Marriott Hotels in Asia-Pacific Are Temporarily Allowing Elite Benefits on Third-Party Bookings

Before Marriott merged with SPG, Marriott had a unique perk: elite members booking through third-party channels could still receive most elite benefits other than SNP (Stay, Night, Points), such as space-available upgrades, free breakfast for two, lounge access, and late checkout. But after the programs were combined into Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott updated its official policy, and hotels gradually began enforcing the rule that third-party bookings would no longer receive elite benefits. In July 2019, some blogs began reporting that Asia-Pacific had restored elite benefits on third-party bookings; see here. If true, Platinum and Titanium members booking Marriott hotels in Asia-Pacific through third-party websites could at minimum expect free breakfast (or lounge access), plus possible upgrades and late checkout. However, neither the English nor Chinese Marriott terms have been updated to reflect this. KKU believes this policy has already become an internal consensus within Marriott Asia-Pacific, though it could change again in the future. I did some checking myself:

  • This weekend, KKU stayed at a newly opened Courtyard in Xiamen and asked the front desk. The agent also said that Asia-Pacific recently began allowing third-party bookings to receive elite benefits other than SNP (Stay, Night, Points). [Note: At Courtyard properties in Asia-Pacific, Platinum and higher elites receive breakfast or lounge benefits.]
  • I also checked with Marriott’s official WeChat account, Marriott Bonvoy, and the customer service rep confirmed this policy. They also said this only started recently and was not allowed before. If a front desk does not recognize the policy, you can ask them to call internally to verify it. Details below:

Note 1: Asia-Pacific here refers to the western Pacific region, including Greater China, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. It is still unclear whether this also includes the Russian Far East and Oceania.

Note 2: Marriott’s official terms still do not mention this. Please follow any future updates to Marriott’s official terms. Marriott Asia-Pacific could change this policy at any time, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Note 3: Third-party bookings do not earn SNP. If earning SNP matters to you, or if you need nights for status renewal, you should still consider booking through Marriott directly or Fliggy.

How to Make the Most of This Policy

Major Third-Party Booking Platforms

Third-party booking sites usually have their own membership or points systems, and cashback portals may even offer better returns than hotel direct bookings, so prices can end up quite attractive. Of course, if you find a lower rate on a third-party site than on the hotel’s official website, you may want to consider BRG first.

  • Compare rates first. If pricing is similar, then compare cashback portals and cashback apps to see which gives the best return. [Note: Most North American cashback portals do not support hotel bookings in Asia-Pacific.]
  • Use promotions to buy or stock up on gift cards for third-party platforms. If there are no particularly good offers, and you have Mainland Chinese credit cards, pairing them with high cashback promotions can still save a lot. See KKU’s earlier article.
  • Since the official terms have not yet been updated, contact the Asia-Pacific hotel you want to stay at before booking and ask whether elite benefits apply on third-party bookings. If the staff member says no, ask them to confirm with a supervisor or verify through internal channels.
  • Once the hotel confirms that benefits apply, add the stay information to your Marriott account. Of course, you can also show your Platinum or Titanium status at check-in, but personally I think adding it in advance gives you a better shot at an upgrade. [One method: contact the hotel to get the Marriott confirmation number for the reservation, then try to add that reservation number to your Marriott account; or give the hotel your Marriott member number and ask them to add it for you.]

Pair It with Credit Cards

Starting 2019.9.22, hotel bookings made through Citi Prestige will become third-party bookings, and the fourth-night-free benefit will be limited to two uses per year. Using the current policy for Marriott stays in Asia-Pacific could be a pretty good option.

Other Situations

There is another common scenario, especially in Mainland China and elsewhere in Asia-Pacific: event organizers or hosts often book hotels for you through third-party channels. When that happens, definitely show off your Titanium status.

Let’s Look at an Example

Because of BRG policies across the hotel industry, rates on major third-party channels are often close to the lowest rate on the hotel’s official website. I personally use Hotels.com fairly often. Hotels.com, part of Expedia, has its own rewards system, and it allows multiple accounts and bookings for others, all of which can count toward rewards. The most useful feature for many of us is probably stay 10 nights, get 1 free. The reward comes as a credit equal to the average nightly rate of the first 10 nights. For those of us living in North America, here are some of the main opportunities:

  • New user signup coupon: New users can sign up through our link by entering an email address. After receiving the Hotels.com email, complete registration through the email. It will include a $200-$50 coupon. There are some restrictions, but it is still worth signing up.
    • It must be used in a single transaction, but that is easy to do with multiple rooms or multiple nights totaling $200.
    • Booking requirement: use by December 31, 2019
    • Stay requirement: complete the stay by March 31, 2020
  • Amazon regularly sells Hotels.com physical gift cards and eGCs. For physical cards, there are occasional deals like paying $42.5 for $50. For eGCs: you can use 1 MR/TYP/UR/discover cash rewards together with promotions to buy eGCs; currently the best deal is MR, where paying with 1 MR gets you 50% off, up to $60. You can use this promotion on multiple Amazon accounts. And you can also stack with legacy Drop Amazon cashback (early users had 20points/$, roughly 2%). You may even be able to use authorized-user cards and link both primary and authorized-user accounts to Drop—such as AMEX or Citi authorized-user cards with separate online accounts—to trigger Drop twice for an extra 4% cashback.
  • Use the Chase Amazon Rewards credit card or AMEX Business Amazon credit card to buy eGCs on Amazon or physical gift cards at Whole Foods, and stack with legacy Drop for 5%+~2% cashback.
  • AMEX Offers sometimes has Hotels.com eGC deals such as $50-$10.
  • Newegg.com also occasionally has $100-15 or $100-10 eGC promotions.
  • Use the AMEX Gold credit card to buy Hotels.com gift cards at supermarkets and earn 4X MR.
  • Use Mainland Chinese credit cards that offer high cashback on overseas online purchases to buy eGCs from U.S. websites (the U.S. site, Amazon, Newegg, etc.) or to book hotels directly on the U.S. site. See here:
  • The Capital One Venture credit card earns 10X miles on Hotels.com purchases, worth roughly 10~14%. The promotion lasts through January 2020; see here.

Note 1: Hotels.com used to let you check balance and combine balance on its website, but it now appears to have been removed officially. If you have too many gift cards to manage, you can try calling 888-999-4468 and ask customer service to combine them for you. Direct bookings on the website do allow multiple gift cards to be used together, so do not worry too much.

Note 2: On most North American cashback sites, third-party booking platforms do not provide cashback for hotel bookings in Asia-Pacific. You can try local cashback sites in Asia-Pacific, though gift card bookings usually also do not earn cashback. If readers are interested in cashback sites in Asia-Pacific, especially Mainland China, KKU may write about them later.

Note 3: Newly registered Drop accounts probably no longer have Amazon benefits. Older Drop accounts still have Amazon 20points/USD cashback. If your friend has multiple older Drop accounts, you can ask them to transfer one to you by changing the email and phone number to yours. I personally registered more than 20 Drop accounts back in the day. I am guessing plenty of readers did the same.

Other third-party platforms also have good promotions from time to time, so it is worth looking around for more ways to save. I will not list every single one here.

Hopefully Marriott will continue expanding elite benefits on third-party bookings to more regions and introduce even better benefits!