JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa
American Express,  Earning Points,  Marriott

Fast Track Yourself To 250,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points

Ever seen some of the high-end Marriott hotels and wish you could stay in one? How about the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa in Venice, Italy on it’s own private island? Well, they aren’t quite as far out of your reach as you might think. You can utilise American Express credit card sign up bonuses and referral bonuses to reach a cool quarter of a million reasonably easily!

It’s worth noting this is not a ‘free’ way of making points as your outlay will be roughly £325 depending on how long you keep each card and it would also require you to utilise £14,0000 worth of existing spend over 12 months (or quicker depending how quick you meet targets) BUT I think £325 is a good result considering where you can go with the points…

If you have held or hold a personal card from American Express in the past 24 months you aren’t eligible for a sign-up bonus from an American Express card. There are two major exceptions to this:

1) British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

You cannot of held or currently hold an Avios earning card in the last 24 months to be eligible for a sign up bonus. You can hold another personal American Express card and still be eligible for the sign-up bonus.

2) The Platinum Card

You cannot of held or currently hold a Membership Reward points earning card in the last 24 months to be eligible for a sign up bonus. You can hold another personal American Express card and still be eligible for the sign-up bonus.

This is my experience using the points system and is not a recommendation of any financial product. There are other credit cards which can earn you travel points including IHG credit cardTesco Credit Cards (by exchanging Clubcard points for avios, hotel stays and more) & Virgin Atlantic credit card. If you use one of my referral links to an American Express card upon you being accepted I will receive points, this varies between 9,000 – 18,000 depending on the card I refer you from.

What will 250000 Marriott Bonvoy Points get me?

Over a month away in a category one hotel if you can find somewhere you’d like to go! You can view Marriott Hotels by their Categories here –
https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotel-search.mi?

You can view the price for the categories here –
https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/pointsGridPopUp.mi

Remember with Marriott Bonvoy when you book with points every 4 nights you book you get the 5th one for free!

JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa
JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa

Some interesting redemptions include 4 nights in September at the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa pictured above (220,000 points.) Based on it’s own private island in Venice! The cash rate for the equivalent stay was 1256 euros approx £1080

The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah
The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert

5 nights at the The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert pictured above (240,000 points.) Just north of Dubai the hotel is based within the al wadi nature reserve where you can do cool things like a desert trek on camel or horseback. You even get your own private pool! The cash rate is 8250AED approx £1700

Carlo IV, The Dedica Anthology, Autograph Collection

Carlo IV, The Dedica Anthology, Autograph Collection

If you prefer to stay a little closer to home you can stay 8 nights in the beautiful Carlo IV, The Dedica Anthology, Autograph Collection, in Prague, pictured above it will set you back 245,000 points. The cash rate is 1312 euros or approx £1120

How do I earn the 250000 Marriott Bonvoy Points?

Well, 246,400 to be exact! Here is how you can earn those points step by step….

The key thing here is NOT to spend more than you would normally, it’s about utilising existing spend to reap rewards. If you can not pay the balance off your card in full every month I wouldn’t follow this guide. It’s worthwhile noting also that some people wait until they have a big expenditure coming up to help them meet their targets e.g. Christmas.

If you haven’t already sign up and get your friend/partner/family member etc to sign up to Marriott Bonvoy here –
https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/createAccount/createAccountPage1.mi

As soon as you get your American Express Platinum cards below set up the link between your Marriott account and them here –
https://catalogue.membershiprewards.co.uk/partner/Marriott-Bonvoy/SC?categoryname=&linknav=uk-mr-vrp-travelpartners-sc-logo

Following these steps will make the process a lot quicker and perhaps save you some money with the pro-rata refund of membership fee. The points earned will be over 2 different person’s accounts but don’t worry we will show you how to merge them together at the end!

Lets get started!

