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[More 2 — Jan. 2022] According to Marriott’s official website, the Travel Packages have been discontinued. Any hotel certificates previously received through a redemption will be converted directly back into points on February 28. The refund will be based on the peak redemption rate for that certificate tier. The airline miles portion will not be adjusted in any way. If you redeemed a Travel Package earlier, congratulations: you effectively converted Marriott points to airline miles at a 1:1.5 ratio, which still improves the value somewhat.

Here is how the hotel certificates will be handled:

  • If a certificate has already been applied to a reservation, nothing will happen and you can complete your stay as planned.
  • If a certificate has already been used for a booking and you want to make changes on March 2, you may need to contact Marriott customer service.
  • If you need to use a certificate to make a reservation between January 19 and February 28, you may need to contact Marriott customer service.
  • If a certificate has not been used for a reservation by February 28, it will automatically convert to Marriott points on March 1. The refund will be calculated based on the peak points required for that tier. Since the certificate formula already includes the Stay for 5, Pay for 4 benefit, Marriott should in theory refund only 6 nights’ worth of points; however, if Marriott is unexpectedly generous and refunds 7 nights, just take the win.
  • This treatment applies to all certificates, and should include the ancient 5-night certificates as well.
  • Official link

The reason Marriott chose February 28 as the cutoff is that in March it will fully switch to dynamic pricing, with no award categories at all, so these certificates naturally would no longer work. As for whether you need to attach the certificate to a booking before February 28, my view is: if you already have travel plans, you might as well book now. After dynamic pricing begins, check whether the hotel you booked requires more or fewer points. If the price goes down, simply contact customer service, cancel the reservation and certificate, and rebook with points. If the points price goes up, then no changes are needed. If you do not yet have any plans, you can just sit back and wait for the points refund.

[Update — Jan. 2022] According to VFTW, Marriott Travel Packages were set to be discontinued on January 19. The article says the updated terms specifically mentioned a January 19 redemption deadline. When I checked the terms again, though, I did not see that language added; still, VFTW is generally fairly reliable. After Marriott changed the program, the points-to-miles component of the Travel Package was devalued from 1:1 to 1:1.5, so far fewer people were redeeming them anyway.

That said, if you are interested in redeeming one, try to get it done within the next few days. If you also need a hotel stay, converting Marriott points worth about 0.6–0.8 cents each into UA miles worth roughly 1.5 cents each at a 1:1.5 ratio is still a good deal.

New Marriott Travel Packages

Marriott announced changes to Travel Package redemptions, with the new rules taking effect on August 1. The new chart is much simpler. In terms of value, however, it is clearly a significant devaluation. The new redemption chart and analysis are below:

New Travel Package award chart
  • Summary of the new redemption rules: There are only two options now: 7 nights + 50,000 miles, or 7 nights + 100,000 miles. All airline partners now receive the same number of miles upon redemption, so Asian airlines no longer get fewer miles than North American ones. Redeeming for UA still gives 10% more than the standard amount.
  • Redemption formula: Marriott points required = the points needed for 6 nights at the Marriott hotel + airline miles received * 1.5. The hotel portion is based on the highest points rate within that tier, and it uses 6 nights rather than 7 because of the Stay for 5, Pay for 4 benefit.
  • Airline mile value analysis: If we assume the Marriott hotel redemption side has not been devalued, then the new package represents a 50% devaluation. Under the old formula, after subtracting the points for 6 hotel nights, the remaining points converted to airline miles at 1:1 (excluding Asian airline miles). Now that has changed to 1.5:1. Of course, for Asian airline partners that were previously not at 1:0.71, the devaluation is less obvious.
  • Hotel value analysis: Since the 6-night hotel portion of a Travel Package can effectively be viewed on its own, there is no major change to the hotel side. However, because Marriott was introducing peak and off-peak pricing while the package uses peak pricing across the board, redeeming for standard or off-peak stays can actually be a loss compared with simply booking with points at lower than peak rates. Also, if your target property is below cat 4, redeeming for a cat 4 certificate is also a loss.
  • Travel Package vs. redeeming miles directly + 6 hotel nights: Marriott points can already be transferred to airline miles at 2.4:1 when transferred in 60,000-point increments (60,000 Marriott points = 25,000 miles; otherwise the ratio is 3:1). That is still better than the Travel Package’s 1.5 ratio. So on the surface, if you have a real need for exactly a 7-night stay, a Travel Package can get you some extra miles. But if your stay is not during peak pricing, is shorter than 7 nights, or is not at the highest category within that tier, then you need to run the numbers case by case, and the Travel Package likely will not be much better.
  • New package vs. old package: The new version is a very substantial devaluation.
  • Our strategy:
    • If you do not use points for miles and only redeem for hotel stays, this change does not affect you at all. You only need to watch whether the hotels you want change under the new hotel award chart.
    • If you only want miles: we recommend immediately converting all your points (Marriott + SPG) into Travel Packages. No matter what happens to the 7-night certificates after August, this is still better than waiting.
    • If you need both hotel certificates and miles: redeem the old package before August. It is worthwhile even if you only stay 5 nights. After August, choose between the new package and a separate hotel-points + airline-transfer strategy based on your own situation.

