Bonvoy is the program we love… to hate. Having said that, we’d be lying if we said there were no redeeming features of this program. In this episode, we’ll talk about the pros and cons of the Marriott Bonvoy program.
Marriott Bonvoy pros and cons
Watch the full episode below, or listen on your favorite podcast platform. You can click the timestamps below to navigate directly to a specific part of the episode within YouTube. For a transcript of this episode, click “Watch on Youtube” on the video below, then click the “…more” link in the video description. This will expand full video details. Scrolling down past the timestamps and chapters, you’ll see a “Show Transcript” button. If you’re an Apple Podcast listener, you can touch and hold a podcast episode to reveal an option to view a transcript.
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(00:58) – Pros
(06:53) – Cons
(11:50) – See our resource (or “matrix”) for determining which Marriott card you may be eligible for here
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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Regarding comments: Comments posted at the bottom of Frequent Miler pages and posts 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.
The Brilliant card is a great deal.
Used it to get a $900 room at the Newport Resort and Spa.
Also got a wonderful free breakfast overlooking the marina and $30 credit since the lounge was closed on the weekend.
And of course we got other lounge and breakfasts. All total, we got $1500 of benefits on a $650 the first year.
This year we used it for a $700 room at the St. Regis, Chicago for Valentine’s Day. Wonderful breakfast overlooking the Chicago skyline, they gave my lovely wife some bubble bath accessories at check in and we got an early checking at 1230 and a late checkout at 4PM.
All that extra time was nice. It gave my lovely wife time for her to enjoy a nice bath and how do I put this politely, it gave us extra time to celebrate the spirit of Valentine’s Day a couple of extra times.
Didn’t you used to post as “MM”… either way, whenever I see your stuff, however many M’s you use, all I know is… this guy is merely shilling for corporate on here. Lame.
What do you mean? Normal people don’t associate the Bonvoy Brilliant card with more sex?
Fair. [redacted]
They require three letters here.
You keep calling me a corporate shill and I will admit to being one if you can do the following:
1) Show how giving Marriott $650 for services instead of $1300 makes them money?
2) Show me what is wrong with my math for my stays?
3) For next Valentine’s Day, the St. Regis is $886 for $88K points so again $1300 in value for $650, please show me that these numbers are not accurate
4) You have previously said that IHG certs are worth about $200.
https://frequentmiler.com/what-are-hotel-free-night-certificates-worth/
People constantly buy points for 0.5cpp so why are they buying them just to redeem them for $200?
5) How is telling people to get a $100 IHG card and redeeming the points for $280-$320 some how helping IHG or the hotel owners?
If you can answer all of these questions I will admit to being a shill.
If you can’t then shut up.
Ah, so it is MM after-all. (MMM at FM). *hat tip* Here you go:
1) As with nearly all credit card ‘arbitrage,’ Marriott wins in the aggregate, because most do not go out of their way to ‘maximize.’ (And, please do understand, the crazy things we do to ‘maximize’ that value costs us in the end.)
2) Always cherry-picking. A single (or even a set of) profitable redemptions doesn’t mean it works for most. Those losers subsidize your wins while the programs continues to devalue, again and again, year after year.
3) You’ve brought up this silly example before. How fun! Yeah, so, valuing a stay at its inflated retail price is a marketing delusion. If you wouldn’t have literally paid $1,300 cash otherwise… it’s not actually worth that value.
4) Comparing the buy rate to the redemption value is irrelevant if the underlying hotel inventory is artificially restricted or if the redemption devalues before the user can effectively utilize the points. (Have you really not experienced these games that they play yet?)
5) Budy, you’re generating leads for banks and driving interchange volume with such promotion on here and elsewhere. Whether you admit it or not, you’re providing the free, high-intent marketing that keeps these machines profitable. [redacted]
You should know by now that I won’t shut up voluntarily. Hehe.
I find Ambassador status to be a scam.Certainly not worth the required spending.
Pros… *crickets*
Cons… *gestures broadly*
Depends on how you use it and what you value, I guess. I get good value out of my Brilliant between status (at the hotels I stay at), the 85k cert, and the monthly dining credit…but I also don’t have outsized expectations. So I suppose it’s because I don’t expect a ton, and am therefore often pleasantly surprised (and probably b/c I don’t stay at the “popular” or “influencer-approved” spots).
It always ‘depends’… except with Marriott. Just say ‘no.’ *wink*