Marriott Bonvoy has announced a few major changes to the program for 2022 and beyond.
While there are some positive changes to digest, they are mostly outweighed by one decidedly negative change to the program: Marriott Bonvoy will be eliminating award charts and introducing dynamic pricing as of March 2022.
Marriott Bonvoy Introduces Dynamic Pricing
Until March 2022, the current published award charts will remain in place. Category 1 redemptions begin at 5,000 points during off-peak dates, while Category 8 redemptions top out at 100,000 points on peak dates.
As of March 2022, the award charts and category system will be eliminated, and there will be no set guidance as to how many Bonvoy points a given free night reward costs. It’ll all be determined under a dynamic pricing model instead, which more closely tracks the underlying cash rate of the hotel.
This is most certainly a negative change for those of us who seek to maximize value in Marriott Bonvoy points.
With published award charts in place, there was clear and undeniable value in redeeming Bonvoy points at the very highest end of the spectrum, with certain redemptions like the Al Maha Desert Resort Dubai offering spectacular value on points compared to the nightly cash rates.
Similarly, there’s always value in redeeming points during major events or holiday periods, when hotel cash rates could be artificially high, but the points rate was always capped by the award chart and the hotel’s designated category.
As of next March, these long-held facts about Marriott Bonvoy redemptions will evaporate into thin air. Without a published award chart in place, Marriott’s dynamic pricing model can mimic the underlying cash rate a lot more closely, eroding much of the value that currently exists in the program.
Time will tell just how dynamic the dynamic pricing will get. Marriott estimates that 97% of properties will continue to range between the currently published off-peak and peak rates through the end of 2022 – those rates simply won’t be published on an award chart. Therefore, about 3% of properties may have higher pricing than what we currently see.
From 2023 onwards, there will no longer be any limits on award pricing, and we’ll have to wait until then to see what exactly that looks like. There is quite a wide range of possibilities at play:
- The best we might hope for is something like Hilton Honors, which operates with an unofficial “cap” of 95,000 points per night for a standard room reward at its top-tier properties in the Maldives and elsewhere, with very few select properties going beyond that cap.
- The worst we should expect is pure, unadulterated dynamic pricing that results in ugly six-figure points prices across the board for the most aspirational properties.
The Fifth Night Free benefit will still be around, so if you book five nights of a dynamically priced hotel using Bonvoy points, the cheapest night out of those five nights will be free.
Ultimately, the writing has been on the wall for a while when it comes to the Marriott Bonvoy program devaluing over time – or should we say, devaluing for its members, while delivering value for hotel owners.
The program has mercilessly devalued over time since it absorbed Starwood Preferred Guest in 2018, and as sad as it is to say, the introduction of dynamic pricing was the natural next step in that progression.
Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status Extension for 2022
At the same time as the overwhelmingly negative news, Marriott Bonvoy has also offered a distraction in the way of some positive news.
The program will be unilaterally extending all members’ elite status through all of 2022 until February 2023, which is a blanket 12-month extension following last year’s similar extension due to the ongoing pandemic.
Many of us may have already earned or retained our elite status in 2021, thanks to a combination of our organic travel activity and the generous top-up of elite nights that Marriott had awarded earlier this year. If you’ve already earned or retained status this year, it would’ve been valid through February 2023 anyway, so this change doesn’t have much of an impact for you.
Starting in January 2022, all members will begin a new qualifying cycle once again, allowing them to earn elite status through 2023 and into February 2024.
Certain member benefits are also being extended:
- Suite Night Awards with an expiry date of December 31, 2021 will be extended to June 30, 2022.
- Free Night Awards with an expiry date of January 3, 2022 will be extended to June 30, 2022.
- Points expiry will be paused through to December 31, 2022, meaning that any points that would’ve otherwise expired due to a two-year inactivity period will not expire until the end of next year.
These extensions are positive but expected given the continued uncertainty around travel.
I’ll personally benefit from having one Suite Night Award and several Free Night Awards extended through June 2022, including one final Category 1–4 seven-night hotel package from the legacy Marriott Rewards program in 2018 – a reminder of the good old days in these trying times.
