aCavalierInCoach

Won't lie, incredibly annoyed at seeing a 60k rate on a room retailing for <$250. I'm more or less done with Bonvoy and onto Hyatt but still trying to be judicious with the burn. Wondering how others think about the value of their points these days? I don't find the assessments by folks like TPG particularly compelling or representative of a the (likely?) more savvy bunch here.

AndWhatsYourPoint

$0.01 per point or better is what I target. If the return is going to be less I pay cash.

Kacee

I also target 1 cent per point, but will redeem as low as .8 cpp.

nexusCFX

I redeem the vast majority of my points in a city where I get 1.3c/pt on average. When I can do 5th night free it ends up being 1.63c/pt. This is before factoring in the points you'd earn booking with cash, which brings the net value down since if you get a $900 + tax room for 85,000 points, as a Titanium you're losing the 15750 points you would have earned.

I'm actually getting 2.35c/pt there later this year due to a combination of waived 3rd person fee on awards, 5th night free, and all nights being off-peak points even though cash rates are the same as usual.

I would never redeem below 1c/pt. At that point I'd always pay cash and use the points for a higher value redemption.

matchbox20_is

I try for 1.8, but I will accept 1.4 if it's expensive. I never use them below 1.0 no matter what the cash rate is.

escapefromphl

1 cent per point, I prefer to get better but would go down to 0.8c for high rate properties.

Marriott's category system for properties is basically designed to find what the market will bear, so if we collectively won't pay a points amount for a hotel it should drop down a category.

The inflated points relative to revenue rates occur in heavily targeted areas where everyone and their kids want to go on vacation, and where folks don't care (or don't know any better) if they burn their points at 0.5c per point.

yyzflyer

I also use the same formula with a couple of exceptions. Because Residence Inns and TownePlace Suites generate less points for cash stays than other brands, the "break even" point is different. Similarly, when redeeming for 5 nights or more at any property (triggering the free night) the ratio also changes.

dcstudent

I aim for 1.5 cents per point.

smilee

I peg mine around 0.7 -1 cent, but HOPE to get more.

However, I take an honest look at what I would pay for. Just because a hotel might cost $700 a night and I can redeem 35K points for said hotel doesn't mean I am getting 2 cents, as I would probably not have paid the $700 a night in the first place.

Look at New York Manhattan for example. The lowest standard price will soon be about 50K+ a night for a hotel. The most I would pay in cash would probably be in the $200-$300 range, so even at 1 cent, it is STILL TO MUCH! There are some non-Marriott hotels that cash would be a much better value.

Anyhow, with how fast and frequently Marriott points are diminishing, I would hate to be sitting on a mountain of points because I had over valued them at above 0.7 cents, and didn't redeem unless I was getting 2 cents worth, especially as I could see in a very near future we will be debating if they are even worth 1/2 a cent.

SPN Lifer

Through Wednesday, 25 March 2020, Marriott is selling them at .8333˘/pt., so that would be my floor, too.

Anything 1˘ or over, I am happy.

For a Limited Time: Buy Points and Get a 50% Bonus, ends March 25 2020

Kara5930

I target 1 cent per point, but .9 is OK too.

s0ssos

Nobody has mentioned whether these are last-minute bookings versus in advance.
Last minute is much easier to find a good cpm. Months in advance it is hard.
I find that higher-end properties actually end up giving a higher cpm usually than low-end. Until you get to category 1, which are usually a good value.

Flapster

Mine is based purely on absolute cost - I earned a lot of my points through business travel.

So, for leisure, if I want to stay in an expensive luxury hotel, then as long as I'm not getting ridiculously low value, I'll generally redeem. E.g., just booked Ritz Carlton Okinawa, and am getting approx. 0.5c / point of value. But the cash rate is high, so would prefer to save money for other things.

nexusCFX

I book most of my travel right when the booking calendar opens and I'm getting terrific value. All cat8 for any point redemptions.

SHLTP

I aim for .01 or more. But I often get. 015 and up. Not sure with all the off peak and peak. It's very annoying to try to book on points now