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A Quiet (and Positive!) Change to Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee

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    Via One Mile at a Time, Marriott is giving folks another way to be rewarded through its Best Rate Guarantee!

    You can now earn 5,000 Marriott points if you find a lower rate for the same Marriott hotel, room type, and dates within 24 hours of making your reservation.  That’s quite an improvement over the previously available reimbursement.

    Find a Lower Rate Somewhere Else? You Can Now Choose Between an Additional 25% Off, or 5,000 Marriott Points!

    Here’s what you need to know.

    Better Reimbursement Option for Marriott Best Rate Guarantee

    Link:   Introduction to Hotel Best Rate Guarantees

    Link:   Marriott Best Rate Guarantee

    Link:   Marriott Best Rate Guarantee Claim Form

    Most major hotel chains guarantee that you’ll find the lowest price for a room on their website.  And if you find a lower rate somewhere else, they’ll match or beat the price (and sometimes give you other goodies, like a free night!).

    Marriott’s policy was formerly to match the lower rate and give you another 25% off the room if you found a lower rate for the same hotel, room type, and dates within 24 hours of making your reservation.  But now, you can choose between an additional 25% discount or 5,000 bonus Marriott points!  You can see this option on Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee claim form.

    This is an especially handy option for folks who are NOT spending a lot on their hotel.  Because 5,000 Marriott points can easily be worth more than a 25% discount on your room.

    For example, 5,000 Marriott points is nearly enough for an award night at Marriott Category 1 hotels, which cost just 7,500 points!

    The SpringHill Suites Tulsa at Tulsa Hills Costs $102 per Night. But an Award Night Costs Just 7,500 Points!

    Want More Marriott Points?

    Link:   Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card

    Link:   Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card

    With both the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier card, and the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Small Business card, you can earn 75,000 Marriott points when you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening your account.

    And don’t forget, you can transfer Marriott points to Starwood at a ratio of 3:1 (3 Marriott points = 1 Starwood point).

    Bottom Line

    Marriott has improved its Best Rate Guarantee!

    They will continue to match the lower rate, but now they give you an option to receive either an additional 25% off your room, or 5,000 Marriott points.  This is helpful if you’re not paying a lot for your hotel room, and know how to get a lot of value from your Marriott points.

    After Marriott’s recent devaluation, it’s nice to see some kind of positive change from them. What do you think of this new policy change?

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)