Free Night Awards Will Become More Flexible
In another significant positive change to the program, Marriott Bonvoy’s Free Night Awards will become more flexible as of early 2022: you’ll be able to combine your Free Night Award with up to 15,000 Bonvoy points to stay at higher-priced hotels than the face value of the free night certificate.
For example, if you hold anniversary Free Night Awards worth 35,000 points from the Amex Bonvoy Card or Amex Bonvoy Business Card, you’ll be able to redeem that towards a hotel stay priced at up to 50,000 Bonvoy points, topping up any difference as needed.
Similarly:
- The Free Night Award worth 40,000 points as a Titanium Elite Annual Choice Benefit will be redeemable for a stay of up to 55,000 Bonvoy points.
- The anniversary Free Night Award worth 50,000 points from the US-issued Bonvoy Brilliant Card (or the Fall 2021 welcome bonus on the US-issued Bonvoy Business Card) will be redeemable for a stay of up to 65,000 Bonvoy points.
- The anniversary Free Night Award worth 85,000 points from the Fall 2021 welcome bonus on the Bonvoy Brilliant Card will be redeemable for a stay of up to 100,000 Bonvoy points.
While this is certainly a positive change on paper, it’s almost an entirely necessary one given that the Bonvoy program will be moving to dynamic pricing.
Knowing Bonvoy, I don’t imagine that the added flexibility of Free Night Awards will actually result in members being able to book a wider range of properties than before; rather, it’s more likely that the 15,000-point allowance reflects the premium that dynamic pricing will likely impose on the very same hotels that we can currently book with Free Night Awards.
Book High-Value Marriott Bonvoy Stays Now!
Needless to say, the period between now and March 2022 is the ideal time to secure some high-value Marriott Bonvoy stays before award prices are granted the license to fluctuate freely.
If you’ve dreamed of redeeming Bonvoy points for top-tier luxury stays like Al Maha Desert Resort Dubai or the major Maldives resorts, those should be your absolute top priority. There’s no telling what the pricing for these properties might look like once dynamic pricing is introduced.
Pick up as many Canadian-issued or US-issued Amex Bonvoy welcome bonuses in your household as you can, and hell, buy points to top-up the difference if needed to get to a high-value points redemption you’ll never forget.
And if you have a sizeable Bonvoy balance, don’t be afraid to lock in as many such bookings as possible and keep the ones you’ll eventually use.
Conclusion
We’ve all woken up to a collective and comprehensive #Bonvoying this morning.
Marriott Bonvoy will move to a dynamic pricing model in 2022, which means that much of the outsized value that’s left in the program may gradually fade away. Sure, there will be pockets of value here and there, but the prospects for squeezing out extreme value from Bonvoy points are looking very grim.
There are a few positive changes to take note of, including the extension of elite status and member benefits, and the increased flexibility of Free Night Awards.
However, these offer little solace in a world of dynamic pricing, and we’ll have to wait and see just how dynamic things get. Make sure to lock in as many high-value stays as you can in the lead-up to March 2022, and start thinking about diversifying your hotel rewards strategy beyond that date.
Is it worth buying Marriott points at 50% bonus? 150,000 for $1,250. I imagine seeing a room night valued at 100,000 and paying $1,000 for it!
Has anyone heard about the timing of the 15000 point top up to free night awards yet?
I have a trip planned in June that I want to use some expiring nights for, but I want to use them for some higher end rewards than 35000 points.
Great article Ricky!
One thing I haven’t seen anywhere is how Elite nights will roll over into 2022. I know we maintain our status, but how might it work do you think? Say I am Gold Elite, will I start next year at 25 nights? At 0? or maintain the Elite nights earned in 2021? Or do you think they’ll do the same thing as last year adding 50% of the nights to the account? I’m really hoping the nights will just carry over.
In applying for a USA Bonvoy Business Card, what do you input for the Federal Tax ID (EIN) and how can you qualify for that business card without an American Federal Tax ID. Shall I assume the Canadian BIN will be automatically rejected?
If this is a barrier, how do you get through it?
The EIN is not required if you apply as a Sole Proprietorship.