[Update 8/20] Marriott insiders posted on flytalk about how old Travel Package certificates (redeemed before August 18) would work under the new Marriott hotel categories. It was, frankly, shocking. The cat 6 certificate, which many people thought would likely retain the most value, instead became one of the biggest losers and ended up with nearly the same usefulness as cat 1–5. The new chart would not take effect until September 18, and before then the old certificates could not be used. It is possible that later on, these certificates may no longer be upgradeable by adding points.

Introduction to Marriott Travel Packages

Redeeming Marriott Travel Packages is one of the best ways to maximize the value of Marriott hotel points. The main reason is that they let you convert relatively low-value Marriott hotel points into more valuable airline miles at a 1:1 ratio. On top of that, the airline miles from a Travel Package also come with a small bonus. Of course, the biggest challenge is accumulating the large number of Marriott hotel points required. This article first explains how Marriott Travel Packages work and how to redeem them.

Simply put, a Marriott Travel Package lets you redeem a large number of Marriott hotel points for 7 nights at a Marriott hotel plus a certain number of airline miles. For example:

The reason people should consider redeeming Marriott points for a Travel Package is that Marriott points by themselves are usually worth only about 0.7 cent/point when redeemed for hotel stays (20,000 points will get you roughly a $140 hotel stay). But when you redeem for a Travel Package, part of your points are used at the normal redemption rate for 7 nights of hotel accommodations, while the other part is converted to airline miles at 1:1 (or 1:1.1). For example, AA miles are worth around 1.6 cent/point. If you redeem a Travel Package that includes AA miles, you are effectively increasing the value of your points from 0.7 to 1.6.

Therefore, if you already have some Marriott points and also need hotel stays, it may be worth accumulating more Marriott points and using a Travel Package to boost their value. If you do not expect to need a 7-night hotel stay anytime soon, you may want to use other hotel points first and save your Marriott points for a Travel Package.

Redeeming Marriott Travel Packages

How to redeem

  • Check the chart and confirm which package you want: Travel Package chart summary
  • Call: 1-800-321-7396
  • Provide your Marriott membership number and the package you want to redeem. If one person does not have enough points, you can designate another person's points to be used together
  • After the redemption is completed, you will receive a 7-night certificate, and the airline miles will be transferred to your airline account within 4-6 weeks
  • Within one year after redemption, you can call to book and use the 7-night certificate

Using the free night certificate

There are several restrictions on using the 7-night free night certificate included in the package:

  • The 7 nights must all be used at the same hotel and cannot be split up.
  • If a few nights in the middle of the 7-night stay cannot be covered by the certificate, you can pay cash for those nights and then continue using the certificate afterward to complete the 7 nights. For example, if 3 nights in the middle cannot use the certificate, you could book a total of 10 nights and pay cash for the middle 3 nights.
  • The certificate expires after one year, but you can call customer service and ask for an extension

Of course, if you want to change the certificate category, you can call customer service:

  • You can add the required points to redeem for a higher-category room
  • You can downgrade the room category and get back some of the points you paid (down to at least cat 5)

If you cannot use the 7-night certificate, you can call customer service and convert the 7-night certificate back into points. The number of points returned depends on the package you redeemed. For example, the cat1-5 FN tier can be converted back into 45,000 Marriott points. Higher tiers return 45,000 plus the points difference between the higher-tier package and the cat 5 package (see the redemption chart below).

Using the airline miles

  • The airline miles will appear in the airline account you specify within 4-6 weeks
  • The name on the airline account must match the name on your Marriott account
  • Once redeemed, the airline miles you receive cannot be returned
  • The expiration of airline miles depends on the policy of the corresponding airline, and they do not need to be used together with the free night certificate

Redemption analysis

Formula analysis

Before analyzing the Travel Package redemption chart, let’s first look at the Marriott points chart for redeeming free hotel nights directly:

ma4

Because award redemptions include a stay-4-get-1-free benefit, we can calculate that booking 7 nights directly requires points equal to 6 times the points cost for each cat or tier:

  • cat5-cat9: 150,000, 180,000, 210,000, 240,000, 270,000
  • tier 3: 300,000; tier 5: 350,000

Next, let’s look at one of the most commonly used Travel Package charts, where airline partners include AA, Delta, Alaska, and Southwest

ma3

By comparing it with the Marriott hotel redemption chart, we can easily derive the redemption formula:

  • Points required for a Travel Package = hotel points required for the corresponding 7-night category + airline miles received

More specifically, the points required for a Travel Package are divided into two parts. One part is used to redeem 7 hotel nights (in practice you only pay for 6 nights because of the stay-4-get-1-free benefit), and the other part is converted into airline miles at 1:1.

