The world's largest hotel loyalty program with over 9,100 properties across 142 countries and 35+ brands. Get a free fifth night on every points stay, and it's the only hotel program with Canadian-issued credit cards.
These cards earn transferable points that can be converted to Marriott Bonvoy.
American Express Business Gold Rewards Card
Amex MR · 5:6
First-year value: $2,001
Business Platinum Card from American Express
Amex MR · 5:6
First-year value: $1,914
American Express Gold Rewards Card
Amex MR · 5:6
First-year value: $1,654
American Express Platinum Card
Amex MR · 5:6
First-year value: $1,581
American Express Cobalt Card
Amex MR · 5:6
First-year value: $336
American Express Green Card
Amex MR · 5:6
First-year value: $301
Our Valuation
0.8 cents per point(CAD)
0.6 cents per point (USD)
Value ranges widely by property and timing. The free fifth night on points stays effectively boosts value by 20% on longer trips. Aim for Category 1–5 properties and off-peak dates where you'll beat the 0.8-cent baseline.
Last updated: February 9, 2026
Marriott Bonvoy is the loyalty program of Marriott International, the largest hotel chain in the world.
It came about as a result of the Marriott–Starwood merger of 2016, which eventually witnessed the legacy programs of Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest combining into a singular program in August 2018 and taking on the Marriott Bonvoy name in February 2019.
Marriott’s vast international footprint, composed of over 8,500 properties, means that there’s something in the Bonvoy program to cater to every type of traveller out there, whether you’re looking for luxury resorts or roadside inns.
And for North American travellers, it’s is one of the easiest and most accessible hotel loyalty programs for obtaining free hotel stays and taking advantage of elite perks and benefits.
Let’s take a closer look at how you can get the most out of Marriott Bonvoy.
Fortunately, there are many ways to accumulate Marriott Bonvoy points in Canada and the United States.
In Canada, there are two co-branded credit cards: the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card. Both cards come with similar welcome bonuses of up to 110,000–130,000 points at best, while the base offer is typically for around 50,000 points.
Both cards also offer the following benefits:
15 elite qualifying nights per calendar year
An anniversary Free Night Award worth 35,000 points
Gold Elite status when you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year
The return on daily spending on these cards will also earn Bonvoy points. The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card earns:
5 Bonvoy points per dollar spent at Marriott hotels
2 Bonvoy points per dollar spent on all other purchases
Meanwhile, the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card earns:
5 Bonvoy points per dollar spent at Marriott hotels
3 Bonvoy points per dollar spent on gas, dining, and travel purchases
2 Bonvoy points per dollar spent on all other purchases
Canadian Marriott Bonvoy American Express Cards
Welcome bonus: 110,000 Bonvoy points
Annual fee: $150
First-year value
$650
Welcome bonus: 110,000 Bonvoy points
Annual fee: $120
First-year value
$616
Another way to earn points via Canadian credit cards is to transfer American Express Membership Rewards points over to Marriott Bonvoy at a ratio 1:1.2. In other words, for every 1,000 American Express MR points, you'll get 1,200 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Since the welcome bonuses on the Amex MR credit cards tend to be much larger than those on the Bonvoy credit cards, this represents a good way to supercharge your Bonvoy earnings.
From time to time, Amex runs transfer bonuses to Marriott Bonvoy, typically offering a 30% bonus – boosting the ratio to 1:1.56. So if you’re considering a transfer, it’s usually best to wait for one of these promotions to get more value out of your MR points.
American Express Cards that Earn MR Points
Welcome bonus: 70,000 Membership Rewards points
Annual fee: $199
First-year value
$2,001
Welcome bonus: 130,000 Membership Rewards points
Annual fee: $799
First-year value
$1,594
Welcome bonus: 70,000 Membership Rewards points
Annual fee: $250
First-year value
$1,554
Welcome bonus: 110,000 Membership Rewards points
Annual fee: $799
First-year value
$1,181
Welcome bonus: 15,000 Membership Rewards points
Monthly fee: $15.99
First-year value
$336
Welcome bonus: 12,500 Membership Rewards points
Annual fee: No fee
First-year value
$301
By diversifying into US credit cards, you can gain access to an even wider pool of Bonvoy bonuses. The cards you can potentially apply for include the following:
The Amex US cards in particular are easy for Canadians to obtain by way of initiating an American Express Global Transfer, as long as you have a Canadian Amex card that’s been open and in good standing for at least three months.
