Originally Posted by Horace

Dekmac,

If I understand your question correctly, you want to calculate how many Marriott Bonvoy points (which are based on USD) you should get for a hotel stay in the UK paid with GBP.

So far this year, the £1.00 GBP has hovered around $1.30 USD. Sometimes higher. Sometimes lower. But a multiplier of 1.3 is a good rule of thumb these days.

There are no Marriott Bonvoy points on the VAT (Value Added Tax), which is 17.5%.

Let's suppose you booked a hotel room that's 235 GBP per night. The actual room is £200 GBP, which is an eligible charge. The VAT is £35 GPB which is not an eligible charge.

£200 GPB x 1.3 = $260 USD, so your points are based on $260 USD.

You get 10 points per $1 USD spent at most Marriott Bonvoy brands. You get 5 points per $1 USD spent at Element, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites. For this exercise, we're assuming it's the former.

$260 USD x 10 = 2600 points. The actual number of points may be somewhat higher or lower, depending on the exchange rate. If you get significntly fewer points, then it's worth pursuing.

You also get points on other eligible charges, such as meals at the hotel restaurant (in most cases). The same formula applies.

If you're eligible for a Gold or Platinum welcome gift, and you choose points, there's no multiplication factor on those points — because they're already points.