As soon as upon a time, Marriott Bonvoy was one of the precious lodge loyalty packages.
Redemptions have been fairly priced, elite standing perks have been promised with out having to awkwardly push entrance desk employees, and transferring factors from American Specific Membership Rewards (MR) was a wise solution to stretch your stays.
However through the years, Marriott has elevated award costs each loudly and quietly, eliminated its official award chart, and diluted the worth of its factors.
So, in 2025, is Marriott Bonvoy nonetheless price it? Or are you higher off reserving money stays—and even switching lodge loyalty altogether?
The State of Marriott Bonvoy in 2025
Marriott Bonvoy nonetheless gives a large footprint of properties worldwide, from budget-friendly Courtyards to ultra-luxurious Ritz-Carltons.
There’s no denying that having Marriott Bonvoy factors or holding a Marriott Bonvoy bank card permits you to e-book a lodge practically wherever on the planet and benefit from the perks that include it.
However the worth of Bonvoy factors has taken successful over time:
- Award pricing is now absolutely dynamic, that means redemption pricing can fluctuate wildly.
- Excessive-end properties price considerably extra factors than earlier than.
- There is no such thing as a official award chart, making it exhausting for travellers to find out if the redemption charges they see on the time of reserving are an excellent deal.
For loyalists and enterprise travellers who incessantly keep at Marriott motels, this system can nonetheless be helpful. However in the event you’re amassing factors purely to maximise worth, it’s getting tougher to justify.
Marriott’s Unofficial Award Chart in 2025
Marriott not publishes an official award chart, and it as an alternative makes use of a dynamic pricing mannequin that varies by demand.
Nevertheless, behind the scenes, Marriott nonetheless secretly assigns classes to its motels.
How one can Discover a Marriott Resort’s Hidden Class (Apart from Ritz-Carlton & Ritz-Carlton Reserves)
- On a PC browser, head over to Marriott’s official homepage and sign up to your account.
- Seek for a lodge of your curiosity. (Instance: Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre)
- Click on “View Charges” to move over to the lodge web page.
- Click on on the lodge’s brand. This could open a brand new tab to the lodge’s homepage (following this precise step is essential).
- Proper-click wherever on the web page and choose “View Web page Supply.”
- Use “Discover on Web page” (Ctrl+F) and seek for “prop_rewards_category_level”.
- You’ll now see the lodge’s assigned class. (For instance, Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre is a Class 5 lodge)
What Do These Hidden Classes Imply?
Now that you know the way to discover a lodge’s class, the subsequent step is knowing what these ranges really imply.
Although Marriott has switched to completely dynamic pricing, every class nonetheless has a minimal and most award worth vary that determines how costly a redemption will be.
Right here’ s a common vary analyzed from miles and factors fanatics.
Whereas not an official supply, this provides a ballpark concept of what completely different motels price in Bonvoy factors.
As you may see, award evening pricing has crept upward with none official announcement from Marriott.
How Marriott Bonvoy’s Devaluations Have an effect on Totally different Resort Classes
Marriott Bonvoy’s shift to dynamic pricing implies that award costs have elevated unpredictably throughout all classes.
Decrease-category motels (Classes 1-3) have seen minimal adjustments, however their dynamic vary will be weird. For instance, a Class 1 lodge can price over 3 times its minimal award worth.
Class 4-6 motels have seen the most important devaluation, making Free Night time Awards (FNAs) tougher to redeem successfully. Many motels that have been beforehand bookable with a Free Night time Award now require topping up with extra factors or are outright unattainable to e-book, lowering their worth and utility.
Luxurious motels in Class 8 and above have seen the steepest worth jumps, with some properties now exceeding 200,000 factors per evening. Whereas some ultra-expensive money charges should still justify a factors redemption, it’s now price various loyalty packages like Hilton Honors and World of Hyatt for higher worth.
Decrease Classes (1-3): Funds Pleasant No Extra
Traditionally, Class 1-3 motels have been nice for price range travellers or these seeking to earn low cost Elite Night time credit via prolonged stays.
Whereas these properties have seen comparatively smaller will increase when it comes to absolute price in factors, the way in which dynamic pricing has been carried out makes redemptions unpredictable and fewer precious.
One of many largest points is the large hole between minimal and most pricing—for instance, a Class 1 lodge can now price greater than 3 times its minimal worth on peak dates.
Personally, I had my eye on AC Resort Penang to earn Elite Night time credit and push in the direction of Titanium Elite standing.
Earlier than 2025, this lodge used to persistently price 5,000 factors per evening year-round.
Subsequently, by using Fifth Night time Free profit, I used to be planning to keep 10 nights for the value of 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy factors. (20,000 factors for a five-night keep x 2)
Nevertheless, the lodge now prices round 12,000 factors per evening persistently all year long. Even with the Fifth Night time Free profit, a five-night keep would complete 48,000 factors—a 140% improve with no added worth.
