
Where can I stay for 20000 Marriott points?
If you’ve been looking to sign up for the Marriott Bonvoyᵀᴹ American Express® Card you might be wondering what the sign-up bonus of 20000 Marriott points is worth? (You’ll need to spend £3,000 within 3 months to get it.) Or where you could stay for 20000 Marriott points? Read on to find out!
Am I eligible for the 20000 Marriott points sign-up bonus?
Unfortunately, a lot of people who may be interested in this card won’t be eligible for the sign-up bonus! You can’t have held or currently hold any PERSONAL American Express in the last 24 months. Unfortunately, it also carries a £75 annual fee however it is pro-rata refunded if you cancel before 12 months are up.
It’s a shame that the sign-up bonus is now so restrictive but it can be an attractive proposition if you either stay in Marriott Hotels a lot or if you are eligible for the sign-up bonus. The £75 annual fee is off-putting BUT it is the most valuable way to start your point journey (and pro-rata refunded.) Why? Take a look at my fast track yourself to 250,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points or Fast track yourself to 200,000 Avios points guides
You can also be referred by myself for the Marriott Bonvoyᵀᴹ American Express® Card, you will receive an additional 3000 Marriott points. Get a referral here – https://pointsuncovered.com/amex-referral-link-uk/
Please note…
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 card, Tesco Credit Cards (by exchanging Clubcard points for avios, hotel stays and more) & Virgin Atlantic credit card. If you use my link for a referral 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.
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott Bonvoy is the loyalty program attached to Marriott, which is a HUGE hotel brand encompassing around 30 different brands all across the world. In a similar fashion to Avios where you earn points for flying, here you earn points via staying in a Marriott Hotel. Perhaps more importantly, you can also earn points via other means including credit cards!
To calculate how many points you will need for a redemption simply go onto the Marriott website. – https://www.marriott.co.uk/
Here you need to fill in a destination, dates and guests. Then tick the box that says ‘Use Points / Certificates’ – this box won’t appear until you’ve clicked into the destination box. Finally, click Find Hotels! Here you can see a list of hotels in the destination you’ve selected and their price in Marriott points.
Recently Marriott has brought in on and off-peak pricing in addition to standard redemptions. This means the price you pay can vary. To see the cost variations see Marriott’s redemption chart here – https://www.marriott.co.uk/loyalty/pointsGridPopUp.mi – to find out what category the hotel you wish to stay in is to look next to the review score in your search results.

One of my favourite things about hotel bookings with points is that free actually means free! (there is some exceptions such as resort fees and city taxes due at some locations.)
Unfortunately there is no easy way to check what dates are standard, off-peak or peak redemptions as they vary all the time depending on the time of year and how full the hotel is etc. You will just need to check your dates by running a search as above.
So let’s see where 20000 Marriott points could get you…
The card earns 2 Marriott Points per pound so meeting the spend target will also give you an additional 4000 Marriott Points. If you are referred you will receive an additional 3000 Marriott Points on top of this. A total of 27,000 Marriott Points before any additional spending.
If you want to filter hotels by category you can do so here – https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotel-search.mi
Off-peak
Category 1 Hotel – 4 Nights at 5,000 points. 6 Nights if referred. (5th night is FREE on reward bookings)
Category 2 Hotel – 2 nights at 10,000 points
Category 3 Hotel – 1 night at 15,000 points
Category 4 Hotel – 1 night at 20,000 points
Standard
Category 1 Hotel – 3 Nights at 7,500 points
Category 2 Hotel – 1 night at 12,500 points. 2 Nights if referred.
Category 3 Hotel – 1 night at 17,500 points
Category 4 Hotel – 1 night at 25,000 points if referred.
Peak
Category 1 Hotel – 2 Nights at 10,000 points
Category 2 Hotel – 1 night at 15,000 points.
Category 3 Hotel – 1 night at 20,000 points
But these are just numbers right? Lets look at a hotel from each category… (I’ve stuck to Europe for my examples but there is no reason you can’t go further afield!)
Category 1

You could spend up to 6 nights in the Courtyard West Istanbul – https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/travel/istcy-courtyard-istanbul-west/
Category 2

You can spend up to 2 nights in the AC Alicante – https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/travel/alcal-ac-hotel-alicante/
Category 3

You could spend a night in the AC Hotel Bratislava Old Town – https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/travel/btsar-ac-hotel-bratislava-old-town/
Category 4

Finally you could spend a night in the Moxy Amsterdam Houthavens – https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/travel/amsox-moxy-amsterdam-houthavens/
How can I earn more Marriott Bonvoy Points on my card?
Apart from spending more on your card you can earn additional Marriott points by referring your friends and family to American Express cards. If they join successfully through your link you will receive an additional 9,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points per friend up to a total of 90,000 Marriott Points a year! If you email us through our referral page we’ll also add your link to our referral link split! – https://pointsuncovered.com/amex-referral-link-uk/
What value should I be aiming to get on a Marriott Bonvoy redemption?
I value points at 0.66p (slightly higher than other bloggers) and aim for at least that in value when I redeem. Although depending on how you earn your points/how you often you stay in Marriotts you may have a different valuation of your points.
As is the same with any point redemption it’s worthwhile checking the pence per point value you are getting. Particularly with the possibility of paying a variety of prices in points depending on the dates. Always divide the cash rate on the dates of your booking to the total cost in points.
Don’t forget with Marriott reward stays (stays booked with points) the fifth night is free. This discount will automatically apply when booking stays of five nights or more online.
Don’t forget…
If you are unlikely to ever stay in a Marriott or earn enough points for the redemption you want you can transfer Marriott points out to other Airlines, including British Airways for Avios at a rate of 3:1 – https://www.marriott.co.uk/loyalty/redeem/travel/points-to-miles.mi
Do you use the Marriott Bonvoyᵀᴹ American Express® Card? To gain the maximum amount of Avios or Marriott Bonvoy points for a newbie to collecting points take a look at my fast track yourself to 250,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points or Fast track yourself to 200,000 Avios points guides.