Are Marriott Cash + Points Rates Worth It?

If you’re planning a getaway to a Marriott hotel and don’t have enough Marriott Bonvoy® points to book as an award stay — or simply want to conserve your points — you might consider making a Cash + Points booking.

Where available, Marriott's Cash + Points option allows you to book a stay by paying a cash copay and a fraction of the points for a traditional award night. With a Cash + Points reservation, you can stay for as little as $55 and 3,500 points.

Here's a closer look at whether booking a Cash + Points rate is worth it.

» Learn more: The complete guide to the Marriott Bonvoy program

About Marriott Cash + Points reservations

There are two different types of Marriott Cash + Points reservations.

• Cash + Points Rate allows Marriott Bonvoy members to book rooms at a fixed price that charges a combo of cash and points per night.

• Customized Cash + Points reservations enable members to book a multinight stay where some nights are paid for in cash and other nights are paid for with points.

Mixed availability

Before diving into details of the Marriott Cash + Points reservations, it’s important to know that Marriott has discretion on Cash + Points room availability. As a result, the number of hotels participating is extremely limited.

Difficulty comparing options

Marriott eliminated its fixed award chart in March 2022 and moved to dynamic award pricing. This means you'll need to do some math to decide if Cash + Points is the best option on a case-by-case basis.

Fees

Award stays don't usually require customers to pay taxes and fees on top of the points redeemed, with one exception: resort fees. If the hotel charges a resort fee, you will have an additional cash outlay for the stay, even for those booked with points.

» Learn more: Are resort fees ever worth it?

On the other hand, when you book a Cash + Points rate, you’ll be responsible for any taxes and fees that apply to the cash portion of the rate. Depending on the category of hotel (between 1-8), the additional taxes and fees can add a noticeable amount to the cost of the stay.

Keep in mind that when you book a Cash + Points rate, you won't earn points based on the cash portion of the award.

» Learn more: The best hotel credit cards right now

How to book with Cash + Points at Marriott

To find Cash + Points availability, go to the Marriott website and search for the destination or hotel. Input travel dates and select the “Use Points/Certificates” option.

Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to quickly see which hotels offer Cash + Points availability for your desired travel dates. When looking for award redemptions, Cash + Points redemptions don't show up in search results. Instead, you must click through to the individual hotel's website to see if there’s availability. This can be time-consuming if you’re comparing multiple hotels.

Depending on the hotel and your travel dates, multiple Cash + Points options may be available. Cash + Points reservations offer a fixed price in points and cash for your stay. For multinight Cash + Points reservations, choose cash or points for each night.

When you find availability, select the option for your preferred room type and complete your booking. If you don't have enough points to pay for the award portion of your stay, you can purchase points during the checkout process.

Finding value (or not) with Marriott's Cash + Points awards

Before booking a Cash + Points rate, run the numbers to be sure you’re getting a good deal. In certain cases, you might be better off paying the standard cash room rate because the cash portion of the Cash + Points rate plus taxes and fees can be more than what you’d pay for a regular stay.

Good redemption value

For example, one night at the Union Station Nashville Yards, Autograph Collection in Nashville, Tennessee, in May 2024 can cost 87,000 points or $645 plus taxes. Booking a Cash & Points rate gets you the same room for 43,500 points and $200.

On its face, you’d be paying $200 to save 43,500 Marriott points. Buying Marriott points at less than 0.5 cents per point is a good deal when the average value is 0.9 cent per point.

With cash prices at $645 plus tax, you get a good deal whether booking an award stay or a Cash + Points redemption. Booking a room for 87,000 points provides a value of 0.73 cents per point, lower than the average value of 0.9 cent. However, a Cash + Points stay offers the best value at roughly 1.0 cents per point on the 43,500 points redeemed.

Bad redemption value

In this example, the Cash + Points option isn’t economical. The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage in Mirage, California, is charging $696 plus tax per night in May 2024.

A free night reservation using points is available for 65,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night; however, you can book a Cash + Points redemption for $450 + 32,500 Marriott points.

If you pick the Cash + Points option, you’re essentially buying 32,500 points for $450. While the number of points required is only half the standard award booking rate, this is a horrible redemption because you are buying points at roughly 1.4 cents per point. This rate is almost double our 0.9 cent valuation of Marriott points.

In this case, you're better off booking a straight points redemption to get approx 1.1 cents of value per point.

» Learn more: Why I love Marriott Bonvoy

Collect Marriott points quickly

If you need thousands of Marriott points for a dream trip or to pay for multiple rooms for your family, the fastest way to get a huge chunk of points is by opening a travel credit card and meeting the spending requirement to earn the sign-up bonus.

Here are some of the best credit cards for earning Marriott points:

Terms apply.

Final thoughts on Cash + Points redemptions

Is booking with the Marriott Cash + Points rate worth it? In short, it depends.

These redemptions allow you to book rooms using a combination of cash and points — you can pay both cash and points each night, or points for some nights and cash for others on a multinight stay.

Booking Cash + Points stays can potentially reduce your out-of-pocket cost on your next trip. This option also appeals to Marriott Bonvoy members who don’t have enough points accumulated to book a free night at a specific property.

Before booking your stay, compare the cash copay portion of the Cash + Points rate with the standard room rate. In certain cases, the cash rate of the stay could actually be cheaper.

Keep in mind that hotel participation in the Cash + Points program is at the property’s discretion, which means availability is limited.

The information related to the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Card credit card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.