Ready to Change How You Travel? Read THIS

Hello, my name is Anthony.

This post marks the beginning of a long journey – one that I’m excited for us to take together as I get the chance to share with you my knowledge, expertise, connections, exclusive advice, offers, tips, and recommendations on the Marriott Bonvoy (formerly Marriott Rewards) Loyalty program and other travel benefits of the largest hotel chain brand in the world [Marriott]. My experience in working for this company for so many years has allowed me to create a network of contacts and extensive base of knowledge that you will not find anywhere else or from anyone else. Our journey together will be similar to the many journeys you take as one of Marriott’s valued Elite members – we will learn together, discuss new places and ideas, have regrets, and try new things; however unlike your typical travels – whether its The Westin for the week, the Residence Inn for the night, The Grand Bohemian for a weekend wedding, or a Resort for vacation, – our journey will not come to an end. My goal is to provide you with all the most important and need-to-know info about how to maximize your ROTI or Return On Travel Investment. This is an acronym I’ve created to describe the ratio between your travel expenses and the points or benefits you earn in correlation to them. I have the amazing perspective of working and living on both sides of the hospitality and tourism industry; I’ve been the point earner AND the point giver. I know the systems, I know the lingo, I know the ranks, I know who can and cant, and I know who will and who won’t. I invite you to begin this journey along side of me – and as I build your trust by sharing my advice with you, I encourage you to do the same by sharing with your colleagues the story of our never ending journey!

Let’s Focus on the Goal

I’m here for the main purpose of telling (advising) you all, and by you all I mean my valued Marriott Elite Loyalty Member followers… (might need to come up with an acronym for that one too). about the different ways in which you can maximize the amount of points you earn. The reason you’re listening to me is because I am the direct source of your points. You’re buying your product right from the producer, not after it’s been cut down a couple times, marked up, traded, imported… you get the idea. My goal is to provide you with advice that you wouldn’t normally receive, benefits that you couldn’t typically take advantage of, connections that only I can provide, and exclusive information about maximizing your ROTI (Return On Travel Investment).

ADVICE: I had to really think about who my main audience was going to be when deciding what type of advice to give you. Part of the goal is to ensure I’m providing advice that isn’t already obvious, commonly known, or easily identifiable. When you read my posts you’re going to learn something new each time. You’ll learn new ways to earn more points and new methods to optimize your ETV (Expected Travel Value). I want you to change how you travel, and the decisions you make when you travel, … if that happens, I consider my efforts a success.

BENEFITS: My affiliation with the Marriott brand naturally includes access to the many benefits the company is so well known for having. Hospitality is all about providing a service (hopefully a good one) to people of the travel and tourism community; what better way to do that then share these benefits with you guys! and I don’t mean share with you what those benefits are, I mean giving you literal access to the travel discounts and deals! I’ll elaborate more on this later but just understand that my experience with Marriott has allowed me insight about how to share travel benefits not typically available to my Elite members.

CONNECTIONS: I know the right people in the right places. You’ll keep reading my content because you’ll keep building connections through the ones I have already established. Going beyond the world of points, as Your Points Advisor, I’m here to help you get that rate you wanted, those points you were supposed to be awarded but weren’t, and much more. Having connections, establishing friendships, and building relationships is a HUGE part of maximizing you ETV – If you don’t already know how to do this that’s okay, I’ve already done it for you!

EXCLUSIVE INFORMATION: The reason it’s exclusive is because it doesn’t get shared with you as a “guest” at a hotel. Elite member or not, I don’t care if your Ambassador status, there’s some things you just don’t get to know. Does the front desk agent you checked in have the power to add 5,000 points to your account? Absolutely. Will they tell you that, no chance. Here’s your first peek at some exclusive information:

~ The MAX amount (although it can be contingent upon the management company running the hotel) of points that can be awarded to you, regardless of the reason, is 25,000. Any thing more than that HAS to be approved by a an executive member (usually a department head and or General manager depending on the size of the property). This is important for you to know because it can impact your approach if you’re ever in a situation where you are asking for points or compensation; knowing what a realistic amount is and knowing who can approve it.~

Lesson #3 YOU DON”T ACTUALLY HAVE to spend any money to earn points…

Earn Rewards for Purchasing Gift Cards

“Purchase Marriott gift cards with your Marriott/SPG/Ritz-Carlton credit card at participating Marriott properties and receive 6 points per dollar spent. Marriott gift cards make great gifts for weddings, milestone birthdays, anniversaries, or graduates who will be traveling.”

One of the oldest tricks in the book… if you don’t mind having your money in different places, purchase a Visa gift card or American express gift card with your qualifying Chase or Marriott Rewards credit card and you can earn those points as quickly as 3 days after the purchase. I’ve found this method particularly useful when I’m short just a few points to make a points reservation for an upcoming stay. The credit card I use currently earns me 5x the points on standard everyday purchases so do the math.. I just bought a $200 gift card that I can use the same exact way I use a debit card, and got 1,000 points and only spent $3 – $5 doing it. (I know I know, “Well you said we wouldn’t have to spend any money”. That’s where your relationship with me comes into play – in my future posts we’ll discuss how you’re going to get points by simply just asking for them…)

Lets say it’s nearing Christmas… you can indirectly gift yourself while buy gifts for others – Purchase Marriott Gift cards at participating properties and earn 10x the points! You can literally give someone the gift of travel and inadvertently give yourself the gift of travel. Want to pay for someones room as a birthday present?, give them a $200 gift card to the Marriott, boom > 2,000 points added to your account.

