~800 Marriott Hotels Changing Award Prices, Book Soon to Lock-In Rates

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More big news!  Marriott announced they’re adjusting award prices for ~800 Marriott hotels starting March 25, 2016.

Over 500 hotels are going up a category (a change of 5,000 Marriott points per night except category 1 hotels), while the rest are dropping a category.  Hotels in the US will be most affected by these changes.

But, reservations made before or on March 24, 2016, will be honored at their current prices.

I’ll explain the changes.  Because for certain hotels it’s best to book now.  But for others it’s better to wait!

What’s Happening?

Link:   List of Marriott Hotel Award Changes

Effective March 25, 2016, award prices of ~800 Marriott hotels will increase or decrease by a category (5,000 Marriott points per night, except for hotels moving between category 1 and 2).

560 Marriott hotels are going up in price.  Some notable increases are:

• 18 hotels in Boston, including the Renaissance Boston Hotel & Spa at Patriot Place
• 8 hotels in the Chicago area, including the Fairfield Inn Chicago Naperville
• 12 hotels in Fort Lauderdale, including the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Hotel at Port Everglades
• 6 hotels in Los Angeles, including the Courtyard Downtown Los Angeles L.A. LIVE
• 24 hotels in Phoenix, including the SpringHill Suites Phoenix Downtown

A few international hotels will jump a category, including:

• The Ritz-Carlton, Montreal (from Tier 3 to 4)
• Boscolo Milano, Autograph Collection (from Category 7 to 8)
• London Marriott Hotel Kensington (from Category 7 to 8)

Here’s the full list of changes.

And here are my favorite Marriott hotels in the US, Europe, and the Caribbean & Mexico!

Marriott hotels include:

• AC Hotels by Marriott
• Autograph Collection Hotels
• Bulgari Hotels
• Courtyard by Marriott
• Delta Hotels
• EDITION
• Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott
• Gaylord Hotels
• JW Marriott
• Marriott Executive Apartments
• Marriott Hotels
• Marriott Vacation Club
• Moxy Hotels
• Protea Hotels
• Renaissance Hotels
• Residence Inn by Marriott
• Ritz-Carlton
• Springhill Suites by Marriott
• TownePlace Suites by Marriott

If you want to lock-in the current prices, reservations made on or before March 24, 2016, will be honored.

It’s Not All Bad News!

Marriott will soon be the world’s largest hotel chain after they merge with Starwood.  As it stands, Marriott runs ~4,000 hotels world-wide.

But it’s interesting that Starwood announced their hotel category changes on the same day as Marriott.  Prices at over 80% of their hotels are NOT changing.  And some are going down in price, including:

• 2 hotels in Miami, including the AC Hotel Miami Beach
• 4 hotels in Minneapolis, including the Courtyard Minneapolis Downtown
• JW Marriott Hotel Rio de Janeiro
• 6 hotels in Toronto, including the Toronto Marriott Bloor Yorkville Hotel
• 3 hotels in Beijing, including the JW Marriott Hotel Beijing
• 4 hotels in Shanghai, including the JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai at Tomorrow Square
• AC Hotel Barcelona Forum

And if you travel mostly internationally, most Marriott hotels outside of the US will either stay the same price or decrease.

So check the hotels you’re interested in.  If they’re decreasing in price, you should wait to book until after March 25, 2016.  Unless there are very few award rooms available, in which case it might be worth booking sooner to lock-in your dates.

Want More Marriott Points?

Link:   Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card

Link:   Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card

With the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier card, you’ll earn 80,000 Marriott points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of account opening.

And an extra 7,500 Marriott points when you add an authorized user who makes a purchase in the 1st 3 months of account opening.  The $85 annual fee is NOT waived the 1st year.

And with the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Small Business card, you can earn 80,000 Marriott points when you spend $3,000 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of opening your account.  The $99 annual fee is NOT waived the 1st year.

To earn more Marriott points consider:

• Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points
• Buy Marriott points (not usually a good deal unless you need to top-off your account for an award stay)

Bottom Line

~800 Marriott hotels are changing prices effective March 25, 2016.  560 hotels are going up in price, while the others are decreasing.  All of the changes are 1 category (5,000 Marriott points, except between category 1 & 2) up or down.

Considering Marriott has over 4,000 hotels world-wide, this isn’t a huge number of hotels.  But most of the hotels going up in price are here in the US. 

Any reservations made on or before March 24, 2016, will be honored at their current rates.  So if you have a hotel in mind that’s scheduled to increase, book soon.

If you need more Marriott points, you’ll earn 80,000 Marriott points when you open the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier (personal) card, and spend $3,000 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of account opening.

Or consider the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier small business card, which also has an improved 80,000 Marriott point sign-up bonus.

Starwood also announced category changes yesterday, so it will be interesting to see what happens after Marriott merges with Starwood later this year.   I’ll update y’all when I have more details!