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Marriott Bonvoy has launched its latest buy points promotion. Targeted Bonvoy members will receive a 50% bonus when they buy Marriott points through July 2, 2023. That drops the price down to just 0.83¢ per point.
This promotion falls just short of the best Marriott buy points promotion we've seen. Marriott Bonvoy last offered that 60% bonus in November 2020. Still, this 50% bonus promotion can be a good rate for the right redemptions.
Here are the details of this promotion and some examples of times when buying Marriott Bonvoy points could be smart.
A Note on Buying Points
Before we get into the details of this promotion, let's point out that buying points generally isn't the best idea. Especially without a bonus or discount, the price to buy points is typically higher than the value obtained when redeeming them.
However, there are two cases when buying points can be a smart move. The first is to top off your account balance for a specific redemption. The second is when the price to buy points for a redemption is cheaper than paying for the same hotel outright.
It's important to remember that Marriott Bonvoy introduced dynamic pricing in March 2022, with all properties moving to dynamic pricing in 2023. Since redemption rates can vary, ensure you have a redemption plan before purchasing Marriott points.
Key Terms of This Buy Marriott Points Promotion
- This promotion is valid through 11:59 pm Eastern Time on July 2, 2023.
- The minimum purchase is 1,000 points.
- Buy at least 2,000 Marriott points to receive the 50% bonus.
- Members have an annual maximum of 100,000 points purchased or received from another member's purchase.
- It may take up to 72 hours for purchased points to post to your account.
- New Marriott Bonvoy members must wait 30 days before purchasing points.
- Some members are seeing lower bonus rates, such as 30% (0.96¢ per point).
Despite Marriott saying points will be deposited within 72 hours of purchase, data points from AwardWallet users show that points purchases are processed in 13 hours on average.
This is a single-tiered promotion, with the 50% bonus covering purchases of 2,000–100,000 points.
Luxury Redemption Options
The Marriott Bonvoy program is a powerhouse in the hotel world, encompassing nearly 8,000 properties across 30 different brands. Among these are some of the most recognizable luxury hotel brands in the world: Westin, W, St. Regis, and Ritz Carlton.
With this in mind, we've picked a few of the most aspirational Bonvoy properties to demonstrate how you could save a bunch of money by buying points instead of paying the (often astronomical) cash rate.
Luxury in Kyoto
As the historic capital city of Japan, Kyoto is an incredible city that's rich in history and culture. Unfortunately, lodging there tends to be expensive. For example, high-end properties such as the Westin can cost over $750 per night at the current exchange rate:
When Marriott switched to dynamic pricing, it became much more difficult to squeeze value out of Bonvoy points. Redemptions at the Westin Miyako Kyoto now range from 35k up to 66k Bonvoy points per night.
If you purchase the 40,000 points needed for the below example with a 50% bonus (0.83¢ per point), you could save quite a bit by buying the Bonvoy points for as low as $332 per night.
Escape to Bora Bora
We regularly reference properties in Bora Bora when lucrative promos like this pop up. Here's why: Several of the world's largest hotel groups have ultra-expensive luxury properties in Bora Bora. While the cash rates for these places are mind-boggling, the award prices can be feasible — provided you can find availability. Marriott is no exception.
Recognizable as the filming location for the 2009 movie ‘Couples Retreat', the St. Regis Bora Bora Resort embodies the word ‘Eden', the name given to the property in the film. Unfortunately, the resort's prices can make a stay unmanageable for those of us who aren't A-list movie stars.
With taxes and fees, you're facing a nightly cost of over $1,415 (at the current exchange rate) to stay in Eden. This isn't bad all things considered. The price can typically be as high as $3,700 a night. However, you can snag some nights for as low as 96,000 points apiece.
If you buy Marriott points with a 50% bonus, you'll only have to pay $797. That's still a lot of money, but it's a substantial deal from the usual nightly cash rates.
