Marriott for travel hacking: Our controversial take on the #1 chain

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If you speak to any frequent traveler, it’s likely they have a preferred hotel chain. It could be familiarity, value, required chain from an employer, etc. Flexibility is a key tenant of travel hacking to maximize the value of redemptions. But loyalty to a specific chain can have its benefits as well.

For travel hackers, the chain that’s often most popular is Hyatt because of it’s transfer partner status with Chase and the value for the points. At Hyatt, Category 1 Hotels start at only 3,500 points for off-peak nights. That value is hard to beat. And we’ve certainly taken advantage of those amazing redemptions at Hyatts, like when we spent five nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai in November 2024.

Our favorite chain, however, is not Hyatt. It’s Marriott. Marriott Bonvoy offers a vast portfolio, valuable perks, and strong earning potential whether you’re staying on points or paying with cash (credit card).

Here’s why you should consider booking with Marriott for travel hacking.

This post was originally published in November 2023 and was updated in May 2025 to reflect the latest Marriott Bonvoy benefits, credit card perks, and travel hacking strategies.

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Marriott for travel hacking: an extensive portfolio

With over 8,500 properties across 30+ brands worldwide and in 139 countries, Marriott has the largest hotel portfolio of the big three used in travel hacking. In simple terms, Marriott has more locations than Hyatt or Hilton, which means that no matter where we want to go, there’s likely a Marriott hotel.

Both of us travel for work at times, and even when we aren’t choosing our destination, there’s at least one Marriott location for us to earn points at.

Marriott for travel hacking: variety of brands

One of Marriott’s biggest advantages is its range of hotel brands across luxury, premium, and budget categories. You can earn and redeem points across all of them, making it incredibly easy to tailor your stays to your travel style and trip type.

Luxury Brands

The Ritz-Carlton
St. Regis
JW Marriott
W Hotels
The Luxury Collection
Edition

Perfect for aspirational redemptions, honeymoon splurges, or luxury for less when using points.

Premium Brands

Marriott Hotels
Sheraton
Westin
Le Méridien
Renaissance
Autograph Collection
Tribute Portfolio

These offer a great balance of comfort and elite recognition, ideal for business or leisure travel.

Select-Service & Budget-Friendly

Courtyard by Marriott
Fairfield Inn & Suites
SpringHill Suites
Aloft
Moxy Hotels
Four Points by Sheraton

Great for road trips, quick city visits, or budget-conscious points redemptions.

Marriott for travel hacking: Stay for 5, Pay for 4

When redeeming points at Marriott, one of the biggest perks is their 5th Night Free benefit. Book a stay of five consecutive nights using points, and you only “pay” for four—the lowest point night is on the house. In October 2023, we spent 5 nights in Vienna for only 69,000 points thanks to this deal – a value of 13,800 points per night. While it may not have been the absolute lowest point redemption possible (I’m not sure, we didn’t check), it was an excellent value considering the prime location and timing of our trip—making this offer a no-brainer for maximizing your Marriott points.

Marriott for travel hacking: take advantage of promotions

Marriott frequently runs generous promotions that help travelers maximize value—especially when stacking them with credit card perks or elite status. For example, in early 2025, Marriott offered a promotion that awarded 1,000 bonus points and an extra elite night credit per night stayed. Thanks to existing travel plans, we earned 8 extra elite nights and 8,000 bonus points—on top of the base earnings.

Another past favorite: the “Stay Twice, Earn a Free Night” promo. Without changing our travel behavior, we earned a free night certificate worth up to 35,000 points, just from completing two stays tied to personal and work travel.

Back in late 2023, Marriott ran a promotion from September 12 through December 6, offering 1,500 bonus points per stay, with no earning limits, plus an additional 3,000 points for every unique brand you stayed at. We easily picked up 3,000+ points through regular travel—and had more planned.

Every year, these promotions help us earn more elite nights and Bonvoy points faster, accelerating our elite status earnings and points for free nights.

Pro Tip:

Always enroll in Marriott promotions, even if you don’t have any travel booked yet or even planned. These promos are an easy, low-effort way to earn extra points and elite night credits from stays you’re already planning—making your path to free nights and elite status even faster.

Marriott for travel hacking: transfer partners

Both Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards points transfer to Marriott Bonvoy, and each occasionally offers elevated transfer bonuses throughout the year. Last year, Chase ran a 70% transfer bonus, which we took full advantage of. While we typically don’t recommend transferring points without a specific redemption plan in mind—since these currencies are more valuable when used flexibly—we knew we’d be staying at several Marriott properties in the future. So, we transferred 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points and received a 70,000-point bonus, giving us a total of 170,000 Marriott points to put toward future stays. If you’re Marriott-loyal and spot a solid promo like this, it can be a great way to boost your balance.

Marriott for travel hacking: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card is a staple in our wallet as we accrue points and miles.

Yes, it comes with a $95 annual fee, but it more than pays for itself—especially with the sign-up bonus. New cardholders can earn three free nights, each valued up to 50,000 points, after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of opening your account. Plus, there’s an additional offer where you can earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 within the first 6 months. Just keep in mind that certain hotels may charge resort fees. Even if you don’t add points to those nights, 50,000 Marriott points are estimated to be worth $450 according to Nerd Wallet. Seems like a pretty fair trade.

But the perks don’t stop there. Cardholders receive one free night every year on their anniversary, valued at 35,000 points, plus automatic Silver Elite status—giving you early access to some elite benefits right out of the gate. You’ll also get 15 Elite Night Credits annually, which fast-tracks your progress toward higher status tiers like Platinum and Titanium. What’s more, for every $5,000 spent on the card, you earn an additional Elite Night Credit, making it easier to reach premium Marriott status faster.

