In a master stroke of bad timing, Marriott has reduced the value of points when redeemed for Homes & Villas stays. Previously, points were worth 0.7 cents each for these stays, but now you’ll get just 0.6 cents per point value. I’ve updated our Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide accordingly.
Since the old value was very close to our Reasonable Redemption rate for Marriott points (0.72 cents per point), I used to think that Homes & Villas offered an OK, but unexciting way to use your points. Now, I don’t recommend it at all.
Note too that even if paying with cash, it’s important to price-compare. In a previous analysis (found here), I found that sometimes Marriott charged more than competing websites for the exact same properties. That said, sometimes Marriott was cheaper.
Also, FYI, Marriott is running a Homes & Villas promo right now. As long as you’re planning to pay cash rather than points, and as long as you price compare with other sites, it may be worth booking deals like this since you’ll earn Marriott points and elite nights for these stays. Here’s the info from their PR department:
Best of 2020: Enjoy 10% off our most popular destinations when you book now for the year ahead. Book before 12/31. All stays need to take place after 1/1/21.
- We’ve curated 16,000+ of the best premium and luxury whole-homes that are professionally cleaned and inspected. Homes are located in 250 destinations around the world.
- Our guests can book with confidence. Most of our homes offer a 10-day cancellation window for stays through March 31st
- Members of Marriott Bonvoy can earn and redeem points on all bookings. Members who use their Marriott Bonvoy co-branded credit cards can earn bonus points for all bookings. We offer homes in more than 100 destinations where we currently don’t have hotels including St. Barts, Malibu and the Hamptons.
- Homes start at around $150 a night for a 2-bedroom condo on the beach in Florida and can go up to $22,000 a night for a bon-a-fide castle in Scotland with full staff.
- A vast majority of our homes offer contactless check-in.
Hat Tip: Loyalty Lobby via View from the Wing
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I’m confused. A tenth of a cent takes you from okay to never ever?
You’re talking about a $100 difference for each 100K redeemed. Looked at from the other perspective, a $700 property that you could have booked for 100K yesterday costs 116.7K today. Yeah, a tenth of a cent makes a fairly big difference even at fairly small scale like that.
This is indeed a game played on margins measured in tenths of a cent.