Marriott Rewards: FlashPerks, LocalPerks, Plus Points

By Ric Garrido

Marriott Rewards introduced weekly FlashPerks in July with hotel package discount rates, discount hotel award nights and merchandise at reduced points levels from Marriott retail partners. FlashPerks are scheduled each week for 24 hours only, Thursday 12 noon Central time to Friday 12 noon. FlashPerks will run at least 12 weeks into the first week of October.
FlashPerks offers to date have focused on Marriott’s high-end hotels and resorts. There have been fewer than 10 hotels each week and most hotels limit the offer to 10 rooms per night. Here are sample offers from the first three weeks.

FlashPerks 50 Percent Discount Award Stays
•    50 percent discount award stays are limited to four nights. The fifth night free offer does not apply to these awards.
•    Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort, Category 9 hotel at 22,500 points per award night. The perk was a free room upgrade to Partial Pool Gulf View. This offer was available for 140 room nights.
•    JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa, Category 8 hotel at 20,000 points per award night. Perk was $25 spa credit.
•    La Concha Renaissance San Juan, Puerto Rico, Category 8 hotel at 20,000 points per award night. Perk was 20 percent discount at La Voga Restaurant. This deal was gone in less than 30 minutes.
•    Renaissance Barcelona, Spain, Category 8 hotel at 20,000 points per award night. Perk was complimentary breakfast and upgrade to city view room.

FlashPerks Discount Hotel Rates (Prepaid and Nonrefundable)
•    Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa, 50 percent off Breakfast rate for Pool Villas and Oceanfront Pool Villas with 5,000 Thai Baht ($157) daily resort credit. Rates were $400 for Pool Villa and $465 for Oceanfront Villa.
•    Renaissance Chicago Downtown, 30 percent off regular rates with $50 per night hotel credit for on-property services.
•    Renaissance Tuscany il Ciocco Resort, 50 percent off included a once-in-a-lifetime cooking event with souvenir Renaissance Tuscany aprons and cooking hats.

Merchandise Discounts
•    Beats Solo HD Drenched Headphones for 30,000 points. Regular price 57,500 points; 100 items available. This item sold out in a couple of hours.
•    GoPro Hero 3 for 42,500 points. Regular price 82,500 points; 50 items available. This item retails for about $300.
•    Libby Glass Mixologist Set for 5,000 points was 50 percent off and a way to get value from a low amount of points. This item retails for $55 giving a decent $10.50 redemption value per 1,000 points.

Weekly Marriott Rewards FlashPerks are a good way to regularly engage Marriott Rewards members with hotel stay deals. I’d like this promotion to continue beyond 12 weeks.

Marriott Rewards LocalPerks
Marriott Mobile Guest Services app uses geo-tracking technology to send personalized offers to visitors and hotel guests based on their precise location within the hotel. The app is available through iTunes and compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. LocalPerks launched July 24 at the San Diego Marriott Marquis and Marina.

Marriott Rewards Plus Points
The launch of Marriott Rewards Plus Points in May 2014 created social media buzz when members could earn 2,000 points for free every 30 days through social media actions. Facebook ‘Likes’ and Twitter ‘Follows’ for specific hotels and brands earned 250 points and a quick eight social media actions earned an easy 2,000 Marriott Rewards points—apparently, too easily.
Marriott Rewards PlusPoints changed July 11. Maximum points earned for each activity were reduced from 250 points to 25 points with a daily limit of 100 Marriott Rewards points after four social media actions. Earning 2,000 Marriott Rewards points changed from eight interactions to 80 actions every 30 days. Still, free points for your time. Go HERE for more information.

RewardsPlus is the Marriott Rewards and United Airlines MileagePlus partnership started in July 2013. MileagePlus miles transfer to Marriott Rewards points 1-to-1. The reverse option is better for Marriott Rewards points transfers to United Miles where 56,000 Marriott Rewards points convert to 25,000 MileagePlus miles. This is 20 percent fewer points compared to other airline partners. Most airlines require 70,000 points for 25,000 miles. Go HERE for more information on Marriott Rewards and United Airlines MileagePlus.

United promotion earns Marriott Rewards points and 1,000 MileagePlus miles per reservation booked by Sept. 5 for stays through Oct. 31, 2014. Earn up to 5,000 miles after five qualifying stays at 250 participating JW Marriott, Autograph Collection Hotels, Gaylord Hotels and Marriott Hotels located in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Register for this offer HERE.

Marriott Rewards has added several new good value programs and promotions in 2014 members should check out before checking in.

Ric Garrido writes Loyalty Traveler: Hotel Value for Frequent Guests found at BoardingArea.com. He provides information and comparative analysis on major hotel loyalty programs. Luxury travel on a budget takes travel planning.