Elite Member Chart .doc

Lesson #2 Purchasing Points… DON’T DO IT.

Purchasing Marriott Rewards Points

“If you’re just short of enough points for a particular redemption option, you may want to purchase a small number of Marriott Rewards Points to top off your account.

Another reason you might purchase points is to keep your points from expiring, since Marriott Rewards Points expire after 24 months of inactivity on your account.

Members may purchase a maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year in increments of 1,000 at a rate of $12.50 per 1,000 points.”

Above is an excerpt from an article I read today about buying rewards points… I’m here to tell you, as an individual with plenty of experience in the field of: awarding points, tracking how many points properties are giving away, finding trends in the reasons behind why these points are being awarded, and calculating the actual dollar amount it costs the hotel to give points! This is crucial information for you to know before making the unforgivable decision of purchasing points… but also for you to know when you are being offered compensation. What might sound like a lot of points may cost the hotel very little, or may not be comparable to whatever inconvenience occurred – vise versa, you may be getting offered an amount you should never turn down! It does fluctuate depending on the hotel, level of service, franchise or not, etc… but on average it costs a property $32.50 to award 5,000 points (compensation related). THAT’S A MARK UP OF 100%. Imagine walking into a store and they offer you this deal; If you buy any of our products online, it will cost you 2 times what you will pay if you buy it right here with us! The choice is obvious. I know what your thinking, “Just because it costs the hotel that much doesn’t mean I can get them for that much” – that is where you are wrong my friends, for I have developed a method, actually several methods, that will allow you to earn, buy, or qualify to get those extra points you want so badly AT or BELOW COST. I’m excited to share these methods with you in some of my future posts, but if you share this post with your colleagues and send me an email or message; I’ll spill the exclusive details with you now! We will revisit the topic of purchasing points and the evident alternatives to this very soon as long as you promise me that you will never, EVER, buy points.

TO SUMMARIZE: Buying Marriott Points is like buying a flat screen TV the day before the Black Friday it’s scheduled to go on sale 50% off… you wouldn’t and you shouldn’t.

Lesson #1 (Third Party reservations)

We’ve all been there before (my experienced elite members and travelers); showing up to the front desk with your confirmation paperwork from Expedia, Priceline, Hotwire, etc… ANNNND, you reservation is no where to be found. (or maybe your front desk agent found it but cannot check you in because they haven’t received payment from the 3rd party) whatever the case is, its a huge inconvenience, one that could have been avoided – I believe this is common sense for my more experienced travelers, but for those of us that are new, using 3rd parties to save money on your bookings does NOT save you money on bookings. In the long run, it creates more headaches and costs you to lose significantly on your ROTI (return on travel investment) [see my first post]. Most of my experienced Marriott Bonvoy Elite members know that you must book directly through the hotels website to receive the points (and now ALSO to receive the nights credit…a recent update that I’m sure some of you did not know!) INTERMISSION TIP: the MAJORITY of your front desk agents are not knowledgeable enough or kept up to date with the consistent changes to the loyalty program – while they are friendly and nice – don’t expect them to provide you with the most up to date and accurate information…that is what I am here for. If you’re an experienced Elite member and already have this concept grasped, good, I have more to tell you that you don’t know. I want to go into the ROTI concept a little deeper. I’d love to go into the math with you which if you want to message or email me separately I ‘ll be happy to offer you real life examples/equations, but if you stay at a Marriott branded properties more than 25 nights a year, booking directly through the hotels website WILL save you time and money in the long run. Approaching it from the long term point of view is what I will refer to from now on as ETV or Expected Travel Value. Your ETV greatly increases when you allow yourself the opportunity generate the most points, which I believe is the reason you’re here reading this right now. This starts with the points you earn from the rate of your room (tax is not included). Depending on your Elite status, there are percentage multipliers on the amount of points you earn, but what you need to know is that the third party rewards programs simply do not compare to Marriott’s loyalty system, benefit wise or in ETV. I truly believe the most important and first step to maximizing the amount of points you earn is familiarizing yourself with the intricate details of the loyalty program itself; this means knowing what brands participate in what programs, what statuses have what benefits, and knowing all of these things before deciding where you stay. For that reason I have attached a chart. (one that Marriott supplies only to it’s Marriott franchised hotels {someone please remind me on later date to discuss franchised properties vs Marriott International run properties and: how to find out if a property is a franchise, how to make a decision on whether to stay at a franchise, and how it could and DOES effect your ability to earn the most points}) This chart gives you an entire break down on how you earn your points. I would encourage you to use this chart like a bible when making reservations, know it better than the agent checking you in or out. I have changed entire trips around because of this chart. This chart has changed past experiences for me, and will change future ones I may not have had the opportunity to take had I not maximized my ETV by using it in the first place. Study this chart; I have a fun story for you soon of how it changed one of my most recent trips. To summarize: The points you earn do more for you than the money you save booking 3rd parties, don’t ever doubt that.
The 1st step in maximizing your ETV is knowing where and how points are earned BEFORE booking.