Marriott’s winter promotion, Unlock More, is still in play, and you can complete eligible stays through January 14, 2020. Be sure to register if you haven’t already.
I was a bit harsh when it first came out for being so secretive. The base promotion that everyone receives is to complete two separate stays (each stay is one or more nights) and then get 2,000 bonus points. Not great but okay, I guess.
The catch is that after your first two stays you’ll be targeted with a separate, new promotion. What will it be? Who knows? In my case I was very lucky.
Loyalty Lobby already wrote a post with all of the different offers that people have reported receiving. (You can also find a list on Flyertalk.) As I guessed from the secrecy on Marriott’s part, not all of them are good.
- 4,000 Bonus Points after 2 More Stays
- 6,000 Bonus Points after 3 More Stays
- 3. 8,000 Bonus Points after 4 More Stays
- 12,000 Bonus Points after 5 More Stays
- 15,000 Bonus Points after 6 More Stays
- 2,000 Bonus Points after 2 More Stays, then 2,000 Bonus Points Every 2 Stays
- 2,000 Bonus Points after 4 More Stays, then 2,000 Bonus Points Every 2 Stays
- 2,500 Bonus Points after 4 More Stays, then 2,500 Bonus Points Every 2 Stays
- 5,000 Bonus Points after 1 More Stay
- 7,000 Bonus Points after 1 More Stay
- 10,000 Bonus Points after 1 More Stay
- 20,000 Bonus Points after 1 More Stay
Some people are being told to complete four more stays to get 2,000 bonus points, and then another 2,000 points for each two stays after that? Come on. Even if you were traveling every week on the company’s dime, that isn’t going to be very rewarding.
On the other end of the spectrum, I was targeted for the most generous offer: a lump sum of 20,000 points after just one more stay. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t been a very active Marriott guest in recent years, but toward the second half of this year I have picked up the pace. With 15 nights under my belt from my Marriott credit card and several additional stays booked for family travel, I’m within spitting distance of Platinum status.
I’m sure I’ll get that last stay in before the end of the month. I’m only disappointed that I haven’t reached it already. I had a third stay just after my second stay as I drove across Texas for the Thanksgiving holiday. Unfortunately Marriott says it takes a couple days before they unlock the second offer.
Technically I’ll need to make a fourth stay before my prize get delivered, but for 20,000 points I think I’ll count myself lucky anyway.