Since you're only allowed to buy 100,000 points per account per year, you'd have to transfer points from another Marriott account if you need more than 150,000 (100,000 purchased + 50,000 promo bonus) for a booking. Additionally, you could combine points with relatives or even book back-to-back nights with family members, then call Marriott to link the reservations.
5th Night Free
Don't forget that Bonvoy members can effectively get up to 20% off five-night award stays, thanks to Marriott's fifth night free benefit. This could make for a pretty lucrative opportunity if pairing a property with a low points cost and buying points.
For example, you could book a five-night stay at this Four Points in California for 22,800 Bonvoy points total. At 0.83¢ per point, the exact cost of these points would only be $189 — under $38 per night!
Safari in Southern Africa
If you're looking for a more luxurious low-points destination, Marriott has a few enticing properties in southern Africa.
For example, the Protea Hotel Lusaka Safari Lodge has its own game reserve on site. You can get a five-night stay for just 24,000 points — only 4,800 points per night. If you buy those points with a 50% bonus, you'll pay just $199 total (just under $40 per night). That's less than the typical cost for just two nights at this property.
Buy Marriott Points to Mint Airline Miles for 2.05¢ Each
You can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to nearly 40 different airlines. Most of those transfer at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus for transferring 60,000 points. That means a 60,000-point transfer would yield 25,000 airline miles. If you buy Marriott points with a 50% bonus, you can mint airline miles at 2.05¢ each.
For example, you can buy 61,500 Marriott points through this promotion for $512.50. If you transfer 60,000 Marriott points to most airlines (but not American, Delta, Korean, or Avianca), you'll end up with 25,000 miles. That's 2.05¢ per mile.
The rate is even better if you transfer to United MileagePlus. As part of United's recently revised partnership with Marriott, transfers of at least 60,000 Bonvoy points to United get an additional 10,000 bonus miles. So, you'll end up with 30,000 United miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points transferred.
That means you can mint United miles for just 1.71¢ each with Marriott's promotion to buy points with a 50% bonus. That's cheaper than the price of buying United miles — even during the maximum 100% bonus!
Related: Do Marriott Bonvoy Points Expire?
Maximizing your Purchase
Unfortunately, Bonvoy point purchases are processed by Points.com — not Marriott directly. So, your purchase of Marriott points most likely won't earn bonus rewards if you use one of the best rewards cards for travel purchases. Thus, use one of these cards to maximize your earnings:
- Any credit card where you're working on a sign-up bonus. Here are some of the best welcome offers available now.
- Any credit card with perks you can unlock from spending, such as hotel free night awards, hotel elite status, or airline elite status.
- Your best credit card for everyday spending, such as the Citi® Double Cash Card or Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
Related: Which Credit Card Should You Use to Buy Points and Miles?
Bottom Line
It bears repeating that buying points isn't for everyone. For most people, it's a lot easier to earn Marriott points through credit cards. However, this buy Marriott points promotion could be a terrific opportunity for folks with a plan to use points in a hurry.
Are you going to buy Bonvoy points with a 50% bonus (0.83¢ each)?
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I just did this! I found a giftcard and used that to get some more Marriott points. I will be transfering these to Korean Air. So I counted this as a big win for me.
Does anyone know how often they do bonus point buys? I missed this promotion. I am looking to buy points to top off what I earned through a sign up bonus and have enough to do the buy 4 get a fifth free. Since you can only buy 100k per year I need a bonus to get the 130k points to complete my stay.
Looking at past promos, Marriott offers buy points posts about once per quarter. Keep an eye out on the URL as we will update it as soon as we see a new promotion.
Great options here. I don’t usually buy points unless I am going to use the right away, but this is a tempting offer.
On last November I bought points with 60% discount. I’m not sure it makes sense with a lower offer…
Thanks for the South Africa analysis. I had not thought about using Protea Hotels for getting up close to S.A. wildlife! May need to do a little more topping off of Marriot Points to get there!
I used this in past to get a few more points. It may or may not have been worth it for me.
What happened to the comparison chart showing the point cost for previous bonuses?
