Rumor: Marriott Bonvoy's Next Global Promotion | One Mile at a Time

While there should be an official announcement by tomorrow, it appears that we now know what Marriott Bonvoy's next global points promotion will be.

This follows Marriott Bonvoy's previous "Unlimited Bonus Points" promotion, which ended on June 14, 2020. That promotion offered 2,000 bonus points per stay, starting with your second stay.

Rumor: Marriott's next global promotion

While this hasn't been officially announced yet, it's being reported that Marriott associates have received communication about Marriott's next promotion:

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• Members can earn 2,500 Bonvoy bonus points per stay, plus a one-time bonus of 5,000 bonus points after the third stay.
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• Registration will open on August 13, and registration will be required prior to the first eligible stay
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• This promotion will be valid for stays between August 13 and October 18, 2020
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• There's no limit to how many bonus points you can earn
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• All hotels globally will be participating

How valuable is this promotion?

Marriott Bonvoy hasn't really had any lucrative promotions in a very long time. On the plus side, this promotion is better than the last one:

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• You earn 2,500 bonus points per stay, rather than 2,000
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• You start earning bonus points with the first stay, rather than with the second stay
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• You get a 5,000 point bonus after your third stay

I value Marriott Bonvoy points at ~0.7 cents each, so to me:

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• The 2,500 bonus points you earn after every stay are worth ~$17.50
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• For the first three stays you'd be earning an average of ~4,167 points per stay (due to the 5,000 point bonus), which translates to a return of ~$29 for each of the first three stays

If you frequently make short and inexpensive stays then this promotion is pretty solid. However, for those making longer stays, or staying at more expensive hotels, this will hardly move the needle.

Normal Marriott Bonvoy points earning rates

Not factoring in this promotion, Marriott Bonvoy members ordinarily earn:

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• 10x Bonvoy points per dollar spent at most brands
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• 5x Bonvoy points per dollar spent at Element, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites

Then there are elite bonuses:

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• Silver Elite members earn 10% bonus points
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• Gold Elite members earn 25% bonus points
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• Platinum Elite members earn 50% bonus points
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• Titanium Elite & Ambassador Elite members earn 75% bonus points

The above doesn't include the points you can earn for credit card spending at hotels:

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• You can earn up to 6x Bonvoy points per dollar spent on most co-branded Marriott cards
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• Through October 31, 2020, you can even earn 10x Bonvoy points on Marriott spending with Marriott Amex cards
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• Otherwise you can earn up to 3x transferable points (with Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Citi ThankYou)

Marriott's limited time co-branded credit card offers

If you're looking for another way to earn Bonvoy points, at the moment Marriott's co-branded Chase credit cards have limited time offers:

See here for a detailed comparison of the two cards.

Bottom Line

Marriott should officially announce the details of its next global promotion within the next 24 hours. If the rumors are correct, the promotion will offer 2,500 bonus points per stay, plus an extra 5,000 bonus points after three stays.

This is a better promotion than we've seen Marriott offer in the past, though it's still not all that much to get excited about, especially for longer or more expensive stays. Meanwhile for one night stays at cheap properties, this is solid.