Given its inconvenient location, I’m now higher off paying simply 9,000 extra factors for a much better keep on the Courtyard Penang, which is nearer to town centre (and even take into account not travelling to Penang in any respect).
Mid-Tier Classes (4-6): Free Night time Awards Are Tougher to Use
The largest devaluations have occurred in Classes 4-6, and the influence is most noticeable for many who redeem Free Night time Awards. Prior to now, a 35K or 40K Free Night time Award might reliably be used at a strong mid-tier lodge, however that’s not all the time the case.
Each the Marriott Bonvoy American Specific Card and Marriott Bonvoy Enterprise American Specific Card in Canada include an annual Free Night time Award price 35,000 factors. These certificates will be topped up with as much as 15,000 Marriott factors, permitting for a redemption of motels priced as much as 50,000 factors per evening.
American Specific Marriott Bonvoy Credit score Playing cards
The 40K Free Night time Award is on the market via the 75-night Annual Selection Profit for Titanium Elite members. Similar to the 35K FNA, it may be topped up with as much as 15,000 factors, permitting for redemptions as much as 55,000 factors per evening.
Whereas barely higher than the 35K FNA, peak pricing nonetheless makes redemptions troublesome, particularly at high-demand resorts and metropolis motels.
Many beforehand accessible Class 5-6 motels now worth above 55K factors per evening, making FNAs tougher to make use of successfully.
This forces travellers to both use FNAs at lower-tier motels (which could not be supreme) or high up with extra factors, lowering the worth of the “free” evening.
Excessive-Finish Classes (8+): The Worst Devaluation Hits Luxurious Resorts
Whereas higher-end motels have all the time been costly, probably the most dramatic will increase have occurred in Class 8 motels and above.
You’ll must be extraordinarily fortunate to have the ability to use both of the Free Night time Awards to redeem for a Class 7 lodge. And for Class 8 and 9 motels, the utmost worth has elevated dramatically, by 10,000 factors and 20,000 factors respectively.
Some properties even price over 200,000 factors, making it nearly hopeless for a mean traveller to redeem.
Nevertheless, Marriott Bonvoy factors can nonetheless make sense in instances the place money charges are extraordinarily excessive in comparison with award pricing. A property just like the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto, the place money charges recurrently exceed $2,000 per evening, would possibly nonetheless be an inexpensive redemption at 128,000 factors, yielding about 1.76 cents per level in worth.
Nevertheless, for many different properties, Marriott Bonvoy redemptions could not be price it. With Marriott’s unpredictable pricing and rising redemption prices, it’s now price various packages.
Various Loyalty Applications for Luxurious Stays
With Marriott Bonvoy’s high-end award pricing growing sharply within the latest previous, it’s now price contemplating different lodge loyalty packages to see if they provide higher worth in the identical vacation spot.
Hilton Honors:
- No award chart with fastened pricing, however Free Night time Rewards are far more versatile, since you may redeem them at any property so long as there’s an ordinary redemption fee obtainable.
- The addition of Small Luxurious Resorts of the World to this system presents some very intriguing alternatives for high-value factors redemptions at luxurious motels.
- The American Specific Platinum Card provides on the spot Gold standing, which incorporates complimentary breakfast at most properties (every day F&B credit score within the US), a perk that provides vital worth.
World of Hyatt:
- Nonetheless maintains an award chart, making it way more predictable than Marriott Bonvoy’s pricing.
- Class 7-8 Hyatt motels are sometimes considerably cheaper in factors than Marriott Bonvoy’s Class 8-9 properties.
- Globalist standing (top-tier) is arguably the perfect lodge elite standing within the recreation, with close to assured suite upgrades and free breakfast (but it surely’s additionally harder to earn).
Conclusion
For enterprise travellers or Lifetime Elite Standing holders, Marriott Bonvoy can nonetheless be a helpful program, but it surely requires way more effort than earlier than to get good worth.
The stealth devaluations, unpredictable pricing, and elevated redemption prices make it tougher to maximise factors, particularly for these counting on Free Night time Awards or lower-category properties for elite standing runs.
That mentioned, I nonetheless see pockets of worth in this system. Low-category motels can nonetheless be helpful for incomes low cost elite nights or prolonged stays, and mid-tier properties are finest utilized when you’ve simply sufficient factors to high up a Free Night time Award.
As for luxurious properties, Bonvoy redemptions can nonetheless make sense—however solely when the money fee is astronomically costly.
Nevertheless, if there’s one rule that applies to any loyalty program, it’s earn and burn. Factors will nearly definitely devalue over time, so don’t hoard greater than you want.