Marriott Bonvoy is one of the biggest hotel loyalty programs in the world like Marriott itself, maintaining around 9600 properties spanning over 30 brands. On top, there are also Marriott Homes & Villas – Marriott’s response to AirBnB: these are independent apartments and villas which were accepted in the program of Homes & Villas of Marriott. Sometimes, these are the same apartments which you can book also on AirBnB. But booking it via Marriott’s platform you still get points for your stays and your nights are counted towards your status qualification within Marriott Bonvoy. But there are also Marriott Stars and Luminous. Let’s have a look at the universe of Marriott.
Marriott classifies its hotel brands into 5 groups:
Luxury
EDITION
The Ritz-Carlton
The Luxury Collection
St. Regis
W Hotels
JW Marriott
Premium
Marriott
Sheraton
Delta Hotels
Westin
Le Meridien
Renaissance
Autograph Collection
Tribute Portfolio
Design Hotels
The Marriott Vacation Club
Gaylord Hotels
MGM
Outdoor Collection
Select
Courtyard
Four Points
Springhill Suites
Fairfield
AC Hotels
Citizen M
Aloft
Moxy
Protea
Midscale
City Express
Four Points Flex
Series by Marriott
Long stays
Residence Inn
Townplace Suites
Element
StudioRes
Marriott Executive Apartments
Homes & Villas
Apartments by Marriott
Benefits
Because of the complexity, the benefits of your program status are not identical in all hotels. Certain hotels are partially or completely excluded from the participation in Marriott Bonvoy program and offer only reduced to no advantages.
Also, depending on the hotel, you can earn more or less points for your stay. Usually, you earn 10 points for each USD (or local equivalent). But at apartments by Marriott Bonvoy, Protea Hotels, City Express, Four Points Express, Element, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Series by Marriott, and Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy you can earn only 5 base points per USD. At StudioRes you earn only 4 base points per USD. And at Marriott Executive Apartments you can earn only 2,5 points per USD.
Typical for most of the hotel loyalty programs is the restriction on status qualification nights:
Bookings via expedia, hotwire, priceline, orbitz, booking.com, travelocity.com and other similar booking platforms are counted as so-called „non-qualifying rates” and do not count towards your status qualification.
Usually, you earn one elite night credit per one qualifying night of your stay at the participating hotels. But also here, there are some exceptions. At StudioRes you do not get any elite night credits at all. At Protea Hotels, City Express, Four Points Flex, and Series by Marriott, you are awarded one elite night credit for every two (2) qualifying nights (means, you earn only one night towards your status after two nights at those hotels). Even worse it looks at Marriott Executive Apartments. You will be awarded one (1) elite night credit for every three (3) qualifying nights for each Qualifying Stay completed.
But let’s look at the loyalty program itself
The points are usually valid for 24 months and expire after that period. You can easily extend the validity of your points, as any activity in your account, like earning points, redeeming or purchasing them, extends the validity of all points for 24 months from the date of the activity in your account.
Marriott Bonvoy has 5 membership levels, starting with the base level where you enter when applying for participation in the program.
The qualification towards higher levels is possible only through the number of elite night credits mentioned above.
Silver level
Once you reach 10 elite night credits, you arrive at the silver level. As usual in most of the programs, the first Elite level (silver in this case) does not bring significant benefits yet. You can
- get 10% bonus points
- ask for a late check-out
- get 10% discount in the gift shop
Gold level
In order to reach the gold level, you need to spend 25 nights (or more, s. above). The gold level provides additional benefits, like
- 25% bonus points
- Welcome gift or points
- Late check-out until 2pm
- Complimentary enhanced internet access
Platin level
From 50 elite nights onwards, you are at the platin level and can enjoy a significant improvement in your benefits:
- 50% bonus points
- Complimentary room upgrades including suites
- Elite welcome gift including free breakfast or 10 USD F&B credit (depending on the region and the hotel)
- Guaranteed lounge access
- 4pm late check-out etc.
Titanium level
Reaching 75 elite nights, you get into the titanium level. Further benefits are
- 75% bonus points
- 48 hours guaranteed availability
- Additional awards, like one free night up to a value of 40.000 points
Ambassador level
If you spend 100 nights and 23.000 USD, you are at the highest Ambassador level of the program. You can get
- 100% bonus points
- Your personal ambassador taking care of your stays and making impossible possible
- YOUR 24h – you can have the room for 24 hours from your check-in (e.g. if you arrive at the hotel at 8pm only, you can use your room until 8pm at the day of checkout without any additional charges).
Lifetime membership levels
Marriott Bonvoy offers also lifetime membership levels. If you reach the threshold of 250 qualifying nights and 5 years in the silver level or higher (must not be consecutive), you can keep the silver status for life. The benefits of the silver level will be granted at every stay, even if you do not reach 10 nights per year anymore. A further benefit of the lifetime status: you do not need to care about the validity of your points anymore. They will never expire.
Once you reach 400 qualifying nights and 7 years at the gold level (or higher), you keep the gold level with all its benefits for the rest of your life.
Reaching 600 nights and 10 years at the platin level (or higher) you keep your platin benefits life-long.
Marriott Stars and Luminous
Until now we were talking about the publicly available Marriott Bonvoy program which is accessible to everyone.
We also learned that rates booked via booking channels other than Marriott itself are non-qualifying rates and do not count for credits of points or qualifying nights.
Marriott Stars and Luminous is a program which is available to a handful of carefully selected travel agents and offers special rates and special benefits which are not available broadly.
STARS Program is Marriott’s premier collection of ultra-luxury hotels, offering exclusive benefits when booked through select travel advisors. Participating brands include The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, EDITION, The Luxury Collection, Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts, and Ritz-Carlton Reserve. Designed for discerning travelers, STARS properties deliver personalized service, elevated amenities, and a refined guest experience.
LUMINOUS Program is a curated selection of lifestyle and premium hotels within the Marriott portfolio, offering elevated benefits when booked through authorized travel advisors. Participating brands include W Hotels, JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Westin, Marriott Hotels, Le Méridien, Renaissance Hotels, and Tribute Portfolio.
And “the cherry on the cookie” in this case is: even if you book such a special rate, this is still a qualifying rate. In other words, you earn points in Marriott Bonvoy and your nights count for your status qualification.
But on top, you can get additional benefits (independently from your status in Marriott Bonvoy and often on top of your status benefits):
STARS BENEFITS
- Complimentary daily breakfast for up to 2 guests per room (usually full breakfast)
- Room upgrades, subject to availability upon check-in
- Complimentary basic Wi-Fi
- In-person welcome from hotel management
- A welcome amenity personalized to the guest
- A Hotel credit once per stay
LUMINOUS BENEFITS
- Complimentary Breakfast – continental or full breakfast for two
- Complimentary Room Upgrade – a VIP upgrade to the next room category, upon availability
- Complimentary basic Wi-Fi
- Early check-in/late check-out, based on availability
- Welcome Amenity – a personalized welcome amenity that reflects the personality of the hotel and the destination
How can you access these special rates? It’s very easy: Singabiz® has a partnership with one of the carefully selected agents which participates in the program. Our clients and blog readers may register with our partner by using our referral link. You get access to over 3000 hotels worldwide (not only from Marriott, but also from other luxury and elevated brands, like Hilton for Luxury, SLH, Kempinski and many others).
This way, you can successfully combine both worlds: the qualification for the next status level in Marriott Bonvoy and additional benefits for rates available “by invitation only”.
Your next enhanced luxury stay is one click away.
