How to Earn Marriott Bonvoy Rewards Points
How to Earn Marriott Bonvoy Rewards Points
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author’s opinions and recommendations alone. It may not have been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through a credit card issuer partnership.
Whether you're testing the waters with Marriott or you’re a devout loyalist, you probably already know that you can save up Marriott points and redeem them for free hotel stays, room upgrades, vacation packages and more.
What you may not know are all the different ways you can earn Marriott points — in addition to earning on stays, your options for earning Marriott points include using the right credit card, booking cruises, dining out and renting cars. The more methods you incorporate, the sooner you'll be able to book your dream vacation with points. Maximize your points balance with this guide on all the ways to earn Marriott points.
Book a Marriott hotel stay
The most common way to earn Marriott points is by staying at hotels within the Marriott family. You'll earn points based on how much you spend throughout your stay, which includes spending on your room rate, as well as dining and beverage purchases, spa services and more.
The base earn rate is 10 points per dollar spent at most Marriott properties, although a handful of Marriott's brands offer lower earning rates. You'll earn a base rate of 5 points per dollar spent at any Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites or Element hotel, while at Marriott Executive Apartments and ExecuStay properties, you'll earn a base rate of 2.5 points per dollar on the room rate only.
In addition to this base rate, elite members of the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program earn a points bonus on all stays, making it easier to earn Marriott points quickly. The bonus amount increases with higher Marriott Bonvoy elite status tiers, as explained in the table below. For example, while a regular Marriott Bonvoy member would earn 2,000 Marriott points on a $200 stay, a Titanium Elite member would earn 3,500 points.
Marriott points per stay
Status level | Requirements | Points earned/$1 |
|---|---|---|
| Member | 0 to 9 | 10 |
| Silver Elite | 10 nights | 11 |
| Gold Elite | 25 nights | 12.5 |
| Platinum Elite | 50 nights | 15 |
| Titanium Elite | 75 nights | 17.5 |
| Ambassador Elite | 100 nights and $20k annual spend | 17.5 |
Marriott credit cards
Marriott has four credit cards through Chase and American Express that offer cardholders the chance to earn additional Marriott points. You'll earn Marriott points on all of your credit card spending, and you'll even get the chance to earn a generous welcome offer.
Card | Welcome offer | Earning categories | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase | Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after spending $1,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening with the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card. | Earn up to 14X total points for every $1 spent at 7,000+ hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® and 2X points on other travel purchases (from airfare to taxis and trains). | $0 |
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase | Earn 3 Free Nights after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening + 10X total points per $1 spent on up to $2,500 in combined purchases at gas stations, restaurants, and grocery stores within 6 months from account opening with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card! | Earn up to 17X total points for every $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® and 2X points on all other purchases. | $95 |
| Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card | Earn 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Terms apply. | Earn 6 Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy™ program. 3 points at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines. 2 points on all other eligible purchases. | $450 |
| Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card | Earn 75,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn up to $150 back in statement credits on eligible purchases made on your new Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. | 6x points at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels. 4x points at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping. 2x points on all other eligible purchases. | $125 |
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card, please click here.
The points you get from credit card spending are earned in addition to what you earn on stays as a Marriott Bonvoy member. For example, if you're a Platinum Elite member and have the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase, you’ll earn an effective rate of 21 Marriott points per dollar at Marriott Bonvoy hotels, allowing you to accumulate Marriott points much faster.
Each card also comes with a lucrative welcome offer that you can earn if you spend a certain amount of money within the first three months of opening the card. These welcome offers are one of the best ways to earn lots of Marriott points quickly.
Transfer Chase points to Marriott
In addition to earning Marriott points with Marriott's co-branded credit cards, you can also earn Marriott points indirectly with the Chase Ultimate Rewards program. This program allows you to transfer your points to a long list of Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners at a 1:1 rate, including the Marriott Bonvoy program. In the table below, you’ll find Chase’s main Ultimate Rewards-earning credit cards.
Card | Introductory bonus | Earning categories | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. | 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases | $95 |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. | 5x points on flights and 10x points on hotels and car rentals through Chase Ultimate Rewards® | $550 |
| Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card | Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. | Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases—with no limit to the amount you can earn. | $95 |
Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy is easy and fast — you simply log into your Ultimate Rewards account and provide your Marriott Bonvoy member information. Transfers are typically processed by the following business day.
