How to Use Marriott Points

Traditional redemption methods like free nights or partner transfers will get you the most value.
Ramsey Qubein
By Ramsey Qubein 
Updated
Edited by Meg Lee

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

MORE LIKE THISTravel

Marriott Bonvoy is a rewarding hotel loyalty program that delivers value through its points redemptions, credit card perks, airline affiliations and programs like Marriott Bonvoy Moments. Despite some changes in recent years to the program — including ditching its award charts and switching to a dynamic model that tracks cash prices — there are still sweet spots and benefits worth exploring.

There are many ways to earn Marriott Bonvoy points from hotel stays and credit card spending to booking tours and local experiences or vacation homes.

You can also earn points when booking Uber rides, with a Marriott Vacation Club timeshare membership, dining out, transferring points from other credit card programs and taking a cruise.

Elite members can earn Marriott points when flying with Emirates (3 points per $1 spent). Once your balance fills up, it’s time to enjoy them. Here's how to use Marriott points.

Eligible hotel properties

Marriott Bonvoy members have over 30 different brands to choose from when making a hotel redemption.

  • AC Hotels.

  • Aloft Hotels.

  • Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy.

  • Autograph Collection Hotels.

  • City Express.

  • Courtyard by Marriott.

  • Delta Hotels.

  • Design Hotels.

  • Edition Hotels.

  • Element Hotels.

  • Fairfield by Marriott.

  • Four Points by Sheraton.

  • Four Points Express by Sheraton.

  • Gaylord Hotels.

  • JW Marriott.

  • Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts.

  • The Luxury Collection.

  • Marriott.

  • Marriott Executive Apartments.

  • Marriott Vacation Club.

  • Moxy Hotels.

  • Protea Hotels.

  • Renaissance Hotels.

  • Residence Inn by Marriott.

  • The Ritz-Carlton.

  • Sheraton Hotels and Resorts.

  • SpringHill Suites by Marriott.

  • St. Regis Hotels & Resorts.

  • StudioRes (opening in late 2024).

  • TownePlace Suites by Marriott.

  • Tribute Portfolio.

  • W Hotels.

  • Westin Hotels & Resorts.

Marriott has more than 8,700 properties in 139 countries and territories where you can earn and redeem points. With Marriott points, there's a wide variety of options for free redemption nights.

How to use Marriott points for free nights

Since Marriott Bonvoy uses dynamic pricing, it’s important to understand that the price of a redemption night varies depending on your dates of travel.

Start by logging into marriott.com. Then, enter the destination, trip dates, number of rooms and how many guests per room. Check the “Use Points/Certificates” box and select the “Find Hotels” button.

The list of hotels will display the number of points required for a stay there, but there’s another way to see if there are cheaper redemption nights at the same hotel.

Select the “View Rates” button, then go to the top of the page and select “Edit Stay Details.”

Then, go to the dates section and select the “I’m flexible” tab, where you can search each property’s availability by a month at a time.

Select the month you want to search for to determine if there are cheaper redemption nights where you can save some points. This example shows rates for October 2024.

Once you choose the nights you want, select the dates to show the room categories available and their prices.

From this section, you can also opt to pay for some nights with points and others using cash (an option if you’re short on Marriott Bonvoy points). To do this, select “Use Cash + Points,” then the room category, which will adjust the cash and points options based on the total cost.

From here, use “Select” to pay how you choose and confirm your stay.

The Marriott Bonvoy app follows a similar process, which makes it easy to book reservations when you’re on the go, too.

🤓Nerdy Tip

Travelers who book stays of at least five consecutive nights are charged for four nights only. The total number of points is calculated so that the lowest-cost redemption night is free.

You can take advantage of the fifth-night free benefit up to four times per stay (by booking 20 nights, you will receive four for free). The benefit only applies when redeeming points for the entire stay.

How to use Marriott points for free flights

With 40 partner airlines, Marriott Bonvoy members can move their hotel points to different carriers starting with as few as 3,000 points and up to 240,000 points per day. To do so, the names on both the Marriott and frequent flyer accounts must match.

There are some bonus offers depending on the airline you choose. United MileagePlus is one of Marriott’s top partners, and Ambassador Elite and Titanium Elite members receive extra perks when traveling with the airline. To take advantage, members must first link their accounts. All members can earn an additional 10,000 United Airlines miles for each 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points redeemed for MileagePlus miles.

Depending on the airline, the transfer ratio will vary, with most transferring 3 Marriott points to 1 mile, which isn't an ideal value. Still, this use of Marriott points makes sense if you’re short on airline miles that you need for an award.

🤓Nerdy Tip

There’s an additional 5,000-point bonus for each 60,000 miles redeemed with most airlines, although United’s offer is best. American Airlines, Avianca, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air don't participate in this bonus offer.

Here’s how to convert Marriott Bonvoy points to an airline’s frequent flyer program. You’ll need to log into your account first, then visit this page and select “Transfer Points.”

The transfer form, as shown below, is simple to complete, and you can enter the number of points you want to move between accounts.

Not all transfers are instant and — in rare cases — can take up to a week. If you’re using the miles for a flight redemption, be sure an award ticket is available before trapping points in a frequent flyer account.

How to use Marriott Bonvoy points for shopping

If you prefer to shop with points instead of using them on travel, you can redeem Marriott points for gift cards. This isn’t the most valuable way to redeem points, but it's a reasonable option in certain situations.

The amounts change by the retailer, but generally you can receive a $25 gift card for 10,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, a $50 gift card for 17,500 points and a $100 gift card for 30,000 points.

This results in far less value than NerdWallet’s latest valuation of ​​0.8 cent when redeeming points for hotel stays.

In addition to gift cards, you can redeem Marriott points for merchandise from online merchants like Apple, Dyson, GoPro and The North Face. Marriott cleverly divides the merchants by category and even has a section for items that cost fewer than 10,000 points. You can also use points for Marriott-branded products like signature beds from Westin or candles from Edition.

It’s wise to compare the cost in points with the retail price to see where you can get the most value. Typically, hotel redemptions are always the best value when dealing with Marriott Bonvoy points.

How to pool Marriott points with other members

A great feature for those who don’t travel frequently is points pooling — the ability to share points within one account with other members. The maximum number of points a Marriott Bonvoy member can transfer is 100,000 per calendar year.

A recipient can receive as many as 500,000 Marriott points per calendar year from other members. You need to transfer a minimum of 1,000 points per transaction in 1,000-point increments, and the recipient’s account should have been open for 90 days (or 30 days if they have qualifying activity).

Go to the online transfer tool to begin; you'll need both account numbers.

Using Marriott points recapped

The most important thing to know is that you can extract the most value from Marriott Bonvoy points by using them on hotel night redemptions. But, if you have limited travel plans or have so many points you don’t know how to use them fast enough, you can spend them on gift cards, merchandise or frequent flyer miles, too.

For those feeling generous, giving them as a gift to someone else to take their dream vacation may be the most rewarding way of all.


How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024, including those best for:

Marriott Cards from our Partners
Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card

on Chase's website

Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
2.8
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

1x-14x

Earn up to 14X total points for every $1 spent at thousands of hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® and 2X points on other travel purchases (from airfare to taxis and trains). 1X point for every $1 spent on all other purchases.

Points

Intro offer

30,000

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.

Points
See more marriott cards
Get more smart money moves – straight to your inbox
Sign up and we’ll send you Nerdy articles about the money topics that matter most to you along with other ways to help you get more from your money.