Ed, simplicity. Since promotions roll around pretty often, the list gets long. In recent updates to points buying articles, we’ve shortened it by mentioning the historic and/or most recent “best” for comparison’s sake. Is there something in particular you were looking for that we can help you find?
Points for less than 1 cent, I think this is really a good opportunity for boosting my account
I have 246k marriott points with no plans to use them. Any sweet spots?
This is an informative article – thank you. I hadn’t considered buying points before, but you’ve laid out some advantages that I hadn’t considered.
Es interesante el canje de puntos Bonvoy por millas , es cuestion de revisar las opciones. Sigue siendo un programa muy interesante
Good luck finding availability at St. Regis Bora Bora for 70,000 pts/night.
Does IHG offer the “free 5th night” like Marriott and Hilton?
Some tiers and cardholders at IHG get the 4th night free.
I see I just missed this deadline. Booked 6 award nights in Dubai yesterday and needed 8.000 more points. Could have used this info 🙂
I’ve now paid for 1 night and could still enjoy the 5th night for free.
Minting miles at 1.95c is not interesting when most are go on sale well below that.
Only worth the signup bonus for me to do it right before a stay where Ill pay for the card and earn more points!
Marriott is probably the most attractive hotel program for point to mile conversions nowadays.
Nice opportunity for Marriott. Thanks!
I mean, it’s not a bad deal. But it’s not one I would just clamor for and jump all over.
It is the offer for those who will travel soon enough.
if the offer is more advantageous transferring to united, I believe that the title of the article should be corrected. anyway, the tip is very good. thanks.
Indeed, too many people are still NOT aware of United tie-in.
I would rather earn the points thru credit card signup bonus. It comes out cheaper that way and I spend on necessities.
Great option for obtaining AA or AS miles particularly for overseas residents.
Good offer for overrseas traveling. Overseas traveling is limited now because of covid. Might need to wait for this one.
Traveling between North America and Europe will unlikely remain restricted in 2022.
I suppose most people seem to be getting the 45% offer and not the 50% 🙁
Its good enough if you have actual plans to use it and the target hotel has availability, otherwise might be better to wait.
Well this does sound nice. I got an email to get a bonus if I transfer to United from Marriott. This would be very lucrative to me. Still I don’t know if I would do it just to get to my goal for a further off date trip.
This is a good offer; mainly for use overseas hotels and resorts.
However, right now with traveling overseas extremely limited, it may not be worth it if the points expire before you can use them.
Of course, if you have a Chase or American Express Marriott Bonvoy card and use it once in a while, the points should not expire.
The transfer rate to United is pretty solid!
It was even better years ago!
Still seems like a lot of money – I’ll pass.
Good opportunity! Prrpandemic I took this opps many times. Looking foward to take advantage of this.
I got a 50% offer, but will wait for 60% offer later this year.
As stated in the article, it is cheaper to get points thru credit card bonuses. So that is the way I am going.
There are not that many airlines that I think it makes sense to mint points at 2c each unfortunately
This looks like a reasonable deal if you need to add some extra miles for an aspirational destination…..buy the Bonvoy points and transfer them to the desired airline. In a lot of ways, Bonvoy points are the ultimate airline currency – better than AMEX, yes, even better than Chase – because they have so many partners you can transfer to at any given time.
Thanks for the tip on the mint trick!
It sounds beneficial. I will use this data.
Thanks.
At 30% off, how many points do you need to buy to extend the miles expiration? It may be worth it if it isn’t cost prohibitive.
Thanks for the tips – good to know about the redemption power being greater when used abroad.
This post is a good reminder that the best Bonvoy redemption values are often found abroad, both because of the lower rates and because of the superior amenities and service at many of the Marriott-affiliated properties in countries other than the U.S. Just be sure to check your destination country’s pandemic-related policies early and often, since they can change quickly and unexpectedly!
Hopefully, the strategy will work much better in 2022.
