Marriott Bonvoy has launched a limited-time promotion known as “Week of Wonders“, which gives members a number of deals to choose from. The most exciting offer available during this promotion is the “Wonders of Discovery” deal, in which members can get 15% off award stays for the month of October.
We first saw this promotion show up around this time in 2020 and again in 2021, and now it’s back for another round in 2022.
Let’s take a look at the various offers available through the Week of Wonders.
Wonders of Discovery: 15% Off Award Stays for October 2022
For bookings made between October 6–13 for travel until the end of October, members will get a 15% discount off of the regular reward cost. The discount is available at over 4,500 hotels worldwide, but not all properties are participating in the promotion.
If you have an upcoming award stay, you could benefit from cancelling it and rebooking at a lower rate under the Week of Wonders promotion. Since Marriott uses dynamic pricing on award stays, it may be difficult to ascertain if you’re actually getting a 15% discount, though.
For example, if you’re planning on attending The Travel Summit, you could book a stay at the W Toronto for 45,000–49,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night. This is down from the regular cost of ~53,000–60,000 points per night for most of the month of November.
This also brings down the cost of the redemption to below 50,000 points, so you’d be eligible to redeem a Free Night Award worth 35,000 points and top it up with additional points.
While this isn’t the most exciting promotion we’ve seen from Marriott, it’s always a welcome scenario to be able to save a few points for redemptions that you were going to otherwise make. Just be sure to check the cancellation policy for your original booking, and verify that you’ll actually be getting some points back with the new booking with dynamic pricing.
The Other “Wonders”
Under the current Week of Wonders, there are a number of other deals (each named as a different “Wonder”), but nothing is really that exciting. In fact, many of them leave me wondering how many people will actually make use of them.
The Wonders of Escape deal gives members a 20% discount on cash bookings made between October 6–13 for stays between November 3, 2022 and January 16, 2023. Note that the discount is only valid for pre-paid bookings at participating properties in the US, Canada, Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
Again, if you have a cash stay that you’re not likely to change, it may be beneficial for you to cancel and rebook at a 20% discount. Be sure to check the cancellation policy, as it may be non-refundable if cancelled after the day of booking, which is quite restrictive.
The discounted rate may not be available, though, as the rate is subject to a fairly strict set of rules:
Rates are offered for stays Thursday through Sunday. Thursday requires a Friday night stay. Some locations in the Middle East are offered for stays Wednesday through Saturday. Wednesday requires a Thursday night stay. Saturday requires a Friday night stay. Participating resorts are available all days of the week, subject to availability. A limited number of rooms are available and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Some hotels and resorts may not be available on select dates.
The remaining Wonders don’t really represent anything of note.
If you make a Homes & Villas booking by October 15 for stays until April 30, 2023, you’ll earn 2x Marriott Bonvoy points and double Elite Night Credits per stay. This deal falls under the Wonders of Inspiration branch in the Week of Wonders promotion.
The Wonders of Adventure lets you earn up to 4,000 bonus points per stay, beginning with your second stay. This isn’t actually a new promotion, but rather it’s just the most recent Marriott promotion that’s been rebranded as a Wonder.
Similarly, the Wonders of More deal is just the 50% bonus on purchased Marriott Bonvoy points deal under a different name.
The Wonders of Adventure deal lets you earn double points with bookings made during the Week of Wonders with Marriott Bonvoy Tours & Activities. You can see the number of points you’ll earn under each activity on the booking page.
Wonders of Extraordinary takes you to the Marriott Bonvoy Moments booking page. There are a number of Moments available to be booked until October 13 during the Week of Wonders.
The available Moments range in cost, with some having a fixed price and others having a bidding process. The Wonders of Extraordinary Moments are available in countries across the globe, and offer experiences such as virtual tours, culinary tours, special events, and enhanced hotel stays.
If you have an upcoming stay at a St. Regis, The Ritz-Carlton, or EDITION hotel in the US, Canada, Caribbean, or Latin America, you can enjoy up to $300 in credits through Wonders of Luxury. Your stay must be booked between the Week of Wonders, for stays from November 3, 2022 – January 16, 2023.
Likewise, if you’re going to stay at an All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy resort in the near future, you’ll enjoy a 15% discount for stays until January 16, 2023 with Wonders of Unwinding.
Be sure to check the cancellation policy and the eligible days of the week for Wonders of Luxury and Wonders of Unwinding, as there are a number of exclusions.
With Wonders of Flavour, you’ll earn 8 Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar spent at when dining at an Eat Around Town restaurant. Note that only participating restaurants in the United States are eligible, and you must pay with the credit card that is linked to your Marriott Bonvoy account.
If you’re missing the scent of your favourite Marriott hotel, Wonders of Comfort will have you enjoy a 35% discount on candles purchased from the Marriott Bonvoy Boutique.
Lastly, if you’re looking to make a photo book, Wonders of Memories will give you a 50% discount on Shutterfly photo books, using the promo code MBPHBOOK2022.
As we can see, the utility of many of these Week of Wonders deals is questionable, and there isn’t much that’s really worth going out of your way for in the Week of Wonders promotion.
Conclusion
Marriott’s Week of Wonders promotion gives us some potentially attractive opportunities to mull over, though the event largely fails to live up to its potential.
Whether you’re planning to use up some Bonvoy points or Free Night Awards on upcoming trips this month, or you have a cash booking that you could save 20% on, take a look around to see if any of the Wonders will benefit you.
Of course, if you’ve had a scented candle on your wish list for a while, don’t hesitate to take advantage of the exclusive 35% discount before October 13!