There’s also the Marriott Bonvoy American Express® Card (distinct from the Brilliant and Bevy), which carries a $95 (USD) annual fee. This card isn’t available via direct application — it’s only accessible by downgrading from the Brilliant or Bevy.Outside of credit cards, the primary way to earn points is through spending at Marriott hotels (room rates, dining, on-property incidentals, etc.). The amount of points you’ll earn depends on your elite status with Marriott (we’ll cover this below).
10 points per US dollar spent
Keep in mind that elite night credits don’t accrue equally across the board. At Protea Hotels, City Express, and Four Points Flex, you’ll earn 1 Elite Night Credit for every 2 nights stayed. At Marriott Executive Apartments, you'll earn 1 Elite Night Credit for every 3 nights.
In order to maximize your earning potential, be sure to combine your elite status with the best possible earning rate on a credit card, many of which earn up to 6x points per dollar spent at Marriott properties.
Marriott regularly runs promotions to incentivize member activity. The rules for each promotion are different, but usually you’ll earn some extra elite qualifying nights or a solid chunk of promotional points (think 1,000 to 10,000 points) based on your stay activity with Marriott.
These promotions are rarely generous enough to justify booking a stay just for the sake of them (a practice known as “mattress running”). Still, they’re worth watching for — especially if you have travel plans that can align with the promo window.
For instance, if you're holding a Canadian Marriott Bonvoy American Express card that grants 15 elite night credits annually, you’d only need to stay 18 paid nights under a double elite promo to hit Platinum — much more achievable than the usual 35 nights you'd need otherwise.
Some promotions are global, open to all members. Others are targeted, meaning they’re only offered to select individuals — and there’s no clear rhyme or reason behind who gets what. One person might receive a meaningful offer like bonus elite nights, while another gets bonus 1,000 points after a stay.
Regardless of the offer, it’s always smart to register as there’s no penalty if you don’t end up using it.
To begin, you’ll earn 2 points per US dollar spent on rooms, food, drinks, and other charges. If you happen to also have elite status, you’ll earn the corresponding bonus on these charges, too.
Additionally, you can earn one elite qualifying night per 20 room nights booked when you host an event. This really only applies to large-scale events; however, it could get you closer to the next status tier, or to qualifying for lifetime elite status.
Naturally, as a hotel loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy points are generally best used towards free nights at one of the program’s 8,500+ participating properties worldwide.
All Marriott hotels are priced dynamically, depending on the season, and even the day of the week. That being said, there are some general ranges you can expect hotels to price at:
Low-end hotels: 5,000 points – 15,000 points per nightMid-tier hotels: 20,000 points – 60,000 points per night
High-end hotels: 70,000–200,000+ points per night (luxury properties like The Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis can reach 150,000–225,000 points per night during peak periods)
Keep in mind that the "tier" the hotel falls into is also highly dependent on the market it's in, so you can expect the Fairfield Inn and Suites near Disneyland, California to price at mid-tier levels even though it's a limited-service brand.
Marriott has a “No Blackout Dates” policy, which means that as long as a hotel has a standard room available on a certain date, then it can be booked using either cash or points. In other words, hotels can’t control points inventory separately from cash bookings – if a standard room is available, then either form of currency must be accepted for it.
This policy works decently well, and means that you generally won’t have too much trouble finding availability for points bookings on your travel dates.
However, keep in mind that each hotel is free to determine what they consider a “standard room”, so once all of its standard rooms are booked up, then any higher-tier room (such as a Deluxe Room, Executive Room, junior suite, and full suites) may be capacity-controlled when it comes to points bookings.
When you redeem points for five consecutive nights at the same hotel, you can make use of the Fifth Night Free benefit and only pay for four nights. With dynamic pricing, this is less of a "Fifth Night Free" and more of "Cheapest night free when you stay for at least five".
When booking a stay of at least five nights, the cheapest night will be free; when booking for ten nights, the cheapest two will be free, etc.
Along this logic, it may make sense to break longer stays into increments of five nights to increase the value of your free night.
For example, if the cost in points for a five-night stay is 50,000 points per night, you'd only pay 200,000 points for the entirety of the stay with the Fifth Night Free benefit.
Get a Fourth or Fifth Night Free on Hotel Award Bookings
Read moreThere's also a Cash + Points redemption option, which highly depends on each property and what they choose to offer, and it also won't be available at every hotel. Sometimes, you'll be allowed to use Cash + Points for the base room, while other times, it'll be for premium rooms (i.e. a cash upgrade supplement to an overwater villa).
Generally, Cash + Points makes sense in two circumstances: when you don’t have enough points to pay for the full points redemption, and when the cash rate is disproportionately high.