I think there is a fundamental change coming to the rewards industry. The changes by American Airlines and Bonvoy this week indicate that the companies have realized they are giving away too much by allowing churning and sine ups etc . The future is that status and points will only be given for actual Mike’s flown nights spent or perhaps the most lucrative credit card spend . I think the AA model will be the future which means the free ride will be over unless you put your ass in that airplane seat it spend 200k on a card per year. Elite numbers will be culled a d a great reset will happen . Bonvoy Will first get all the outstanding points off the books and then make status based on revenue they receive just like AA . Watch Aeroplan follow this model in the near future . Works for me but the game might be greatly impacted .
As long as we can credit-card-spend our way to status rather than just spend with the airline or hotel (à la AA last week), I’m still happy.
I feel like Marriott Bonvoy’s Customer Service is not as customer oriented as before. I expected them to know the program rules and and support their program member in case when a hotel refuses to honor elite member benefits guarantee. But it looks like now it is up to a hotel management to decide. The customer service just makes a record of your complaint and grants no points for inconvenience.
Perfect, a good reason presented for cancelling one each of P1 and P2 Canadian amex cards (after certs post in November). Need room for the Cobalt!
If Marriott leadership views hotel franchisees as their customers and hotel guests as a product they sell to hotel owners, than elite loyalty members are not the product the hotel owners might be most interested in. Elite loyalty guests are entitled to benefits like free food and upgrades, and they often pay with points. Large groups would be more cost efficient for hotels and easy to manage.
Hi Ricky, first thanks a lot for your great work on keeping us updated with news on your blog and keep those YouTube vids coming. Do you actually know the exact cutoff date when this devaluation will take effect next March on new bookings. Can we actually assume that as long as the booking is made by that date by redeeming all required points for a travel to be completed at a later date, the room redemption rate will be locked-in as was the case with the previous devaluation over the last couple of years?
Correct, the rate that you see at the time of booking is what applies. As for the timing, ~3% of properties will see dynamic pricing starting in March 2022, with full dynamic pricing starting in 2023.
Will the full dynamic pricing start for stays in 2023 or bookings made in 2023? Ie if I make a booking in Jan 2022 for Jan 2023 will I see the increased rates?
Was reallllllly hoping for a Maldives honeymoon in July 2023. Doesn’t really make sense to do it before then because it’s such a long flight from yvr and we have other trips planned. Even if I can’t get STR I’m hoping since there are quite a few Marriot properties there I can get SOMETHING for a reasonable amount.
Hey Ricky currently I am Titanium with 8 years lifetime platinum, this year I have earned 53 nights so will add one more lifetime platinum year in 2022 to make it 9, in 2022 I will maintain as Titanium due to the gesture of Bonvoy has just announced, would I get another lifetime platinum year in 2023 to make it 10 years in total? Thanks!
Yes, you should reach 10 by next year.
Your Marriott points valuation will probably go down. With dynamic pricing expensive properties would charge significantly more points. Low category hotels would also charge more based on customer demand. In current situation it rarely makes sense to redeem 30K/35K/40K for category 5 hotel, but with dynamic pricing it could be a match for new points value. That’s what it actually is – devaluation.
I’ll be very curious indeed to see what’s the underlying value that Marriott uses to track award prices vs. cash prices: will it stick around the 0.9–1cpp region that we see as an average redemption value right now, or go full Hilton on us by bringing it down to 0.5cpp?
By extending the FNC and SNC to June 30/22, does that mean the stay must have been completed by that time using them, or just booked by that date ?
Completed by that time.
In my opinion, the best marriott strategy is now to get free night certificates from both sides of the border. Getting all four Amex cards, you get 3x 35K certs and 1x 50K cert. These are now more valuable as you can top them up.
The Canadian cards pay for themselves more or less via Amex offers, and the US ones are good value especially if you have any organic stays and may reach platinum.
The four certs are valuable for airport hotels or weekend getaways, or combining with points if an off peak opportunity opens up at some favoured property.
I expect to have pretty limited engagement with Marriott other than that. May stay in some residence inns for work as I prefer having a kitchen and will get some points that way, but otherwise will focus on Hilton or Airbnb.
That’s more or less been my strategy lately too, scaled up by player and potentially with Chase Bonvoy/Ritz cards down the line too. For frequent travellers, the hotel status game is looking far more attractive than the hotel points game, so having the twin US cards remains a strong long-term play.
