The third hotel reward program under examination is Marriott who has actually come out with a new reward structure closely resembling what Hilton is offering. There is one big difference though. As of January 15, 2009 you will get a free 5th night for every 4 reward nights redeemed from a Marriott hotel!

Read the table below according to this example: Getting 15,000 points requires spending $1,000 on Marriott stays assuming 15 points/dollar spent. A free night at an $150/night category 3 hotel costs around 15,000. $150 divided by $1,000 is about 15%.

This method is used to create a range of savings based on 15 points per dollar and does not include the 20% bonus that you will receive with Silver Elite status or the free 5th night. You can add another 6% to your discount in the example above with these 2 options.

1 Night at:	Points Required	Dollars Spent (assume 15 points/dollar)	Typical Room Cost per Night	% Rebate
Category 1-2	7,500-10,000	$500-$666	$100-$230	20%-35% (there aren’t many of these)
Category 3-4	15,000-20,000	$1,000-$1,333	$100-$400	10%-30%
Category 5-6	25,000-30,000	$1,666-$2,000	$150-$500	9%-25%
Category 7	35,000-40,000	$2,333-$2,666	$290-$500	12%-19%

*I excluded category 8 hotels because the reward category is not available until January 15th when the new program begins.

More about Marriott

As with all of the hotel reward programs the benefits of the program depend on where you want to stay. If you get most of your points staying at pricey hotels in New York City and use your reward points on a hotel in Orlando then you’re probably losing out. If you do things the other way around then you make a killing as far as the numbers are concerned.

Furthermore, most of the Marriott hotels are categories 2-5. In some instances a category 2 hotel could cost the same as a category 5 hotel, yet it would cost an extra 15,000 points to get a free stay at the category 5 hotel! So, do a little math before you book your free stays in order to get the best deal for you money.

Marriott Reward Points

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15 points per dollar Starting January 15, 2009 Marriott is rolling out a new reward program. The new program has some pretty good changes including no blackout dates. The program still gives 10 points/dollar on most Marriott stays and the Marriott “Premier Signature Visa” gives an additional 5 points. Other program features are listed below. No Blackout Dates Redeem 4 reward nights, get the 5th free! 50% Platinum Elite point bonus (up from 30%) If you want the credit card you will also get 25,000 Bonus Points An annual free night stay (category 1-4 hotels) Earn 5 points for every $1 spent at Marriott locations (for a total of 15 points) 2 points for every $1 spent on airline, dining, and rental car purchases Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on other purchases 15 nights credit toward Elite status

Elite Status Levels

Similar to the Hilton credit card, the Marriott card upgrades you to Silver status which usually requires staying 10 nights annually.

Silver Elite Status

• Requires staying 10 nights or 2 events annually
• 20% point bonus
• Priority late checkout
• 10% weekend stay discount

Gold Elite Status

• Requires staying 50 nights annually or 5 events
• All Silver VIP Benefits
• Room upgrade if available
• Lounge access
• Free continental breakfast

Platinum Elite Status

• Requires staying 75 nights annually or 7 events
• 50% point bonus
• All gold benefits + an arrival gift

Conclusion

Overall, the Marriott program structure is comparable to what Hilton has to offer with several Elite membership levels and how points can be redeemed. The big difference is that you will get about 10% more for you points with Marriott and a 5th night free on top of it all!

For a luxury brand hotel, this is the best reward program I’ve seen so far. The Westin is next on my list, so we will see how their program stacks up.