Purchase Marriott points...

[Ireland's Call Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ireland's Call]

I want to buy some points but am "maxed out" for 09 .
With the US Dollar at 140 to the Euro they are great value for those of us living in Euroland .
My question...if I ask someone else to buy them for me ..can they transfer them to my account .Think not ...but cannot find the reference.
Thanks G

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Good morning G,
You and your wife can each buy 100,000.
And that 200,000 can be combined.

I am not sure if Marriott will let your daughter buy 100,000 and also add that to your account.
You CAN give points to others but there is possibly a limit. Sorry I do not know more.
And of course u will pay for those points with your Marriott VISA!

[m61376 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close m61376]

Pat- I thought it was 50,000 points per year per person, with spouses being able to combine them at the time of redeeming a reward. Did they change it to 100,000?

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Pat- I thought it was 50,000 points per year per person, with spouses being able to combine them at the time of redeeming a reward. Did they change it to 100,000?

I too thought that it was 50,000 per year, pp. Maybe that too has been changed?

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

I stand corrected - I thought it was 100K each but have never done it - 50K and allow spousal combination makes more sense.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

How do you buy points? Can you do it with a rewards account only or do you have to own a timeshare? Didn't know this was an option.

Also what is the benefit of buying the points over paying cash? Are the stays cheaper than paying cash?

[thinze3 Member Find all posts View Profile Close thinze3]

I stand corrected - I thought it was 100K each but have never done it - 50K and allow spousal combination makes more sense.

Pat, many people before have mentioned buying 100K. In those circumstances, they typically buy 50K in December and 50K in January, for a total of 100K.

[tim Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tim]

How do you buy points? Can you do it with a rewards account only or do you have to own a timeshare? Didn't know this was an option.

Also what is the benefit of buying the points over paying cash? Are the stays cheaper than paying cash?

You can buy points as a rewards member (you don't need to own a timeshare). Simply log onto your rewards account and there is a link for buying or transfering points. The cost for 50,000 points is around $625. Obviously, the best way to get points is through staying at a Marriott hotel as you don't pay anything extra for the points. But, if you are close to an award that you want, it may be worth it to buy some points. I personally use the travel package awards a lot as I find them to be good value as you get airline miles as well as a hotel stay. Some folks in Europe may opt to buy points as the exchange rate makes it worthwhile to use points to stay in expensive Marriott hotels in Europe. Good luck.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

You can buy points as a rewards member (you don't need to own a timeshare). Simply log onto your rewards account and there is a link for buying or transfering points. The cost for 50,000 points is around $625. Obviously, the best way to get points is through staying at a Marriott hotel as you don't pay anything extra for the points. But, if you are close to an award that you want, it may be worth it to buy some points. I personally use the travel package awards a lot as I find them to be good value as you get airline miles as well as a hotel stay. Some folks in Europe may opt to buy points as the exchange rate makes it worthwhile to use points to stay in expensive Marriott hotels in Europe. Good luck.

See I learn something new everyday. I've been a Rewards member for more than 20 years and never knew you could buy points to complete a stay. I've ended up paying cash because I didn't always have enough points and was only a few hundred or thousand away from an award. Now I'm gonna go back and study the website again. I think I've got 35,000 now and they owe me 20,000 so I might have a nice weekend away coming to me soon. Thanks.