You only get the FNC’s when you renew the cards (by which time, the dynamics pricing would’ve already kicked in) making the certificates useless (as I’m sure Marriott would have to change their current card offers as well when the new pricing kicks in)
This is true. I’m talking as a long term strategy. It involves *mostly* abandoning Marriott. But I think there is still value in the certs, especially given how low you can get the 2x Canadian certs given Amex shop small and other offers.
I often find there is some airport hotel I want to stay in for a morning flight, or some hotel I want to spend a weekend in, so this will let me get those trips covered for free, while focussing actual efforts into cash or into another program such as Hilton.
I have stays for business, and find you can actually get a meaningful amount of Hilton points this way. Combined with an Aspire it can make for good stays at a resort, using both the free night cert and $250 credit + points.
Yeah, that’s a fair point.
For me, my ongoing relationship with Marriott will primarily depend on two factors:
a) How bad the devaluation is – i.e. will the welcome offers still be sufficient to get me some aspirational stays or will the best resorts be hopelessly priced (i.e. likes of WA Maldives or Conrad Bora Bora Nui); and,
b) How easy will it be to earn the Bonvoy points – as ridiculous as some of the Hilton award pricing is, for the most part, Hilton Honors points are easy to earn.
Marriott Bonvoy points on the other hand are notoriously tough to earn (in comparison) so if the heavy devaluation gets combined with relatively low MB earn rates (like now) then I’ll almost definitely leave the program entirely as well
Good point about earning.
It’s even worse when considering the Marriott’s workhorse Residence Inns: they have half the earning rate. Embassy Suites are not strictly equivalent as they tend to have less kitchen facilities. But they’re decent in that respect and have full earning.
Yeah, they will have to revamp their earning rates entirely (which is why I mentioned that any new card FNC’s might end up being worthless in a year’s time when they become available).
If Marriott does not revamp their earning structure and/or their current credit card perks then I honestly don’t think even one of their current cards (including the Brilliant card – which I really like) will be of any use in a year’s time
Hmm ok I see what you’re getting at. Yeah I suppose it’s possible the FNC’s will become not even serviceable for my airport hotel + 1x weekend vacation idea
If so I guess I’ll free up space for some other Amex cards in my portfolio 🙂
Yup, or just wait till March to see if Marriott changes their offers and plan accordingly (in the meantime, be sure to wipe out all your MB points on Marriott stays as well!)
Does the extension of status (currently plat, <50 nights this year) count as 1 out of 10 years to qualify for lifetime plat?
Yes it does.
I wonder if there will also be a devaluation of Marriott’s airline points transfer ratio soon?
Maybe we should think about transferring all those Bonvoy points to hard to accumulate frequent flyer plans.
I would assume that Marriott does not want people to increase these transfers too much.
That would truly be the final nail in the coffin for the program. As things stand, there’s at least some minimum value to be derived from Bonvoy points. If 60,000 points is pegged to anything like $400 or less once dynamic pricing kicks in, then converting it to 25,000 airline miles in the program of your choosing may well be the best play.
My complaints about Aeroplan’s changes made me persona non grata among the cogniscenti. Instead of ranting similarly about this deval, I wonder if this will develop, as Aeroplan did, into something we all can live with. Ignoring the short-term sweeteners (extensions of FNAs and SNAs) we might find that while redemptions get worse, other mechanisms appear on the earn/status side that favour us maximizers. In Aeroplan 2.0 the “Latitude Attitude”, among other new strategies, comes to mind. There are new sweet spots. Bonvoy’s transition will initially be unwelcome for us, because they didn’t get the bloggers on board in advance, as Aeroplan did. But I expect Bonvoy might deliver for us maximizers, in the long run.
Reading elsewhere, I didn’t learn that my 03JAN Cat5 7-night cert will now be extended 6 months. PoT is where details are best laid out, in my experience. Thanks, Ricky, for explaining thoroughly and sweating the details.
Live with? With airlines, we often don’t have a choice given that we’re often locked into the hub model for travel. I think for many, they simply accepted the devaluation of Aeroplan without as much as a peep. Why? I have no idea, but it seems everyone was awed by the glitz and glamour of a new programme, and the various little tweaks and changes
“30%+ devaluation on a number of routes? No problem, I now have eUpgrades, and a new website to look at! What fun!!!”
