Sunset at the JW Marriott Guancaste
Sunset at the JW Marriott Guancaste
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I wanted to give two promotions here a quick hit.

Buy Marriott Bonvoy Points at 0.81 Cents Each

Marriott Bonvoy is back with a buy points offer: up to a 55% bonus when you buy or gift points by November 23rd, 2026. At the full bonus, you’re paying about 0.81 cents per point.

Link to Offer

This is Marriott’s best public points sale of 2026 so far. But is it worth buying points for 0.81 cents when we value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.5 cents each? Obviously not speculatively, but…

The 0.81 Cent Math

Marriott normally charges $12.50 per 1,000 points. Buy 100,000 points for $1,250 and a 55% bonus gives you 155,000 total. Divide $1,250 by 155,000 and you get 0.806 cents each.

At least in my account, I saw the 55% bonus at every purchase level. Check yours before buying.

How Does This Compare?

Earlier this year, Marriott offered a 50% bonus in August and September, a 30% discount in April through June, and a 40% bonus in February and March. The full 55% bonus beats all three on cost per point.

Marriott offered a 60% bonus in 2020, or about 0.78 cents per point. So this tops its 2026 sales, but it isn’t Marriott’s biggest bonus ever.

Should You Buy?

I always say not to buy points speculatively. Always. Because programs devalue all the time.

But when I saw this sale I looked up what I was paying for a hotel at a conference next week and it was over $800 a night + tax. Let’s call it $1,800 for two nights which is whackadoodle – and I would have stayed somewhere less convenient. But the room was 112,000 points for both nights combined. I bought 108,500 points for $875 (my account wasn’t empty – I just wanted to cover the expense). So I paid $437.50 a night all-in vs. more than double that in cash. Sure, I lost the points from the spent at Marriott – 10X on $1,800 is about 18,000 lost points or about $90 in value. I’m still happy.

The point is: find the award you want first. Compare its points price with the full cash rate for the same dates. If you’re getting meaningfully more than 0.81 cents per point, buying can work, especially if you just need a top-off. If the cash rate is low, pay cash.

You could even use our Use Cash vs. Points? calculator for this by customizing your Bonvoy value to 0.81 cents just for this.

Cash vs. Points Calculator
Cash vs. Points Calculator

A five-night award is even more attractive since on a standard-room points booking, Marriott’s Stay for 5, Pay for 4 award benefit makes the lowest-priced night free. (That doesn’t apply when you use Free Night Awards or Cash + Points.)

And whatever you do, make sure the room is available on points before you buy Marriott Bonvoy points.

Earn 8X with Eat Around Town

I personally have my dining card linked offers on my Bilt card, but if you are in the Marriott Dining ecosystem (or want a bonus for trying it), I’ll pass along the info:

From October 1-31, Marriott Bonvoy members can earn 8X points on dine-in and take out meals at over 20,000 + participating U.S.  restaurants nationwide through the Eat Around Town by Marriott Bonvoy program. To see the full list of restaurants, visit the website here and enter your location.  

Marriott Bonvoy members not enrolled in Eat Around Town can take advantage of this offer by enrolling here and earn an additional 6,000 bonus points with three dines in the first 60 days.

Thoughts?

Let me know below in the comments, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group. And don't forget to follow me on Instagram for all sorts of tips on miles, points, credit cards, and travel.

If this post helped you, please consider sharing it!

You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards. 

New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.

Dave Grossman
I got "in the game" in 2003 and since then I've collected literally millions and millions of frequent flyer miles and hotel points. I've flown around the world in first class seats that would cost $29,000 using frequent flyer miles and a few bucks in tax. And I've stayed in some of the finest hotels - all for free! Several years ago, I realized many of my friends actually thought I was paying for these!! So I started sharing my tips. It's long been a passion, but when I hosted a session on Miles and Points at the South by Southwest festival, my love of the game intensified and this blog was born. Since then, I've written my book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points (2nd Edition) - (author profile), give seminars on miles and points all over the world, and occasionally write for publications such as Frommer's and Forbes Advisor.

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