There are good possibilities of redemption but maybe it’s better to wait for a 40% or 50% promotion.
I love the Marriot hotels in all cities, they are incredible. Thank you very much for the discount notice, it is a great financial help to me.
Would really have to be a specific redemption. 30% just isn’t worth it.
This trick makes all difference. Great
I not a buyer at 30% but as travel reopens, I appreciate it can make sense for some
Don’t think the 30% is worth it. Maybe double it and well see!
Purchasing miles / points will remain risky for a long time because traveling far will not be easy anytime soon.
I’m not going to buy any points right now because I don’t need them for any planned trips. I’m not a huge fan of buying points but I always like these blog posts to learn about aspirational properties and to remind myself of the fact that I always have more airline points than I think since I can transfer Marriott points to so many airlines.
Sounds like a pretty good trick. Mint miles are nice to have.
Thanks for the tips! Useful as usual!
I am currently at the Sheraton Grand Rio Resort in Rio de Janeiro and they have fantastic offers for as little as 20,000 points per night. This means that for 80,000 points one can have a 5 night stay (with the fifth night free) at this great beach front hotel. And if you have a high Bonvoy status, they will make sure to put you in a fantastic oceanfront suite!
Thanks, Extremely tempting I have a trip to Japan later this year, really considering buying some points.
This is certainly tempting, however Marriott has offered better rates to purchase points last year, with a 60% bonus. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did one of those this year too.
airlines often put miles on sale for under 2c buying direct from the airline.
That is a nice workaround for airline miles. Marriott points are quite useful as they have so many airline transfer partners.
You get MileagePlus miles for less with this Marriott promotion than the current United one. 🙂
I have just known about this 5th night option, it’s almost as good as the40% bonus miles.
Yes, it’s great! I find I often don’t want to stay five nights in any particular place though.
Nice new trick, good to know.
Hello to all. One question, purchasing points on the Marriott program extends the expiration of points right?
As another person stated, this is tempting. As I have not been racking up points traveling since March, this might be a good source of miles to use once I do start traveling. Especially in either using the points for the United/Marriott package or for a direct transfer to United. Need to do a quick check of both accounts before the end of today.
Marriott terms are confusing about who can buy points (and bonus). It says 30 day old a/c with qualifying activity OR 1 year old a/c without qualifying activity.
Strangely, most points recommending portals suggest it is 90 days without qualifying activity.
My a/c was signed up in March 2020 (6 months old) and does NOT have any qualifying activity.
Can I buy points (+ bonus)
Interesting catch! Marriott’s rule in the past was definitely 90 days without account activity. Not sure when they changed that. I would try logging in to see if Marriott is enforcing this rule on your account. If not, perhaps you can generate some activity through another means.
Yes, I tried to login to a/c and tried to buy via points.com with some permutations. Points.com does not validate anything and took me till payment page even if all details were incorrect. I also bought a low-cost “Marriott activities” for $5 which is supposed to credit 25 miles; and hoping that it will be a qualifying activity. Hoping that it will reflect in 14 days, so I can at least buy points for 50% bonus before it ends. Please suggest if that is good.
Seems like a brilliant idea! That should count as qualifying activity as it’s an earning activity. I just hope that the bonus points post quickly. And I’d love to hear back if this works for you!
It did work perfectly for me. I bought low cost Marriott Activity costing $5, got 25 points within 10 days, after a couple of mails and one phone call. Immediately purchased the points + bonus as per offer. Received base points next day, and bonus points the day after. Super smooth.
The condition of 1 year was strange though. If they are selling points to generate cash, why should they care who pays for it? Why should there be any restrictions whatsoever. They were not offering any status with the purchase (which would have been sweet).
Thanks for the follow-up that it worked!
I believe the timing restrictions are typically put into place to avoid fraudulent new accounts set up just to purchase points. Then again, it’s not hard for someone to just generate a little activity to get around this.
gracias por la info!!. No sabia lo de la quinta noche gratis!!! la vamos a aprovechar pronto.
