Oops, I have a million Marriott points

Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop! We’ve got some unhinged and potentially controversial content today.

So without further ado, let’s get into it:

• 🛍️ Earn 3,000 bonus points at Amazon

• 😬 Oops, I have a million Marriott points

• 🤖 AI vs. Human: Which is better at planning travel?

🛍️ Earn 3,000 bonus points at Amazon

Merchant offers are great ways to earn extra points, cash back, or statement credits from your credit cards.

When those credit cards have annoyingly high annual fees, merchant offers can make those fees more palatable – especially when they’re for things you’re already spending money on.

For example, I just stumbled upon a new offer on this premium shiny credit card to earn 1,000 MR points when spending just $40 on Amazon.

This is as easy as it gets, folks.

And the best part is that you can do it up to three times. That means you could earn a total of 3,000 MR points for spending just $120 on Amazon.

If you transfer those points to partners and redeem them for 2 cents each (which is pretty doable), that’s $60 in value, or a 50% return on your Amazon spend.

Not too shabby, eh?

Merchant offers like this are always targeted – so you might have the same offer, a different offer, or no offer.

But here’s a fact:

If you have more credit cards, you have more opportunities to get offers like this.

In this case, I find that merchant offers really help me to justify the card’s high annual fee.

If you want some inspiration for cards, check out our favorite cards for earning MR points. 👇

😬 Oops, I have a million Marriott points

Last week, I told you about how I maximized Marriott’s promotion to earn 225,000 points in a month.

It was epic.

I was so focused on that promotion that I didn’t realize just how many points I’d been earning over the last year.

When I logged into my Marriott account, I was surprised to see that I had 999,548 points…. 😬

So today, I wanted to tell you about how to earn a million Marriott points.

Oh, and just to make this headline true, I transferred over 1,000 points… for science. 👇

Sweet. Now I have a million Marriott points. 🎉

Don’t do what I did

Before I tell you all the ways to earn points, let me start by saying: Don’t hoard points like I do.

I travel so much that I know I’ll be able to burn these points.

In fact, I had a million Marriott points back in 2023, used them all, and rebuilt my stash. I spend hundreds of nights a year on the road. I know I’m not normal. 🙃 

Generally speaking, you want to “earn and burn” your points so you don’t get stuck with points that devalue.

With that out of the way, here’s how to earn a million Marriott points.

Marriott credit cards

The easiest way to earn a ton of Marriott points? Credit card welcome offers.

At any given time, Marriott has a bunch of different co-branded cards with elevated offers floating around.

Sometimes you’ll see offers as high as 185,000 points, offers with free night certificates, or a mix of both.

And if you’re wondering how people end up with absurd points balances like mine… this is usually where it starts.

You can also continue earning points from everyday spending on Marriott cards, especially if you spend a lot on travel, dining, or Marriott stays themselves.

Some cards also come with automatic elite status, which boosts your earning rates whenever you stay at Marriott hotels.

Speaking of that…

Actually staying at Marriott hotels

This one sounds obvious, but Marriott stays can earn points shockingly fast if you stack everything correctly.

When you stay at Marriott hotels, you’ll earn:

• Base points from the stay

• Elite bonus points

• Welcome gift points (if you have status)

• Promotional bonuses

• Credit card points if you pay with a Marriott card

And sometimes, Marriott runs solid promotions like the one that just ended.

Last month, I earned over 225,000 points largely from stacking promotions with paid stays.

Marriott Homes & Villas

One of the most underrated ways to earn Marriott points is through Marriott Homes & Villas.

This is Marriott’s vacation rental platform, where you can book apartments, villas, and homes while still earning Marriott points and elite nights.

And the best part?

Homes & Villas promotions are often WAY more generous than normal Marriott hotel promos.

Sometimes you’ll see offers for:

• Tens of thousands of bonus points

• Double elite nights

• Other earning multipliers

You can also stack these bookings with merchant offers on cards, like this one that I currently have in my account on this credit card:

Marriott’s underrated dining programs

There’s also a Marriott dining program called “Eat Around Town,” where linked cards can earn bonus points at participating restaurants.

And if you really want to go full points guru, you can even rack up thousands of points for signing up for the program, enjoying your first meals, and linking cards.

Congratulations. You are now earning hotel points for demolishing a fat cheeseburger.

Uber rides and Uber Eats

Marriott also partners with Uber, which means you can earn Marriott points from Uber rides and even Uber Eats orders.

All you have to do is link your Marriott and Uber accounts.

Is this going to earn you a million points overnight?

No.

But all these little earning streams add up over time, especially if you travel frequently and already use Uber regularly.

Transferring points from other programs

You can also transfer points from various bank programs into Marriott.

Now… generally speaking, I don’t love transferring flexible points to Marriott because there are often better uses for them.

BUT…

If you need to top off an account for a redemption, or you’re trying to book something expensive, transfers can absolutely make sense (especially when there’s a transfer bonus, like the one right now from UR points).

I’ve also written before about converting Singapore KrisFlyer miles into Marriott points, which is one of the weirder ways I’ve earned Marriott points.

I recently had around 20,000 Singapore miles that were about to expire… but instead of letting them die, I was able to turn them into 15,000 Marriott points.

It’s definitely not as valuable as airline miles, but better than nothing.

Buying points

Finally, Marriott also sells points directly.

Now, buying points without a promotion is usually a terrible idea.

But during promotions, Marriott will sometimes offer huge bonuses (like right now) that can make buying points surprisingly reasonable, especially if you have a high-value redemption in mind.

This is particularly useful if you:

• Need to top off your account

• Are booking expensive hotels

• Want to lock in a redemption before prices increase

Just… don’t go buying points without a very specific use in mind.

The bottom line

There are a lot of ways to earn Marriott points. Individually, none of these programs will make you a millionaire.

But using them all consistently over time just might get you there. 😉

🤖 AI vs. Human: Which is better at planning travel?

Artificial Intelligence. Some love it, some hate it.

But most people use it in some way, shape, or form these days. Personally, I find myself saying things like this to AI:

But how useful is AI for planning trips? How does it match up to a real, human travel expert?

In this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video, we put AI to the test for travel planning.

It’s fun. Check it out. 👇

That’s it for today, folks. I hope you enjoyed my Marriott Bonvoy bonanza and learned a thing or two.

Take care and see you tomorrow!

Sampai jumpa lagi,

6.9175° S, 107.6191° E

With contributions by Sam Anthony and Katie Begnoche.