Mike FriedmanMarriott has a long and glorious history of lousy quarterly promotions, but I’m pretty sure that this one (Endless Earning Promotion) takes the cake. And not the good cake. The bad cake, like the stuff you get at a buffet. But I digress…
As a matter of review, hotel companies run promotions all the time, but it’s the quarterly promos that typically offer the potential for big bucks.
Stop…At A Whammy With Endless Earning
Marriott Bonvoy, the new name for the company’s loyalty program, just announced its third quarter Marriott Bonvoy promotion, and it isn’t good. Endless Earning Promotion will give you 1,500 points for every stay with the company of two nights or more. That’s weak, particularly compared to the double points promos that its competitors have run. The promotion runs from July 2 — September 16 and requires registration.
That incentivizes frequent, short stays, which is more common for business travelers than it is for leisure customers. Of course, it’s the summer, so not as many business travelers will be around to take advantage of it. Pretty sneaky sis.
Marriott Bonvoy Promotion
And 1,500 points isn’t exactly a windfall. I value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, which means that they’re giving you a whopping $10.50 for each stay of at least two nights.
Here’s another way to think of it: The promotion lasts for 76 days, meaning that there are a maximum of 38 two-night earnings periods. So if you switched Marriott properties every two days for the entire promotion period, you’d earn 57,000 points, which isn’t even enough to get you a single stay at a category 7 hotel (There are eight categories.).
But You Should Still Sign Up – Endless Earning Promotion
Of course. Rule #1 of our eight rules of points and miles is to take advantage of everything. The Endless Earning Promotion may be lousy, but if you’re going to be at a Marriott anyway, you might as well get the bonus points from the Marriott Bonvoy Promotion.
By the way, Rule #2 applies, as well. Our favorite cash back shopping portal, Mr. Rebates, is offering 3% back on your entire room costs. Remember, it’s taking you to the same Marriott home page as if you went there yourself. It’s just giving you a share of its commission to do so.
