Tag Archives for Marriott Bonvoy.
Two ultra-premium Marriott Bonvoy credit cards offer annual free night certificates good for any hotel that is available for 50,000 points or less. One is the Bonvoy Brilliant Amex Card. The other is the Ritz Card from Chase. The Ritz card is no longer available to apply new, but it may still be possible to product change from another Chase Marriott consumer card. Both cards cost $450 per year. Each card offers $300 in statement…
The Notary Hotel, located in Philadelphia, PA, is a Marriott category 5 hotel… for the moment. On March 4th this hotel will bump up to category 6. Nick and I stayed here for the latest FM to Go for 2 nights. I checked in early and took the only already clean room (two Queen beds) and Nick later checked into his King bed room. We booked a AAA “Hot Rate” of $145 per night. The…
Richard Branson’s Necker Island used to sit alone as the most aspirational destination achievable with frequent flyer points. But now there’s a new contender: North Island, a Luxury Collection Resort, Seychelles. At first glance, Necker and North Island have a lot in common. Each is an all-inclusive, super exclusive, and crazy expensive resort destination on a small private island. These are places where you’re likely to find the rich and famous. Sir Richard Branson lives…
Update 2/18/20: Marriott is still extending certificates. I had a certificate from my Bonvoy Boundless card that was expiring next week and one (not-so) quick phone call to Marriott using the number listed in the original post below resulted in a certificate with an expiry date of February 18, 2021 to replace my old one. ~ You’d think that living in hotels would make it easy to use all the free night certificates my wife…
There are times when buying points or miles can make a lot of sense. If you know what you’re doing, it’s often possible to save a lot of money or get a much better experience. For example, you may be able to spend $50 on points to book a hotel that would have cost you over $100 if you booked the hotel for cash. Or, maybe you were planning to pay $2,000 for an international…
Shopping portals can be a great way to maximize your mileage, whether that happens in terms of actual airline miles or cash back. When it comes to hotel booking through shopping portals, one common question or area of confusion is this: Which rates qualify for cash back or rewards? Many people mistakenly believe that a booking must be prepaid to earn shopping portal rewards. That’s not correct: you do not need to book a prepaid…
With news of the latest Marriott devaluation, Nick and I wondered if Marriott credit cards were still worth keeping (see: Is Marriott dead to us? Should it be to you?). Most Marriott credit cards come with annual free night certificates valid at any property charging 35,000 points or less. And, starting March 4th, many of the hotels that previously charged 35K will then charge more. In a recent Frequent Miler on the Air discussion, I…
Background In the summer of 2018, many of us bought Marriott travel packages before it was too late. Prior to the Marriott/SPG merger, travel packages were a great deal. As a reminder, a Marriott Travel Package is a way to use Marriott points to purchase a travel bundle: you exchange Marriott points for both a set number of airline miles plus a 7 night Marriott stay certificate. In the old program, it often made sense…
Marriott’s latest devaluation is coming March 4th 2020. As Nick previously reported, Marriott is making its annual category adjustments and the news is mostly bad. One thousand six hundred and eighty seven properties will increase in price vs. only five hundred and seven that will decrease. That’s harsh. If you plan to book a Marriott with points or certificates this year, there’s a good chance the award price will increase March 4th (you can search…
