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Marriott Bonvoy is one of the most popular hotel loyalty programs in the world. As a lifetime Platinum member, I’ve stayed at plenty of its properties during my travels and have seen the program evolve over the years. It’s always exciting to see new resorts open in far-flung places. But, the award prices that Marriott now charges for them can make your jaw drop.
Take the new Ritz-Carlton, Masai Mara Safari Camp, for example. It recently opened for reservations, and some nights cost as much as 370,500 Bonvoy points. That’s a massive sum — but it’s not even the most expensive standard award night in the Bonvoy program. That honor goes to North Island — a Luxury Collection Resort in the Seychelles — where award nights climb over 600k points each!
So, how did we get here? Let’s take a walk down memory lane and see how Marriott’s most expensive award nights have changed since the merger with Starwood Preferred Guest in 2018.
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Where Marriott Award Pricing Stands Today
Let’s start with where Marriott Bonvoy award pricing stands today. The Ritz-Carlton, Masai Mara Safari Camp (opening in August 2025) is among the most luxurious properties in Kenya, with just 20 high-end tents, each featuring a private plunge pool. The stay is fully all-inclusive, with drinks, dining, and daily safaris included in the nightly rate.
As you can see, cash rates in October 2025 start at $2,646 and climb from there:
Award nights are now bookable, and if you have hundreds of thousands of Marriott Bonvoy points to burn, this might be one of the most extravagant ways to use them.
The lowest-priced night available starts at 325,500 points for a one-bedroom river view suite. The highest jumps to 370,500 points per night. These rates include taxes and fees, so you’re getting roughly 0.95¢ per point in value.
For comparison, AwardWallet members average 0.94¢ per point on Marriott redemptions, so this redemption is actually slightly above average.
If that sounds excessive, there’s an even pricier option. North Island, a Luxury Collection Resort in the Seychelles, features just 11 rooms and costs 10,000 euros per night. You can redeem points there for 605,000 Bonvoy points per night. This property is leaving Marriott in July 2025, so there are only a few months left to book what’s currently the most expensive redemption in the program.
Related: 13 Ways To Earn Marriott Bonvoy Points Without Staying at a Hotel
But it hasn't always been this way. Let's take a look at Marriott's price history to see how quickly award rates have increased over the years.
Marriott Award Pricing History
Marriott and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) merged their loyalty programs in 2018. At the time, Marriott had a standard award chart with nine categories, ranging from 7,500 to 45,000 points per night.
Ritz-Carlton properties had a “Tier” structure, with award rates from 30,000 to 70,000 Marriott Rewards points per night.
Before the merger, the most you could redeem for a Marriott property was 70,000 points at top-tier hotels like the Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong.
Starwood Preferred Guest (may she rest in peace) operated on a separate chart with seven categories and a range of 6,000 to 105,000 points per night, depending on peak or off-peak pricing. Iconic properties like the St. Regis Maldives were once Category 7.
Before the two programs officially became Marriott Bonvoy — but after the merger closed in 2016 — you could transfer points between SPG and Marriott at a 1:3 ratio. That means SPG’s top rate of 105,000 points converted to an effective 315,000 Marriott Rewards points.
Early Bonvoy award nights topped out at 60,000 points in 2018
When Marriott Bonvoy launched in 2018, it introduced a new award chart with just seven categories. At the time, you could book award nights for as few as 7,500 points at a Category 1 property and up to 60,000 points for a Category 7 hotel.
This chart meant that once hard-to-reach properties like the St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort or Al Maha in Dubai were available at reasonable prices. And 60k award nights were widespread even at Ritz-Carlton hotels:
I still remember the feeling of dread as an experienced award traveler. It was clear that Marriott Bonvoy would offer attractive rates at launch, only to begin raising prices bit by bit over time.
Marriott added Category 8 and peak pricing in 2019
A smooth transition was a major goal for Marriott Bonvoy, which likely didn’t want to push members toward the competition by raising award rates too quickly. That’s why it wasn’t until February 2019 that we saw the first significant adjustments.
The most notable was the introduction of a new Category 8 in February 2019, which increased the top award price to 85,000 points per night. The St. Regis Bora Bora was one of about 60 high-end properties that moved into this new tier.
Then, on September 14, 2019, Marriott introduced peak and off-peak pricing. This brought the lowest possible award night down to 5,000 points at a Category 1 property, while raising the top rate to 100,000 points at a Category 8 hotel. Although this was mostly seen as a negative shift, members still had a clear sense of what their stay would cost, with only three possible rates per category.
Award charts were eliminated in 2022
The pandemic caused massive disruption in the travel world, but once borders began reopening, Marriott Bonvoy made a significant change. On March 30, 2022, the program eliminated award charts entirely and moved to dynamic pricing.
However, at launch, only 3% of hotels were allowed to price outside the existing peak and off-peak bands. That meant many hotels were still bookable for very reasonable rates by today's standards.
With over 7,000 properties in the portfolio, the 3% limit meant only around 200 hotels could price outside of previous peak/off-peak bands. That meant a few hotels could even exceed 100,000 points per night. During this period, the highest award price reached 120,000 points per night at ultra-luxury properties like the St. Regis Maldives.
For those keeping track, that means award rates at top-tier hotels doubled between 2018 and 2022. When the merger began, the maximum was just 60,000 points per night.
Related: What Is Dynamic Pricing? Understanding This Award Pricing Model
Dynamic award pricing took full effect in 2023
By March 2023, the full effects of dynamic pricing took hold. Properties like the Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, were charging up to 150,000 points per night for a standard award.
As new resorts have opened or joined the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio, it feels like there’s no longer a ceiling on what can be charged for a room.
Admittedly, places like North Island or the Ritz-Carlton, Masai Mara, are far from typical. Still, for those of us who like to save points for a special trip, it becomes much harder to plan when the price of an award night can jump overnight.
Our Take
It’s no secret that Marriott Bonvoy has its critics, and I hope this brief history helps explain why. In just seven years, we’ve seen over a 1,200% increase in the cost of a top-tier award night at a Marriott property — from 45k to over 600k points per night. As credit card points continue to flood the market through generous welcome offers, some inflation is almost inevitable. But award inflation on this scale remains difficult to justify — and even harder to plan around.
While I never expected to book an all-inclusive tented safari camp for 60,000 points, it’s still disappointing to see how far things have fallen from the early days of Bonvoy. While Marriott still offers plenty of solid redemption opportunities (especially at mid-tier properties), the era of reliably outsized value at luxury hotels is fading.
For travelers saving points for a once-in-a-lifetime trip, it’s a harsh reminder: Loyalty programs are always evolving — and not always in your favor. With dynamic pricing now the norm, even “standard” award nights can spike overnight. That makes it harder to plan, and even harder to feel like your points are safe just sitting in your account.
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