With the heavy toll the Coronavirus has taken on the hospitality industry in particular it’s refreshing to see a program offering some generous new perks for their members. Earlier this week, Marriott’s Bonvoy loyalty program announced some generous temporary perks for Canadian members during the 2020 qualifying period. These new perks will allow members to more easily qualify for a higher status and take advantage of low redemption options this summer. Combined with the generous value from Bonvoy credit cards this is a great deal.
Bonvoy Offering 50% Elite Night Bonus
The first major perk announced by Bonvoy is that they will be credited all member accounts with a 50% elite night bonus based on their 2019 status. This means that you will receive 1/2 the required nights for the various program tiers automatically by the end of July 2020. When you combine this with the elite nights (15) already offered for free with the Amex Bonvoy Card in Canada, it’s quite a generous offer for members. While it won’t affect your 2021 status if you don’t earn enough for your current level (since status was extended to 2022), it could help members reach new tiers which would go into effect for 2021 if you are able to move up tiers.
| Status | Required Elite Nights | Elite Night Bonus (July 2020) |
|---|---|---|
| Member | 0-9 | 0 |
| Silver Elite | 10 | 5 |
| Gold Elite | 25 | 13 |
| Platinum Elite | 50 | 25 |
| Titanium Elite | 75 | 38 |
| Ambassador Elite | 100 + $20K Spend | 50 |
For example, if you are a currently a Gold Elite and also have the American Express Bonvoy Card, you would have 15 nights from the credit card plus receive 13 nights in July 2020 for a total of 28 nights. If you are planning to travel later this year this is a great boost to help you get to Platinum Elite status only requiring 22 paid nights vs. 35 nights without the promotional offer.
If we assume a conservative $200 a night average rate, Gold Elite’s are getting about $2,600 worth of value from this promotion and Gold’s looking to move up to Platinum seems to be the sweet spot in terms of garnering max value from the promo. For Platinum and above this part of the promo isn’t great, but Gold’s hitting Platinum Elite get a slew of additional benefits including free breakfast, lounge access and 4pm late checkout. With so many extra perks when hitting Platinum there is a ton of value for Gold Elites with this gesture from Marriott.
Off-Peak Rates Applied Worldwide Until End of July
Another major announcement from Bonvoy this week was that they are applying off-peak rates to all properties worldwide from now until the end of July. For those that don’t know, Bonvoy using a 3 tier system for pricing hotel rewards, with off-peak (lowest), standard (regular) and peak (highest) to decide how many points a free night costs at their hotels.
With the fallout of Covid-19, this looks like an attempt to fill up there properties as this is another very generous offer from the program. Particularly in Europe, Canada and parts of the US, July is peak season so allowing members to redeem for the lowest possible amount of points is very enticing if you have the ability/desire to travel in the next 6 weeks.
With the promotion, a category 8 property (the highest category hotels) will only cost 70,000 points per night versus the usual 100,000 during peak redemption season. This means you can stay at some amazing properties like this beautiful Austrian castle during peak season for a massive 30,000 point per night discount.
Additional 2020 Benefits From Bonvoy
In addition to the new perks listed above, Marriott is also offering the following in 2020 for members:
- Ambassador Elites that re-qualify in 2020 can gift Platinum Elite to a friend
- Points expiration has been paused until February 2021
- Suite Night Awards expiration has been postponed until December 2021
- Free Night Certificates expiration has been postponed until January 2021
Hailey covers all things related to Canadian credit cards and loyalty programs for our readers. A native of Calgary, Hailey travels frequently for business and is a points enthusiast who maximizes her credit card spends to ensure lots of free vacations and business class flights!