[Expired] Earn up to 30 Points per Dollar on Marriott Vacation Rentals February 9-11

Expired: The offer mentioned below has expired and is no longer available. 

Marriott’s answer to Airbnb, Homes & Villas by Marriott International offers full-sized vacation rentals. Although this brand was launched a few years ago, it’s not often referenced — possibly because rates aren’t always competitive with other home-sharing programs. That being said, there’s definitely value in a program like this, which allows you to use Marriott Bonvoy points for vacation rentals. Even better, there’s a new promotion out now that will allow you to earn up to 30 points per $1 spent on these bookings. Let’s take a look.

Offer Details

This is a very limited-time promotion, so you’ll want to move quickly if this is something you’re looking to book:

• Valid from February 9-11, 2022
• Eligible for bookings through March 31, 2022
• Marriott Bonvoy members earn 20 points per $1 spent
• Marriott Bonvoy cardholders earn 30 points per $1 spent
• No registration required
• Minimum stay of 3 nights

Is It Worth It?

Understanding whether or not it’s worth it to take advantage of this promotion requires careful consideration. Here’s a 4 bedroom, 4.5 bathroom home in Dillon, Colorado:

The property will sleep 10, which is good because Homes & Villas by Marriott International will charge you $913.97 per night. Including the 3-night minimum, the cleaning fee, and taxes, you’ll be spending $3,284.30 out of pocket for your stay:

That’s a hefty cost, though if you’re shoehorning in all 10 people it’ll run you just over $100 per person, per night. If you’re a Marriott Bonvoy member earning 20 points per $1 using this promotion, you’d take home 54,820 points over those 3 nights. We value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, which means you’ll be getting $383.70 worth of points.

This promotion is far more lucrative as a Marriott Bonvoy credit cardholder; you’d earn 30 points per dollar and end up pocketing a whopping 82,230 points for your stay. In this case, your haul would be worth $575.61.

That’s an excellent return, but you’ll also want to be aware that Homes & Villas by Marriott International tends to inflate the cost of its properties. You can see this especially with homes that are also available via Vacasa, another vacation rental booking site. Certain homes are bookable on both sites — Homes & Villas by Marriott International and Vacasa — but are significantly cheaper on the latter.

Here’s that same Colorado property during the same dates on Vacasa’s page:

For the same property, Vacasa is $446.40 cheaper than Marriott’s offering, which is pretty significant.

You’ll also be able to earn points depending on which credit card you use to pay. The Chase Sapphire Reserve^®, for example, would earn 3 points per $1 spent on this purchase. In this case, you’d net 8,514 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. We value Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 2.0 cents each, meaning you’d be taking home $17.03 worth of points.

All told, you’d be out of pocket a net of $2,820.88 when paying through Vacasa. This is better than the option for those without a Marriott Bonvoy credit card who will need to fork out a net of $2,900.60 for the same stay. However, it is less lucrative than the offering for those with a card — they’ll be paying a net of just $2708.69.

Hot Tip: You can also redeem Marriott Bonvoy points for your Homes & Villas by Marriott International stays, though you’ll want to be sure this represents a good value. 

Final Thoughts

Long story short: if you’re a Marriott Bonvoy credit cardholder looking to book a vacation rental, jump on this promotion, which runs from February 9-11, 2022. Otherwise, consider looking elsewhere for better pricing because the inflated pricing on vacation home rentals from Homes & Villas by Marriott International will cost you more than you’ll earn.