  1. Get a referral – https://pointsuncovered.com/amex-referral-link-uk/ – for The Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card, the card has an annual fee of £75 which is refunded pro-rata upon cancellation. Once you have met the spending target for this card (£3000 in 3 months) or just before follow the next step… (current total 29,000 Marriott points – 20,000 spending bonus, 3,000 referral bonus, 6,000 from spending £3000.)
  2. Refer your partner/family member/friend for The Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card for an additional 9,000 points. Once your points have transferred to your Marriott account you can cancel your Marriott card for a pro-rata refund. Depending on how quickly you can do this depends on your refund amount. Each month costs £6.25 (£75 / 12), so if you kept the card for 3 months it would be £18.75. The annual fee is £75 – £18.75 would mean a refund of £56.25 on the annual fee. How to cancel? – https://pointsuncovered.com/american-express/how-do-i-cancel-my-amex-card-and-what-happens-with-the-points-perks-membership-fee/ (current total 38,000 Marriott points)
  3. Meet the spending target on your partners/family member/friends card for an additional 29,000 points as per step 1 (current total 67,000 Marriott points)
  4. Get your partner/family member/friend to refer you for the American Express Platinum card, for an additional 9,000 points. The card has an annual fee of £575 which is refunded pro rata upon cancellation. (current total 76,000 Marriott points, 38,000 Marriott points in each account) Once your Marriott points have been transferred close the 2nd Marriott card as per point 2
  5. Now put the Marriott points to one side as we are going to earn some membership reward points….
  6. Once you’ve met the spend target on the Platinum card (£4000 in 3 months) or just before follow the next step (current total 39,000 membership reward points – 30,000 spending bonus, 5,000 referral bonus, 4,000 from spending £4000.)
  7. Refer your partner/family member/friend for the American Express Platinum card from your Platinum Card for an additional 12,000 points. (current total 51,000 Membership reward points)
  8. Meet the spend target on your partners/family member/friends card for an additional 39,000 points as per step 6 (current total 90,000 membership reward points)
  9. Refer each other to another American Express card from each others Platinum cards for an additional 24,000 points (2 lots of referral points.) The only other sign-up bonus you maybe eligible for is the British Airways American Express®Premium Plus Card (collect avios points towards flights) however you can still get the referral bonus referring to one that you aren’t eligible for the sign-up bonus on. (current total 114,000 membership reward points, 63,000 on one account, 51,000 points on the other)
  10. Transfer your points over to Marriott Bonvoy. 62,800 membership reward points = 94,200 Marriott Bonvoy Points. 50,800 membership reward points = 76,200 Marriott Bonvoy Points. (The reason for the odd numbers is the transfers need to be in 400 point increments) You can do that here –
    https://catalogue.membershiprewards.co.uk/partner/Marriott-Bonvoy/SC?categoryname=&linknav=uk-mr-vrp-travelpartners-sc-logo
  11. Close both American Express Platinum cards for a pro rata refund of the annual fee. Depending on how quickly you can do this depends on your refund amount. Each month costs £47.92 (£575 / 12), so if you kept the card for 3 months it would be £143.75. Annual fee is £575 – £143.75 would mean a refund of £431.25 on the annual fee. How to cancel? – https://pointsuncovered.com/american-express/how-do-i-cancel-my-amex-card-and-what-happens-with-the-points-perks-membership-fee/
  12. Total Marriott points in one account – 38,000 + 94,200 = 132,200 and in the other account – 38,000 + 76,200 = 114,200. GRAND TOTAL 246,400 Marriott Bonvoy Points
  13. And deep breathe! The final step is to transfer the points from your partners/family members/friends account to yours. To do this just follow our simple guide here – https://pointsuncovered.com/marriott/how-to-transfer-marriott-bonvoy-points-to-another-account/

If you kept each card 3 months your outlay would be £143.75 x 2 and £18.75 x 2 = £325 for your Marriott Bonvoy Points. It would also require you to utilise £10,000 worth of existing spend over 12 months (or quicker depending how quick you meet targets)

Where would you go if you had 250000 Marriott Bonvoy points?

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