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(UPDATE 5/13 – This offer is expiring on Wednesday May 15th so if you were interested, you only have a few days left to take advantage)

With the recent integration of the Marriott, Starwood and Ritz-Carlton in one Bonvoy program, I’ve been wondering if the new combined program would offer points sales, discounts or bonuses. Historically, Starwood did sell points while Marriott did not. The wait is over and it does look like Marriott is selling points. Their first points offer is out, and it comes with a 25% off. This offer is not as high as past point sales in Starwood, but let’s examine it to see if / when it might make sense. The 25% off offer expires on May 15th

a black and white advertisement

Normally, Marriott points cost $12.50 to purchase 1,000 points (tax included), for a purchase price of 1.25 cent per point. That might seem cheap, but remember, Marriott points are only worth about 0.7 – 0.8 cents each, so at the normal rate, you’re paying a premium on the value. At the normal rate, it doesn’t make sense to buy Marriott Bonvoy points.

What about with the 25% off sale? This time the bonus is tiered –

  • Buy fewer than 5,000 points – no bonus
  • Buy 5,000 – 50,000 points – get 25% off

If you buy the full 50,000 points, it will cost you $468.75 with the 25% discount, which brings the purchase price to 0.9375 cents per point, which is closer to the normal redemption value, but still slightly higher.

a screenshot of a phone

While I’m generally against buying points speculatively, if you need some points for your next redemption, it could be worth topping up your account.

(SEE ALSO: When is buying miles worth it?  Only in these 3 instances)

If you do that, I recommend buying at least 5,000 points so you earn some bonus miles (2,800 in that case). You can find the link to this promotion here

Generally if you’re looking to get a lot of points in a (relatively) short period of time, it’s better / cheaper to sign up for a new Marriott credit card, if you’re eligible. There are a total of three new products available:

(SEE ALSO: 5 questions to help you decide which Marriott Bonvoy card to apply for)

Will you buy Marriott points with 25% off? Or will you wait for a better offer to come back?

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