs about Marriott points
How much are 50,000 Marriott points worth?
With an average valuation of about 0.82 cents per point, 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points are worth about $410. However, the actual value of your points depends on each specific redemption.
How many Marriott points do I need for a free night stay?
It depends on the property and your dates, but Marriott award nights can start as low as 10,000 points or fewer per night. Officially, Marriott award stays start at 7,500 points, but it’s more common to see Marriott award nights in the 20,000 to 50,000 points per night range, with high-end and popular properties costing even more.
How much are Marriott points to buy?
Marriott points cost 1.25 cents per point to buy, which is $12.50 for 1,000 points or $1,250 for 100,000 points. It’s typically not worth buying points at this rate unless you need a small amount to reach an award redemption or you have a specific redemption in mind where you get above the 1.25 cents per point valuation.
How do I use Marriott Bonvoy points?
The best redemption value for Marriott Bonvoy points generally comes from using them on award stays at Marriott properties, but you also have these redemption options available:
What are the Marriott Bonvoy hotel brands?
The Marriott Bonvoy hotel brands include:
This article was edited by Rebecca McCracken
Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to Yahoo Finance and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information. This site doesn't include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