Say you’re looking to stay somewhere on New Year’s Eve, or when there’s a major conference or sporting event in town. In these circumstances, redeeming points for the room will be a great deal, but if you don’t have enough points to do so, then Cash + Points represents a way to capture some of that value and save yourself a chunk of change.
However, note that just because a room is available to be booked on points, doesn’t mean that it’s available at the Cash + Points rate. In fact, Cash + Points availability tends to be rather scarce, so the occasions on which you’ll be able to make use of it will be rather limited.
Is Marriott Bonvoy Cash + Points a Good Deal?
Read moreBesides redeeming Bonvoy points for hotel stays, the other valuable way to use points is to transfer them to one of 38 airline frequent flyer programs, such as Aeroplan, The British Airways Club, Atmos Rewards, and more.
The full list of participating programs can be found on the Marriott website. Basically, if it’s a major frequent flyer program with potential sweet spots, then you’ll likely be able to transfer Marriott Bonvoy points over in order to earn miles with the program.
The transfer ratio is 3:1 for most programs, and Marriott will also give you a bonus of 5,000 airline miles when you transfer in chunks of 60,000 Bonvoy points. This means that the optimal strategy is to transfer 60,000 Bonvoy points into 25,000 airline miles.
The exceptions to the 3:1 ratio are Air New Zealand AirPoints (200:1), and United MileagePlus (60,000 Bonvoy points = 30,000 United MileagePlus miles).
Additionally, American Airlines AAdvantage, Avianca LifeMiles, and Delta SkyMiles are all excluded from the bonus of 5,000 miles when transferring 60,000 Bonvoy points.
6 Sweet Spots for Transferring Marriott Bonvoy Points to Airline Miles
Read moreDepending on the program, transfers typically take at least three business days to complete, so you’ll want to leave enough buffer time if you’re planning to book an award flight using your airline miles. Additionally, the name and address should match between your Bonvoy account and your airline account, in order to prevent delays in the process.
Transferring points from Marriott Bonvoy represents the easiest way that Canadians can earn miles in “hard-to-reach” programs like Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. They can also be a great way to top-up your earnings in programs like Atmos Rewards or American Airlines AAdvantage if you’re chasing a big flight redemption.
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Transferring Marriott Bonvoy Points into Airline Miles
Read moreElite status plays a significant role in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, as the perks and benefits you receive as an elite member go a long way to making your stays at Marriott hotels more enjoyable.
Qualifying for each tier of elite status is based on earning elite qualifying nights. Every night you stay at a Marriott hotel (whether paid with cash or points) will earn you one elite qualifying night. The status levels are as follows:
Status levels are granted based on how many nights you stay during a calendar year. Unlike other loyalty programs, there are no separate qualification criteria for “stays” vs. nights.
Once you earn a certain status level, it's valid until the February two years later. Essentially, the status begins when you earn the required number of nights during a calendar year, and is valid until 14 months after the end of that calendar year.
For example, let’s say you earn Platinum Elite status in 2025 by staying 50 nights during the year. Then you’d enjoy your Platinum status benefits until February 2027.
When January 2026 rolls around, your new qualification period begins, while still holding the Platinum Elite status. If you requalify by staying 50 nights in 2026, your benefits extend through February 2028, and so on.
Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status: Guide to Qualifying & Privileges
Read moreA detailed listing of all the elite benefits can be found in our guide to Marriott Bonvoy Elite status.
Essentially, Silver Elite status delivers minimal benefits, given how easy it is to earn simply by holding a co-branded credit card. Gold Elite benefits are also not too exciting, with the 2pm late checkout (based on availability, not guaranteed) being the most appealing one.
It’s really at Platinum Elite that the real benefits start to kick in: lounge access, free breakfast, suite upgrades, 4pm late checkout, etc. You achieve Platinum Elite status at 50 elite qualifying nights, although there are a few creative ways to help you reach that threshold.
The Best Ways to Earn Marriott Platinum Elite Status
Read moreBy far the easiest way is to be a cardholder of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card. By simply keeping the card active and paying the annual fee of $650 (USD), you'll enjoy Platinum status year after year without having to hustle for it.
If that annual fee sounds a bit hefty, consider how much you'd need to spend at hotels to earn 50 elite qualifying nights.
In the event that you don't have access to US credit cards, then you can also finesse your way to Platinum with co-branded credit cards in Canada.
For example, you’ll already earn 15 qualifying nights from holding one of the Bonvoy credit cards here in Canada or if you're in the US game, you can hold both of their Business and Personal Bonvoy credit cards to earn a total of 30 elite qualifying nights. Then, you just need to stay 20 more nights with Marriott in order to secure Platinum status.