Thanks for posting this article. It’s very helpful to have the warning about when to NOT buy points up front. The specific property examples are useful to see how buying the points can work. I will probably buy some points after reading this.
I think that even 1.9 cent per point it’s quite expensive.
Sometimes you save something but in general not so excited by this offer.
I bought Marriott points a while back and while they can be valuable for certain redemptions, it’s not quite as good as the old SPG point purchase offers. I hope some more gift card bonuses come up soon.
Marriott should really be encouraging people to buy points now since travel is still restricted. This is one of the ways they can earn lucrative amounts during this pandemic.
An excellent tip to make transfers to United programs. I will think about it. Thanks!
I would never have thought to buy Marriott points and transfer them to UA to get a ticket. I mainly get points with a hotel and use them for stays. I don’t think I would want to transfer them unless I was short and couldn’t use them for a stay. I’d still want to use them for a stay even if I bought points.
Very tempting, especially since the places mentioned are on my bucket list! But, alas, I’m not traveling right now.
This deal could make any well-planned staycation very worthwhile.
The MileagePlus 10% transfer bonus is news to me. Thanks.
This would be so great for my paris trip! the only issue is i’m unsure of when I can use it or when I can go!
The Four Points Oklahoma City example is truly fantastic.
Some beautiful properties are shown in the post, but I’m not buying any points at this time. Marriott has been offering some great bonuses on their credit cards during the pandemic. Taking full advantage of those deals is a much better way to boost your balance IMO.
There are some very good redemption in Africa especially for category 1 and 2.
I don’t think that this is good deal , I missing SPG…….
This is very tempting. With these points would be the only option I would visit these places as they are very expensive to pay without any promotion.
Great price to buy Marriott points. Can be redeem a good hotels if we buy 25000 points and I’d like buy 50K to redeem a Cat 4 level hotel.
It’s always a bad deal unless you can immediately put it to use.
nearly to be the most cheap price to buy marriott points. but don’t buy too much as Covid-19.
Great deal especially as Marriott offers so many redemption options
Tempting . I have many resort locations on mind. Are all of them very expensive unless you use points
I won’t do this. Essentially if I’m spending $500 to buy points in order to mint an equivalent of 25,000 miles which is good for usually Economy Saver award round trips which need to be bought way in advance. Most roundtrip domestic flights would not be more than $500 anyways. I don’t see what the point is in buying points this way. Am I missing something?
I love Marriot hotels. Bora Bora is a dream place. I would love to come back.-
Bora Bora island? the image beautiful. Hope i can go to here.
Has anyone been able to make the Maths work for buying and transfers to airlines ? Particularly to the hard-earned airlines that aren’t easily available via credit card sign-ups.
I found that it was very useful for transfers to AA and then using AA miles for Etihad flights.
Interested in hearing about other such airline uses where the maths works.
Marriot points are the best!!!!
I think right now as others have said is a great time to book future stays. Once things are back to normal I can see a lot of people flocking to these places and prices to increase.
The bonuses are just hedge against the devaluations 🙂
Well put Kyle
The Bora Bora property is amazing and this is a really great deal on Marriott points!
We looked into it but didn’t find a hotel in driving distance that made it worth it. Pass for now until travel changes.
As said in the article the best redemptions are with upper level accomodations.
It has become much less convenient redeeming points for a travel package which in the past was an exceptional value as reward.
Not having a stay in a upper class Marriott hotel stay in the future I think I won’t buy any points even though this is the best ever offer of Marriott.
SPG points are very much missed !
Great time to hoard some points while properties start opening up- Or you can buy the points and use them right away!
When was the 10% transfer bonus to the MileagePlus program introduced?
After seeing this methinks it is time to use up your points, devaluation seems to be near
I agree this is a good offer for someone with an immediate intended stay. I wouldn’t buy them just because it’s a good offer
Agreed. Now is the time to start booking future travel. Prices are rock bottom.
