Buy Marriott Bonvoy Points with a 25% Bonus

Marriott Bonvoy is the hotel loyalty program of choice for many Canadians, both for hotel bookings and for its flexibility to transfer to a huge variety of airline partners.

Since merging with Starwood Preferred Guest, Marriott Bonvoy has joined the ranks of programs that run frequent promotions on purchasing points directly from the program.

Marriott Bonvoy has now launched their latest promotion for anyone looking to boost their points balance in preparation for summer travel and beyond.

Buy Marriott Bonvoy Points with a 25% Bonus

Marriott Bonvoy is offering a bonus on points purchases until September 15, 2022. Rather than their usual tiered bonuses, it appears that the standard offer across the board is for a 25% bonus when you buy at least 2,000 points.

This is a comparatively weak offer to what we’ve seen in the past, where Marriott offered bonuses of up to 60%.

Typically, Marriott charges 1.25 cents per point (USD) to buy directly from the program. With a 25% bonus, the rate improves to 1 cent per point (USD).

Buying Bonvoy points at this rate is above our current valuation of 0.7 cents per Bonvoy point (USD). Therefore, unless you had a compelling reason to buy points, it doesn’t represent that great of a deal.

Since we’ve seen Marriott go as high as 60% on these promotions before, it may be worthwhile to wait for a higher bonus.

How many Marriott Bonvoy points can you buy?

Since 2021, Marriott Bonvoy has imposed a limit of 100,000 points purchased per calendar year, up from 50,000 previously.

This limit includes points purchased for yourself, plus points you receive that were purchased and gifted by others. Previously purchased points do count towards the limit.

If you max out this promotion, it’ll cost $1,250 (USD) for 125,000 Bonvoy points. 

Which credit card should you use to buy Marriott Bonvoy points?

Marriott sells points through an external vendor, Points.com. They don’t count as a travel purchase, and there’s no extra benefit to using a co-branded Amex Marriott Bonvoy card issued in Canada or the US.

Instead, I’d suggest any card with a high base earn rate, or one where you’re working on meeting the minimum spend requirement.

Because the purchase is charged in USD, you might consider using a Canadian-issued card with no foreign exchange fees, or any US credit card.

Who Should Buy Marriott Bonvoy Points?

Buying points can be a good way to top-up…