Using the formula above, we can easily calculate the hotel-points-to-airline-miles ratio for each chart in the Travel Package chart summary. In summary:

  • UA redemptions get a 10% bonus, for a conversion ratio of 1:1.1
  • North American and European airlines convert at 1:1 (including AA, Delta, BA, AC, AS, SW, etc.)
  • Asian airlines convert at 1:0.71 (including ANA, Air China, China Eastern, etc.)

Which miles are worth redeeming

First of all, you should obviously redeem miles that you can actually use. If you cannot use them, having more miles does not help. I do not recommend redeeming miles with Asian airlines, because first, the conversion ratio is poor; second, Asian airline mileage redemptions often come with high fuel surcharges; and third, most Asian flights can be redeemed using US or European miles anyway. For example, Air China and ANA flights can be redeemed with UA miles, JAL and Cathay Pacific flights can be redeemed with AA miles, and China Southern flights can be redeemed with Delta miles.

For the remaining airline partners, choose based on your own needs. A rough guideline is as follows:

  • US-China economy class: redeem UA miles (10% transfer bonus + easy redemptions + easier connections + low taxes and fees; see details: UA Miles 1, UA Miles 2)
  • US-China business class: redeem AA miles (10% mileage rebate + fewer miles required + low taxes and fees; see details: AA Miles 1, AA Miles 2)
  • US-China one-way with a stopover: redeem AS miles (one-way awards can include a stopover; see details: AS Miles)
  • Within the US: Southwest (higher value) or BA (good for short-haul flights; see details: BA Miles)

Of course, if you want to redeem Star Alliance premium-cabin awards (including ANA, Air China, and Asiana), then converting at 1:0.7 for ANA miles can still be worth considering. That is because ANA requires only 95,000/180,000 miles for business/first class, while UA miles require 160,000/240,000, which is absolutely brutal. For more on ANA miles, see: ANA Miles 1, ANA Miles 2 .

Which hotel category is best to redeem

Likewise, which category you should redeem depends entirely on:

  • Where do you want to use these 7 nights?
  • Do you need a higher-end hotel stay or more airline miles?
  • How many Marriott points do you have?

If you are not picky about hotels: If the destination you want happens to have a suitable cat5 Marriott hotel, then I would recommend redeeming the cat1-5 tier in the chart plus the maximum number of airline miles. Personally, I think hotel points are much more inflated and much less valuable than airline miles. When paying cash for hotels, there are often many promotions available, including discounts, bonus points, elite-night and status earning, portal cashback, and so on. But when booking hotels with points, there is usually much less room to optimize. That is also why Marriott points are valued at 0.7, while airline miles are often valued at 1.6 or higher. So if it were my redemption, I would accumulate as many Marriott points as possible and redeem the lowest hotel category with the most airline miles (the 270,000 package = 7 nights at cat5 + 132,000/120,000 airline miles). In that way, I would convert as many lower-value Marriott points as possible into higher-value airline miles.

If you have very high standards for hotels: I would not recommend redeeming a travel package. Instead, just book a Ritz-Carlton hotel directly with points. Ideally, book five nights so you can take advantage of the Stay 4, Get 1 Free benefit.

If you haven’t decided on a hotel yet: If you still haven’t decided where to go or what hotel category to book, I suggest booking the lowest-category hotel first and redeeming for the maximum number of airline miles. If you later decide you need to upgrade the hotel, you can buy points to make up the difference needed for the upgrade.

Everyone’s needs and travel plans are different, so it’s hard to come up with one best redemption strategy that works for everyone. In terms of pure points value, redeeming for the maximum number of airline miles is the optimal approach. But if you can’t use airline miles well, or simply won’t use them, then even the highest theoretical value is meaningless.

Related Credit Cards

If you want to accumulate enough points for a travel package, the fastest way is definitely through credit card welcome bonuses and everyday spending. Here are some credit cards related to Marriott points:

  • [Highest Ever Offer] Chase Marriott Premier (87,500 Marriott points as a welcome bonus; 5x at Marriott hotels)
  • [Highest Ever Offer] Chase Sapphire Preferred-CSP (55,000 UR points as a welcome bonus; 2x on travel; can transfer to Marriott at 1:1)
  • [Recent High Offer] Chase Freedom (17,500 UR points as a welcome bonus; 5x on quarterly bonus categories; no annual fee; if you have CSP, points can be transferred to Marriott at 1:1)
  • Chase Ritz-Carlton (it once offered a 140,000 Marriott point welcome bonus)

The 140,000-point Ritz-Carlton offer has now expired, so reaching the minimum 200,000 points needed for the lowest-tier package has become more difficult. Fortunately, when redeeming a package, you can combine points from two people into one redemption. So if you and a family member each signed up for these cards, the welcome bonuses alone would give you 160,000*2=320,000 points in total, which is more than enough for the 270,000-point package.

Summary

This article mainly analyzed how Marriott Travel Packages work and how to redeem them. There is no single best redemption, only the one that fits your needs best. In the next post, I’ll cover ways to earn Marriott points and share a few smart uses of Marriott Travel Packages. Stay tuned: