Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Marriott Rewards backtracks on its changes to Travel Packages

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

This will hopefully be our last mention of Marriott Travel Packages for a while.

The excellent news is that Marriott has decided to compensate people who were most affected by the changes to Travel Packages last weekend.

The full story is in this article, but to summarise – Marriott had not told people in advance of the merger of SPG and Marriott Rewards what would happen to unused Travel Package certificates.

When they revealed the answer, many people found themselves in a position which they could have improved with some advance notice.

The news is that anyone who has a Category 6, Category 8 or Tier 1-3 Travel Package can request a 30,000 points refund to reflect the fact that they would have got the same benefits from buying a cheaper Category 5, Category 7 or Category 9 certificate.

The refund is not automatic – you need to contact Marriott Rewards via the website and request it.

Marriott has also re-opened booking for Travel Package certificates so you don’t need to wait until 18th September to use them, as was previously announced.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.

Category

Marriott Bonvoy

Comments (109)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • H says:
    22 Aug22 August 09:21

    OT: Have Hilton DoubleTree in KL booked for 4 nights using points. I need a late checkout since flight is not till 6.30PM. Emailed the hotel but they can’t confirm late checkout will be available. I could change the booking to 5 nights since the 5th night is free on points but could the hotel and or Hilton charge me for leaving a day early? Or any other issues with this? Thanks

    • Lee says:
      22 Aug22 August 09:51

      Just leave on the 5th night without check out will do

    • Leo says:
      22 Aug22 August 10:37

      Do you really need a late check out for a 6.30pm flight? If you have lounge access won’t they let you just use it after check out? I’ve done this before at Hiltons. Saying that I was diamond and now just Gold. Was hoping to do this in the KL Hilton later this year.

    • Genghis says:
      22 Aug22 August 10:41

      Last year they let us stay in room till 4pm IIRC then we spent a couple of hours or so in the lounge before heading off to the airport.

  • Nelson says:
    22 Aug22 August 09:29

    O/T but ba related. are the ba miles redemption with partners (latam, quantas etc.) Refundable? What about tax element?

    • Rob says:
      22 Aug22 August 09:33

      Same rules for everyone, £35 cancellation fee and all miles back. Only Iberia has separate rules for partners.

  • MrK says:
    22 Aug22 August 09:32

    Reason being is that it was never officially announced and apparently only some NatWest users have the ability to redeem Reward appoints for Avios and others don’t.

    It’s supposedly only in trial and going away soon and so no mention has officially been made on this site. However I’ve been gladly making use of it for the past few months so I’m not too sure how valid the above claim is.

  • Lee says:
    22 Aug22 August 09:53

    OT – AMEX SPG card points
    Has anyone got their August statement points transferred to SPG/Marriott yet? Mine was left Amex SPG account on 10th Aug. Thanks

    • Darren says:
      22 Aug22 August 10:18

      My Amex SPG acc still has the points, no transfer to Starriott yet.

    • Stuart says:
      22 Aug22 August 13:23

      My August points are still missing from SPG having left Amex on 7th August.

  • RTS says:
    22 Aug22 August 10:42

    My travel cert still shows at cat 1 – 5… wonder if i can use it to book a cat 5 SPG hotel now?….

  • Andi F says:
    22 Aug22 August 11:08

    Is it a co-incidence that Lufthansa have launched a ‘fly together sale’ too? 40% off in business and 50% in First if flying together. 50% doesn’t sound as good as 2 for 1 but their headline offer from Shanghai is £3499 and Beijing £3999 for two people in First. Not direct of course but I understand it to be a better first class experience for a possibly cheaper price (it is FROM £3499, although I was able to get this price on a dummy booking).

  • Hsergio10 says:
    22 Aug22 August 11:13

    OT: Received an email from AMEX on which I can pay Netflix and Spotify with MR points on monthly basis , using a Membership Rewards auto redeem scheme

  • Redhroogar says:
    22 Aug22 August 11:16

    Re:2for1 1st deals : do you both earn status and points on these? Sorry if this is a question easily answered by a bit of research myself????

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Get 25,000 Avios with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

GET A SIGN-UP BONUS OF 18,000 VIRGIN POINTS!

Latest Forum Posts

Get 80,000 bonus points (worth 80,000 Avios) and £400 of dining credit with The Platinum Card (Offer ends 27th May)

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get up to 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? GET THE ONLY FREE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD WHICH CAN EARN AVIOS

Get points worth 30,000 Avios with 'first year free' American Express Gold (ends 27th May)

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!