It's worth noting that the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card gives you 25 qualifying nights, which can be stacked with the 15 from the American Express US Marriott Bonvoy Business Card for a total of 40 qualifying nights. However, since you'll already have Platinum status, this is only helpful for moving up to Titanium status, which requires 75 nights per year.Unfortunately, having one Canadian and one US card doesn't mean that you'll wind up with 30 nights.
One of the additional perks of Platinum Elite status is an Annual Choice Benefit of one of the following:
Five extra elite qualifying nights
Give the gift of Silver Elite status to another member
40% off your favourite hotel mattress
$100 (USD) charity donation
Of these, the clear winner is the Nightly Upgrade Awards, which allow you to guarantee a suite upgrade (availability permitting) up to five days prior to your arrival at a property, rather than seeing if a suite is available upon check-in.
How to Earn & Redeem Marriott Bonvoy Nightly Upgrade Awards
Read moreTitanium Elite is achieved at 75 qualifying nights, although at the moment doesn’t deliver too many benefits over and above Platinum Elite, with the exception of another Annual Choice Benefit.
The choices are largely the same as those for Platinum Elite, with the exception of a Free Night Award worth 40,000 points.Lastly, Ambassador Elite is achieved at 100 qualifying nights and $23,000 (USD) of annual spend. At this level, you get assigned a personal Ambassador who can help you with all your Marriott booking needs.
Unless you’re a heavy spender with Marriott, this elite level will be pretty out of reach for most, and doesn't provide many incrementally greater benefits above and beyond Platinum or Titanium.
To qualify, you must meet both a lifetime elite qualifying night threshold and a minimum number of years holding the relevant status tier:
| Lifetime Status | Elite Nights Required | Years at Status Level |
|---|---|---|
| Silver Elite | 250 nights | 5 years at Silver Elite or higher |
| Gold Elite | 400 nights | 7 years at Gold Elite or higher |
| Platinum Elite | 600 nights | 10 years at Platinum Elite or higher |
At this time, Marriott Bonvoy does not offer Lifetime Titanium or Ambassador Elite status. Titanium Lifetime status was offered as a one-time opportunity during the 2018 program merger for members who had 750 nights and 10 years at Platinum between the legacy Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest programs.
How to Earn Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Elite Status
Read moreLike most loyalty programs, there are plenty of little tricks you can keep up your sleeve once you dabble with the program a bit. Here are just a handful…
Maximize the Fifth Night Free: As mentioned above, the Fifth Night Free benefit allows you to book five nights on points for the price of four, and is one of the most valuable perks in the program.
However, even if you only need four nights, you can go ahead and book five nights since it’s the same cost anyway! This effectively gives you late checkout on your fourth day until however late you want, and also an extra elite qualifying night to help you achieve a higher status level.Sharing Points: You can transfer up to 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points between members’ accounts per calendar year. This is done by calling Marriott to initiate the transfer process or by doing the transfer yourself online.
It’s a great way to pool points earned by different members of a household into one account; however, the 100,000-point limit is rather strictly enforced, so you’ll want to plan accordingly if, say, you want all the bookings to be done under one household member’s account in order to achieve elite status faster.
Which Points Can Be Combined Between Different People?
Read moreUpgrades & Nightly Upgrade Awards: A fancy upgrade can really make the difference between a good hotel stay and a fantastic and unforgettable one. As a Platinum Elite member and above, you’re entitled to the best available upgrade upon check-in, including standard suites.
If you’re a Platinum Elite member or above, you can also use your Nightly Upgrade Awards to “lock in” a suite upgrade up to three days in advance – again, depending on availability.If you’re only a Gold Elite member, don’t count on receiving a complimentary suite upgrade, but you can still get lucky if you contact your hotel in advance and tell them you’d love to have a suite upgrade if there are any.
Read More
RewardsPlus with United Airlines: Marriott and United have a partnership through which each program’s top-tier elite members get reciprocal benefits with the other program.
If you earn Titanium Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy, you’ll automatically be given an upgrade to United MileagePlus Premier Silver status, which is also Star Alliance Silver status.
Marriott & United RewardsPlus Partnership: Points Transfers & Reciprocal Elite Perks
Read more
First-year value
$616
Annual fee: $120
• Earn 80,000 points upon spending $6,000 in the first 6 months
• Plus, earn 30,000 points upon spending in month 13
Earning rates
Key perks
Annual fee: $120
• Earn 80,000 points upon spending $6,000 in the first 6 months
• Plus, earn 30,000 points upon spending in month 13
Earning rates
Key perks