Transfer Amex points to Marriott
Just like Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program, the American Express Membership Rewards program lets you transfer your Membership Rewards points to various airline and hotel partners that include Marriott Bonvoy. Below, you'll find a table with the most popular Membership Rewards-earning cards.
Card | Welcome offer | Earning categories | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Express® Green Card | Earn 30,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $2,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® Points on Restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery. Additionally, earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on all eligible travel, from subway swipes and window seats to hotel stays and city tours. | $150 |
| American Express® Gold Card | Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months. | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, including takeout and delivery, and earn 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X), and 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. Terms apply. | $250 |
| The Platinum Card® from American Express | Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. | 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. Terms apply. | $695 |
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
Membership Rewards points transfer to Marriott Bonvoy at a 1:1 rate, although American Express regularly runs promotions that allow you to transfer your points to certain transfer partners at a higher rate for a limited time. One recent targeted promotion allowed Membership Rewards members to transfer their points to Marriott Bonvoy with a 30% bonus, meaning 1,000 Membership Rewards points could be exchanged for 1,300 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Marriott Cruise with Points
The Marriott Bonvoy Cruise with Points portal allows you to book cruises with a variety of cruise lines and earn Marriott points in the process. You'll earn 3 Marriott points per dollar spent on cruises booked through this portal, which includes cruises offered by Carnival, Celebrity, Disney, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Virgin Voyages and more.
Marriott Refer a Friend (Reward a Friend)
The Marriott Reward a Friend program gives you the chance to earn up to 50,000 Marriott points when friends you refer to the Marriott Bonvoy program complete stays. You'll get 2,000 points each time one of your referrals completes a stay, up to five stays per referral. You can refer up to five new members each calendar year, so make sure you choose friends who’ll actually stay with Marriott. As an added incentive, let them know that they'll earn 2,000 bonus points after each of their first five stays by using your referral to join.
Rent a car with Hertz
You'll earn 500 Marriott points per rental with Hertz simply by including your Marriott Bonvoy number on your Hertz rental car reservation. If you rent cars regularly, pairing your Marriott loyalty with Hertz can pay off in more ways than one — in addition to earning Marriott points on your car rentals, if you achieve Titanium Elite or Ambassador Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy, you’ll get complimentary elite status with the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program.
Marriott Bonvoy Events
If you ever have to plan events or host meetings, hosting them at participating Marriott properties through Marriott Bonvoy Events can earn you up to 60,000 Marriott points — or more, if you have elite status with Marriott Bonvoy. You'll earn 2 points per $1 spent on room, food, beverage and audio/visual expenses at any qualifying event, up to 60,000 points, plus a points bonus ranging from 10% to 75% for elite Marriott Bonvoy members.
Marriott Eat Around Town
Eat Around Town is a portal for Marriott Bonvoy members that lets you earn additional Marriott points at participating restaurants, bars and clubs when you sign up for an Eat Around Town account and pay with a linked credit or debit card. The portal includes more than 11,000 establishments, and you'll earn 4 to 6 points per dollar spent at all of them, depending on your Marriott Bonvoy membership status).
Marriott Green Choice
Marriott's Make a Green Choice program allows guests who are staying at least two consecutive nights at a Marriott property to forgo housekeeping for up to two consecutive days in exchange for a small sum of Marriott points. While this is marketed as a sustainability initiative, it's worth noting that it's come under fire from labor advocates and the housekeepers themselves for promoting reduced hours and job loss.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card, please click here.
The information related to Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card, American Express® Green Card and Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card have been independently collected by ValuePenguin and have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply to American Express credit card offers. See americanexpress.com for more information.
These responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Advertiser Disclosure: The products that appear on this site may be from companies from which ValuePenguin receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). ValuePenguin does not include all financial institutions or all products offered available in the marketplace.
How We Calculate Rewards: ValuePenguin calculates the value of rewards by estimating the dollar value of any points, miles or bonuses earned using the card less any associated annual fees. These estimates here are ValuePenguin's alone, not those of the card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer.
Example of how we calculate the rewards rates: When redeemed for travel through Ultimate Rewards, Chase Sapphire Preferred points are worth $0.0125 each. The card awards 2 points on travel and dining and 1 point on everything else. Therefore, we say the card has a 2.5% rewards rate on dining and travel (2 x $0.0125) and a 1.25% rewards rate on everything else (1 x $0.0125).