Edited August 26: The new Marriott packages are showing a bonus of 110,000 Airline Miles instead of 100,000 as shown below! Take a look at the new packages here.
Among all the talk about SPG’s merge with Marriott and their changes set for August 2018, many adjustments to the existing rewards system are in the works and Marriott’s Flight and Hotel Packages are no exception. These packages require a large amount of Marriott points in exchange for a week long accommodation at one of Marriott’s properties, as well as a deposit of miles towards a participating airline of your choice.
We’ll be taking a look into the lowest hotel category redemption but with the most airline miles as they tend to be the focus of most travelers.
The Current Marriott Package
Cost of Package: 270,000 Marriott Points
Hotel Package: 7 Night Voucher at any Category 1–5 Property
Number of Miles: 120,000
Link to the old Marriott package here.
The New Marriott Package
Cost of Package: 330,000 Marriott Points
Hotel Package: 7 Night Voucher at any Category 1–4 Property (On a new Category Chart)
Number of Miles: 100,000
Link to the new Marriott package here.
Come August, the new effective offer will be a major devaluation from the one we currently have, and is likely going to affect the transfer considerations for many that are holding onto AMEX MR points. The number of required points increases by 60,000 Marriott points and subsequently exchanges for 20,000 less airline miles than the current package. Not to mention, the 2MR/1SPG/3Marriott transfer ratio will likely be unavailable and thus increases the amount of AMEX MR required to redeem a package. In the case where the ratio becomes 1MR: 1 Marriott, one would require 330,000 MR to redeem for 100,000 miles. On the other hand, the same points transferred to Aeroplan converts to 2 business class trips to Asia. Additionally, the 7-night voucher is almost negligible in value to most who are willing to stay in cheaper alternatives when travelling.
The only solution? Redeem now.
Given that these changes are inevitable, locking in a package will allow for you to gain access to the sum of miles for your next trip. This is even more important for churners who have recently gone through the SPG AMEX cards in prospect of redeeming for one of these packages.
As for the 7 night hotel certificate, it is still unknown what’s going to happen to them once hotel categories change in August. I had made a recent call into Marriott to find out, but the representatives have stated that an update regarding the packages will be made on the last week of July. Sources have suggested that there will be points refunded once the new program changes are made, but the amount of points being given back would likely be lackluster. Currently, a category 1–5 certificate is refunded for a mere 45,000 points; Instead, I made good use of mine by indulging in a week-long hotel stay at the new Marriott hotel in Downtown Markham.
The Marriott Hotel and Flight packages had provided much value for travel hackers who were on the fence between transferring their precious points to SPG or Aeroplan, but with the major cost increase and mile reduction, the new redemption value will not justify the price tag associated with them.
Thanks for reading!
Points Smart 