Earning points on everyday spending is straightforward and rewarding:

6 Marriott points per dollar on Marriott stays
3 points per dollar on the first $6,000 spent annually at gas stations, grocery stores, and dining
2 points per dollar on all other purchases

We do sometimes pay in cash (credit card) for hotel stays, and this card comes in handy because we earn a minimum of 17x Bonvoy points per dollar on Marriott stays. When we’ve stayed at Hyatt or Hilton properties this year, it’s only been through points redemption—not cash payments—so the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card remains our go-to for paid stays, maximizing rewards and elite benefits.

Marriott for travel hacking: how our two-player strategy works with this card

This card is also where we break what some consider a cardinal rule of travel hacking: I’m an authorized user on P2’s Marriott Bonvoy Boundless.

Why, you might ask? I travel for work without P2, and he travels without me – but he travels more. So he accrues more elite nights – we use his Marriott account when we travel together and the Boundless credit card is tied to his Bonvoy account – starting him off with 15 elite nights towards status.

When I travel, I earn elite nights on my account and points on my account from the stay – you can’t share a Marriott Bonvoy account. However, my employer allows me to use a personal card for hotel stays, so I use P2’s card – this earns points onto his account from the stays. I’m then able to transfer up to 100,000 points per year to his Bonvoy account from mine for our shared travel hacking.

Marriott for travel hacking: elite status

Once you start earning points and elite nights, status levels unlock real value. From bonus points to guaranteed late checkout, room upgrades, and free breakfast, your loyalty can seriously enhance your travel experience – both on paid and points stays. And in our opinion, the real perks kick in at Platinum—Silver and Gold are common these days thanks to credit card benefits, but Platinum and above is where you start to feel the difference.

Marriott Bonvoy Status Levels at a Glance:

Silver Elite (10 nights/year): 10% bonus points, priority late checkout (if available).
Gold Elite (25 nights/year): 25% bonus points, 2 p.m. late checkout, enhanced room upgrades (based on availability).
Platinum Elite (50 nights/year): 50% bonus points, 4 p.m. late checkout, M Club lounge access (where available), complimentary breakfast at many brands, welcome gift, and better upgrades (including suites at some properties).
Titanium Elite (75 nights/year): 75% bonus points, all Platinum perks with higher priority for upgrades, annual Choice Benefit (e.g., more points, suite night awards).
Ambassador Elite (100 nights + $23K spend/year): 75% bonus points, all Titanium perks, plus a dedicated Ambassador concierge and Your24 (flexible 24-hour check-in/out window).

Marriott for travel hacking: our experience with status

We’ve held Platinum or Titanium status the past few years, and the benefits have been well worth the effort. One of our most memorable perks? The incredible free breakfast at the JW Marriott in Madrid—P2 still talks about it. We’ve also enjoyed M Club lounge access, where available. Some lounges offer full breakfast, while others provide snacks and drinks throughout the day, making it a great way to save money and relax between activities.

Elite status isn’t just about the upgrades—it’s about making travel smoother, more comfortable, and in many cases, more rewarding with the elevated earnings.

Marriott for travel hacking: Starbucks Partnership

In 2024, Marriott and Starbucks launched a new partnership, making it easy to rack up points and stars. By linking your Marriott account to your Starbucks app, you automatically earn bonus Marriott points on your Starbucks purchases during Bonvoy weeks.. Bonvoy Weeks are Marriott’s limited-time promotional periods where members can earn bonus Marriott points on Starbucks purchases. These promotions usually offer varying bonus point amounts—sometimes 100, 300, or even 500 points—depending on the specific offer and spend thresholds.

This “set it and forget it” approach has helped me earn over 1,100 Marriott points so far in 2025 (through May), simply by enjoying my usual coffee runs. Is that enough for a Marriott night? No, but they’re points on something I’d be buying anyways, so there’s no reason not to link my accounts.

Marriott for travel hacking: Uber Partnership

Link your Marriott Bonvoy account to your Uber account and watch the points stack up effortlessly—it’s a true set-it-and-forget-it way to boost your Marriott balance. Thanks to this partnership, you earn 6x Marriott points on Uber Eats deliveries over $40 to Marriott hotels, 3x points on Uber rides, and 2x points on Uber Eats orders over $40 elsewhere.

We’ve personally racked up over 3,500 Marriott points this year just from everyday Uber and Uber Eats activity—on top of the points we’re already earning through our credit card. It’s a simple hack that turns routine rides and meals into valuable Marriott rewards without changing your habits.

Marriott for travel hacking: eat around town

Like many travel providers, Marriott has a program where you link your credit card and get points when you eat at participating restaurants. Be aware that you can only like to one of these dining programs (e.g. you can’t earn United miles and Marriott points for dining), so think about which program’s points you value most before linking.

Marriott for travel hacking: where we’ve stayed on points

One of the best parts of travel hacking with Marriott Bonvoy is turning accumulated points into stays around the world. Over the years, we’ve enjoyed a variety of hotels, all booked using points. Redeeming Marriott points for these stays not only saved us money but also enhanced our travel experiences with upgrades, elite benefits, and unique local touches.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the places we’ve stayed in the last few years using our Marriott points:

Marriott for travel hacking: final thoughts

Using Marriott points has really changed how we travel—making it more affordable and way more rewarding. From stacking points on everyday purchases like coffee and meals to booking amazing stays around the world, Marriott makes travel hacking simple . If you’re already playing the game or just getting started, there’s always a way to get more out of your points and perks. Trust me, it’s totally worth the effort.