Getting More Points out of Your Hotel Stays - How Booking the 5,000 Marriott Bonvoy Bonus Points Rate May Make More Sense

Hotel stays make plenty of sense for most of us when you are looking for a quick getaway (even on a weekend!) - you may receive elite benefits such as complimentary breakfast, upgrades as well as access to the executive lounge (or equivalent) once you have attained a certain level in a hotel chain's loyalty program. While it is safe to guess that majority of the travellers would book the Advance Purchase (AP) rate to enjoy the most savings, it has become increasingly attractive to book one of the other room packages across various properties.

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Photo Credit: W Singapore - Sentosa Cove

The W Singapore - Sentosa Cove offers a getaway from the city life in Singapore. I am personally a big fan of the property as the right rooms are spacious, they look out to the beautiful pool and it is located just across from Quayside Isle where you will find a number of great restaurants that I love to frequent. A regular room night here at the W Singapore - Sentosa Cove will not come cheap on a weekend (since that is when all the families get in to enjoy a short holiday) but the room rates are comparatively lower on weekdays.

Photo Credit: W Singapore - Sentosa Cove

While looking at room rates here at the W Singapore - Sentosa Cove, I noticed that this property (alongside a handful of other properties in Singapore) offers a 5,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus point package which is surprisingly not that much more from the AP rate. There is no doubt that the AP rate is still the cheapest non-opaque rate but on one particular weekend, the AP rate is S$298++ (approximately 20% off BAR) and the special 5,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus point rate is S$314++ (approximately 15% off BAR).

The 5,000 Marriott Bonvoy Bonus Point room deal here at the W Singapore - Sentosa Cove is applicable even on just one-night stays and while it is not a breakfast-inclusive rate, it does come with 5,000 bonus points (as implied from the name) per stay. Additionally, the aforementioned room package also comes with flexible cancellation terms which allow you to cancel your reservation for no charge up to 2 days before arrival. To put it simply, in the example above, paying an extra S$18.50 nett will give you 5,000 bonus points as well as the flexibility to cancel your reservation. All Marriott Bonvoy members can typically purchase points at US$12.50 per 1,000 block so 5,000 points are worth US$62.50 on a regular day. As far as I know, a maximum of 30% discount has been offered for these points at some point so to be conservative, 5,000 points are worth US$43.75 (approx. S$60.50) at the very minimum. Being able to purchase the same number of points for just S$18.50 translates into roughly 70% discount which is amazing.

Photo Credit: W Singapore - Sentosa Cove

There are other properties in Singapore that offer travellers the ability to indirectly purchase Marriott Bonvoy points through one of these special room packages but most of them are no where near as attractive as what the W Singapore - Sentosa Cove is offering:

• The St. Regis Singapore - 5,000 Bonus Points

• JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach - 5,000 Bonus Points

• Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel - 5,000 Bonus Points

• Sheraton Towers Singapore - 5,000 Bonus Points

• Courtyard by Marriott Singapore Novena - 2,000 Bonus Points

• Le Méridien Singapore, Sentosa - 1,000 Bonus Points

I have written about special hotel rates which comes with amazing inclusions multiple time - this is obviously not for people who are out for a bargain (you are following the wrong site if you are) but if you wish to get a lot more perks for close to nothing, booking an eligible Virtuoso Rate or booking The Hotel Collection/FHR rate from your American Express Centurion or The Platinum Card can offer you immense value on a short stay. Now all we need is for American Express to bring back that amazing offer to get S$150 back with S$500 spend at Marriott properties (fingers crossed!) and we will be all sorted out.