Marriott Rewards (including Ritz-Carlton) - Travel package vs. regular hotel reward

Hi everyone,

I'm a long-time reader of these forums -- and quite envious of the frequent flyer mile totals and status of many of you -- but this is the first time I've felt the need to ask a question.

I've redeemed 115,000 MP for seven nights at the JW Marriott Phuket. My question is, should I go the travel package route instead? That would cost 165,000 MP, giving me the seven-night stay plus 50,000 airline miles.

I don't need the miles for my flight from SEA to BKK. But what's worth more, 50,000 MP or 50,000 frequent flyer miles?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Most here are big fans of the travel packages.

It is not a simple question. I generally get about 1.6 cents of value per Marriott point. Sometimes I cash in airline miles for only a penny a point for domestic awards.

I still favor the package as a diversification move. I cash in a package and put miles into AA which I don't fly. I like the flexibility of having miles in Skyteam, Oneworld and Star Alliance. I only fly Star so transferring miles to Oneworld helps me diversify and guards against a Marriott devaluation.

Finally, if you use miles for overseas flights in C or F, you will get a lot more value per mile than you can get for a Marriott point - so the 1:1 ratio will add value.

Finally, you can transfer up to 120K points per package.

For me - I always get the travel packages - with as many miles as possilbe - 120K miles.

I value airline miles at more than marriott miles.

For example, I used 35K miles each (on United) to buy several award tickets to/from Hawaii over thanksgiving, and these would price out at over $900 each.

I also think using miles for upgrades is valueable. On United, I can upgrade an "H" or higher fare with 60,000 miles, round trip - confirmed into Business (if available) the day I book the ticket.

You can also score 90K RT Business class tickets to Asia, very valuable to me.

Billy

I don't need the miles for my flight from SEA to BKK. But what's worth more, 50,000 MP or 50,000 frequent flyer miles?
A couple of posters have chimed in with very good suggestions. But to really answer your question depends somewhat on your situation. Marriott points tend to be very good if used for Marriott stays. Those don't really cost Marriott much since the rooms are a sunk cost to them and so the points needed for even an expensive beach resort somewhere will be better than for many other uses. The benefit of the FF miles is that those can be used to purchase expensive business or first class tickets on very long international trips. Thus you can get a very good bang for you point by transfering to an FF account and purchasing an expensive ticket with those points.

But if you are in a situation where you either have a lot of unused FF miles and don't need any more to get that really nice flight, or if you only want to stay close to where you are and rather pay for your flight tickets, then you may not want to use your MR points for airline FF points. In those cases, you might see if there is a MVCI property close to where you want to go and use your points for a nice stay there (if they have availability.) Getting a 2-bedroom suite in an MVCI property for the same points as a nice Resort right next to the MVCI property can be a very nice use of points especially if you have a family traveling and need extra space. Especially since you will probably get access to all the resort amenities. ^

So the real answer to your question is it depends. :)

For me - I always get the travel packages - with as many miles as possilbe - 120K miles.

I value airline miles at more than marriott miles.

For example, I used 35K miles each (on United) to buy several award tickets to/from Hawaii over thanksgiving, and these would price out at over $900 each.

I also think using miles for upgrades is valueable. On United, I can upgrade an "H" or higher fare with 60,000 miles, round trip - confirmed into Business (if available) the day I book the ticket.

You can also score 90K RT Business class tickets to Asia, very valuable to me.

Billy


Which airlines do you transfer to for the Asia bus tix?

Thanks for the advice, gardener, Delta3MM and hhoope01.

I'm going to go with the travel package. I was hesitant because it would eat up nearly all of my Marriott Points, leaving me with a balance of a few thousand. But like you all have said, FF miles can give me more bang for my point. My status is nothing like many people here, so 50,000 miles is a big deal. Just want to make sure I'm getting the most value for my miles and points.

Now, I know it's a question better suited for another forum, but has anyone had luck getting business class seats on NWA from SEA-BKK? I can only find coach for next December.

If the airline points are used for business/first class tickets or upgrades, then their value is multiplied and worth considerably more than a Marriott point.

Which airlines do you transfer to for the Asia bus tix?

Since I'm 1K with United, I usually transfer my miles to United. I can book on any star allance carrier on a business class ticket, availability permitting.

Billy

A few years ago I cashed in points for a package deal that gave an extra 25% AA miles. I got 150,000 miles for the 'price' of 120,000, which enabled hubby and me to fly biz class to Paris where we used the hotel cert to stay at the Marriott Champs Elysees. I have been saving up points in the hope that Marriott will offer this type of deal again.

NWA has the same offer now until the end of the month. 120,000 gets you 150,000 NWA miles.

Where can I find the NWA deal online? At the Marriott or NWA site?

Nevermind, I found it. Thanks for the tip.

http://www.nwa.com/offers/PTM/

For me - I always get the travel packages - with as many miles as possilbe - 120K miles. I value airline miles at more than marriott miles.


I fully agree with Delta3MM. I never miss the chance to convert MP into miles at a 1:1 ratio so everytime I go for the 120K miles. My math shows that I get more thru miles rather than thru hotel nights. With 50,000 MR points I get 50,000 miles which allow me to redeem a $1,200 round trip ticket to the US. However, with the same 50,000 MR points I just get 2 nights at a cat. 5 hotel, translating into $500 aprox.

Diversification is also good as there is some "devaluation" as Marriott upgrades their hotels to upper categories. Finally, I'm not sure about this (please comment) but I read that miles transferred to AA count towards the 1M lifetime status.

But what's worth more, 50,000 MP or 50,000 frequent flyer miles?


IMO, 50K FF miles are worth much more. IIRC, 10K MR points generally convert to 2K FF miles in most US airline programs, so you can realize a significant benefit by taking advantage of this transaction structure. Plus, you don't actually have to *use* the miles you're transferring -- for example, if you plan to use UA miles to book your travel, but you're looking to top up your AAdvantage account with the MR points, go for it.

As others have observed, it is well worth it to convert as many MR points to miles *in this fashion* as you can, given the advantageous conversion rate. But of course, everyone's situation varies, and you must take your own circumstances into account. But if it were me, I'd be exchanging the points for miles, certainly.