For hotels, the matter is different, and we’re free to book with Airbnb, other programmes, hotels.com, etc. There really is no more need to slave away at a sub-par property for the points if they’re becoming devalued to a significant degree–and time will tell how bad it really is, but I don’t have high hopes given that we’re dealing with Marriott. There is no need for loyalty any longer, and many are likely to become free-agents to book for the best value/comfort/experience as opposed to seeking the points.
I know for business travel I’ll either begin chasing Hyatt status and points, or simply book based on comfort and convenience alone. If I end up at a Marriott property, the points will simply go towards an airline.
Marriott/hotel devaluation is much easier to swallow as compared to airline devaluation; more choice in properties and hotels as compared to airlines. Not to mention, Marriott devaluation has been a theme for the past 5+ years, and they are simply following suit of other hotel programmes.
It’s good to be optimistic, but in my view, one of the reasons to expect less value in the future from Bonvoy as compared to Aeroplan is exactly what you’ve pointed out: the latter has shown great interest in balancing the economics of the program with the zeal of its most loyal members, whereas the former has shown little to none.
Combine that with Marriott’s well-signalled intention to use the loyalty program to better serve their true clients, hotel owners, rather than hotel guests, and that makes it pretty hard to muster up much optimism.
Not to say that pockets of value won’t exist in a devalued future (see Hilton, and even Aeroplan too) – but then again, that’s always been an enduring truth of this game we play.
I still have the legacy 7-night voucher that has been extended for 2 years and now set to expire in January 2022 – does that mean they will be extended again to June 2022? I can certainly use the extra 6 months.
As mentioned in the article, yes those will be extended through to June 2022.
Thanks Ricky!
I also have a legacy 7-night travel package reward from 2018.
Does anybody know if there is a max point value on these certs (mine is Cat1-4, converted from the old Cat5 which was 150k pts).
I attached the cert to a booking at a Cat4 property, but the reservation on Marriott website says “we will deduct points 15 days out”. I assume this is b/c the hotel is charging Peak rates of 30k/nght or 180k for the 7 nights, so the cert is not covering entirely the booking costs?
I contacted Marriott Res and Loyalty and both say I am good to go.
I guess it’s a question that will have to be answered once they eliminate categories. How much is that Cat1-4 cert worth in points?
Yeah it’s currently unclear how the category-based 7-night certificates will map into a post-category Bonvoy world. We’ll have to wait and see on this one.
OK thanks, Ricky.
It’s even unclear under current Bonvoy world with Peak/Off-peak rates. My booking at 180k has not firmed up with my cert worth previously 150k. Even though the cert is allegedly good for Cat4.
I’m tempted to cancel this booking and re-book with straight points and re-use the cert later. But in the old days they used to give 45k for a cancellation…
Under the current rules, as long as the hotel is of a certain category, you can use the certificate – the peak/off-peak dates don’t matter.
That’s great to know! Thanks again.
I guess I won’t be keeping the MB card for more than 1 year and cancel it next Summer!
Thanks for the post Ricky! When we will see the extension on the free night certificates?
This should happen automatically in December 2021.
Inflation !
Hey ricky, in your opinion would it still be worth to signup for the current bonvoy brilliant offer after this news?
Absolutely, it’s one of the best ways to capture value before the dynamic change kicks in. You’ll get a big injection of points and a very powerful 85K Free Night Award by early 2022, and you’d be able to top-up that 85K to 100K with points before the “true” dynamic pricing starts in 2023.
This sucks. Just as I really was getting into the points game, combined with return to travel at my work where I will have earning opportunities as well, I will now miss out on some of the aspirational bookings. Sigh.
We’ll have to see how things shake out. As an example, Hilton Honors has dynamic pricing but still imposes a soft cap on points pricing, meaning aspirational redemptions are still within reach for dedicated collectors. It’ll certainly be harder to book than it is now, though.
When will the Free Night top up points be available?
Early 2022. This also means that there’d be a window of opportunity through 2022 (when ~97% of hotels are still priced within the current range) in which the Free Night Awards are more useful than they are now, before the full extent of dynamic pricing kicks in.