What happened to SPG’s great promotions such as “Buy 4 nights get 2 free” and “Buy 2 nights get 1 free”??? As a longtime SPG and now Marriott loyal client I can only say the current Marriott “promotions” don’t interest me especially when you have to use your points when you reserve to be eligible for only 1 free night!
I think now is the time to start booking future travel as prices will likely not be this low as we reopen in the US.
This certainly is a good offer but the big risk is that by the time we get to use these, Marriott would have devalued the points (a devaluation is certainly coming)
If you can somehow use it before that, it would be a good deal for sure.
As a former Starwood member, I favor Marriott to redeem points for aspirational hotels and destinations, including Bora Bora. Buying points cheaply now makes sense for when travel can be done safely, comfortably and before the big crowds return
Bora Bora is on my bucket list. This sounds like a great deal but the world is crazy right now, not sure if I’m comfortable with spending money on something I might not be able to use for a long time. What if they go out of business?
The offer is good but it’s the use of the points which may have some problems.
I won’t be buying any points, despite the fact that it can make sense. However, I do consider this a flexible currency so earning Bonvoy points with the best credit card is definitely part of my strategy. Currently the Bonvoy Business card has the best everyday earning for gasoline so it is my go to card for that. One day I will go to one of the aspirational properties pictured in the article, but through stays and spend.
not sure if there would be value in banking Bonvoy points at this time when the travel outlook for the next 6 months is still uncertain.
Nor do we know what Marriott will do to the program. They’re big enough I expect them to survive but none of us have any clue how the rewards program will be affected.
I suspect we’ll see more and more of these. Hotels will definitely be looking for influxes of cash.
I agree with Craig’s comment.
Back in the days when SPG was selling points with comparable prices it was a nobrainer to buy them.
However nowadays even with Marriott’s best price ever on points I am leaning against pulling the trigger.
If they’re this desperate for cash, don’t be surprised when the program gets devalued in three months.
That’s kind of crazy at the thought of functionally buying airline miles. It definitely pays to know all the ins and outs and ways to get points of the currency you’re after.
Now we’ve finally reached near equivalence with what SPG sold points for…
Yet how times have changed when I was an automatic buyer of Starpoints and can’t really find much value in Marriott…
I agree with Craig. Back in 2018 prior to the final merge of SPG with Marriott I bought 30K SPG points (90K Marriott) for $682.50 which was 0.758 cents per point (Marriott equivalent). I then used those points as part of a 7 night Cat 6 Hotel and Air package from Marriott. SPG and Marriott points were valued a lot higher back then so this is no bargain.
Yes, the package was fantastic! How was your experience?
agree with you. I miss SPG so much 🙁
where and when is everyone booking with Marriott points?
Loved being able to use the 5th night free staying at Protea Pelican Bay Namibia. Perfect location to see the largest natural flock of flamingos in Southern Africa! Wonderful staff !! Great restaurants nearby at the largest harbor getting Namibia and on the Atlantic ocean! Gorgeous sunsets and favorite restaurant was Dockside grill ❤️
It’s called Pelican Bay, but the flamingos are where it’s at? It sounds as if the flamingos earned the title! Sounds wonderful all around. Oh, to be able to travel!
Although the suggestions for usage of points for this promo is nice, I still would not be caught dead paying $685 a night for a hotel room.
Agreed! I’d never pay that much even for a five star stay. I’d have trouble spending that much on three nights. 🙁
$685/night is about triple what I’m willing to pay. Maybe just double if it’s all inclusive.
A wonderful place to sleep in should not cost this much except in very rare circumstances.
Good offer if it makes sense for your travel plans, but would be worried about being able to actually go and if you have to cancel those points sitting there and then being devalued yet again by Marriott.
Very good point. I had a hotel stay at a Hyatt so I transferred 12,000 points from Chase. Long story short trip is canceled and I’m stuck with 12,000 points. I guess I’ll figure something out.
The key point is “plans”: I wouldn’t bet on anyone using these any time in the next year, especially abroad where the highest values could be found.