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Convert you Marriott / HSBC points into Etihad miles and earn 40% bonus
Etihad is no stranger to the game of selling miles or offering point conversion bonuses. A very good offer was just made available if you are a member of Etihad Guest.
- Deadline is April 30
- Convert points from participating partners into Etihad miles to earn 40% bonus
- If you convert into between 10,000 and 20,000 miles, you also earn 40% tier miles on top
- The maximum tier miles you can earn is 20,000
Here are the most relevant participating partners:
- Marriott: 3 points = 1 mile
- Hyatt: 2.5 points = 1 mile
- Accor: 4,000 points = 2,000 miles
- Shangri-la: 1 point = 1 mile
- HSBC UK: 2 points = 1 mile
40% is the best bonus that Etihad has ever offered. If you convert 60,000 Marriott points in one go, you should receive (20,000 + 5,000) * 1.4 = 35,000 miles, which isn’t a bad deal at all. We have an article on how to redeem Etihad miles, but I’m not sure how easy the redemption process is in real life.
For those who are already active Etihad Guest members, the tier miles bonus is a great addition too. However, as you need 25,000 tier miles for Silver upgrade, it’s not possible to take advantage of this offer to become an elite member from scratch.
Marriott Flexible Point Redemption is now live, and you may want to rebook some reward nights
If you have searched for any Marriott point bookings today, you may have seen some odd prices like this:
This is because Marriott’s Flexible Point Redemption Rates, a.k.a dynamic reward night pricing has just kicked in.
As a reminder, here’s what happened:
- Marriott hotels no longer have redemption categories
- For reward stays in 2022:
- Globally 217 hotels have adjusted redemption rates, which means they may require more points than the previous cap imposed by the respective category
- Other hotels won’t cost more than what its peak pricing used to be
- For reward stays in 2023: there won’t be any caps for redemption rates
For example, a Category 1 hotel used to cost 4,500/7,500/10,000 points on off-peak/standard/peak dates, and now it can cost anywhere between 4,500 and 10,000 points. However, unlike previously when there’s some sort of pre-defined distribution, you may see the most popular hotels constantly cost 10,000 points, whereas the least desired ones hover around 5,000 points throughout the year.
Let’s have a look at London. The Marriott County Hall which I really loved is now priced near the top mark (100K) almost all the time:
Renaissance St Pancras on the hand, still have some 40K dates in April, which is close to the original off-peak pricing (36K).
Marriott’s pricing algorithm is more similar to IHG than Hilton, or in other words the redemption rate is somehow linked to the cash price but there isn’t a fixed formula. This is good news, but obviously things can change in the long run.
From the data points I’ve seen in various forums, the trend is popular hotels are priced towards the top end whereas other hotels have actually become cheaper, which could be a welcome change. Maldives has suffered greatly, but W Koh Samui and Tokyo (e.g. The Prince Gallery hotel) are less expensive now.
My friend who’s developed a tool for monitoring IHG reward prices has come up with some interesting stats:
- Summing up the redemption rates of all Marriott hotels in China, the total has dropped 6.35% on March 30 compared to March 29
- Out of the 30 most-searched hotels, only 6 have increased in average redemption rates
If you currently hold any point bookings, check the rates again as you may save some points by rebooking. And in the new system prices may change regularly for the same hotel / date, so you may need to monitor them closely.
My review of Ritz Carlton Vienna
After spending two nights in Hotel Bristol, I moved over to the Ritz Carlton hotel for a different experience. My first Ritz Carlton stay at Tenerife was a total disappointment, and I’m hoping for the best this time.
Unlike Hotel Bristol, the hotel feels very new.
I’m also upgraded to a Junior Suite for my stay. Service-wise I’m quite impressed, as someone accompanies me to the room with my luggage, and explains everything about the room and hotel facilities in great details. From what I read online Hotel Bristol is known for their great hospitality, but to be honest I didn’t remember anything special there.
The Junior Suite is actually an open-plan corner room, which I usually have a preference to. You don’t see any extravagance and the room may be more on the simple side, but it stills conveys the appropriate luxury message.
I quite like the design of the minibar.
And as a welcome gift, two bottles of mineral water and a snack ferris wheel.
The L-shaped balcony is unfortunately a bit confined, and there isn’t much a view to admire around here.
You can however, see the Hotel Imperial, which is a spectacular building.
Spa centre is on floor -2.
As I vaguely remember from what the staff told me, it’s the largest indoor pool you can find at any Vienna hotel.
There’s no separate jacuzzi pool or hot tub, but this corner in the swimming pool has got some of the functions.
After swimming, you could try out the sauna or steam room but they are in the changing rooms, which is not very convenient.
Club lounge access is priced at €120 per room, which isn’t too bad if two people are travelling. From what I’ve seen on Flyertalk it’s also not limited to just two people – if you’ve booked a room for three or four (assuming the occupancy permits), you could pay the same €120 and everyone gets lounge access, which is a great deal.
The is the distrikt restaurant where guests have breakfast.
At €30 per person it’s not cheap, but it’s actually worth a try. Have a look at the menu:
Just as its title suggests, you have a lot to choose from, including some dishes you wouldn’t expect to see on a breakfast menu. Breakfast is open until 2.30pm.
It has been a positive experience, and definitely way better than my stay at Ritz Carlton Abama. In general I’m more comfortable at new hotels like this one, however the old ones like Hotel Bristol are more of a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’d love to visit Hotel Imperial on my next trip to Vienna.
My review of Hotel Bristol, Vienna
As my Amex Marriott £100 cashback is expiring soon, I start to look for a city with high-end Marriott hotels to spend a long weekend in. I choose Vienna in the end, the capital of Austria with a Ritz-Carlton and two Luxury Collection hotels.
Both Luxury Collection hotels are very well-renowned, although Hotel Imperial is a touch higher in reputation and also more expensive. I’ve gone for Hotel Bristol in the end though, since the location is more preferable.
Hotel Bristol is located on the edge of Vienna’s not-so-big city centre. Interestingly many hotels here have an entrance of the same style:
The lobby is not a grand one, but does look classic.
The elevator is quite fancy with mini-sofas inside.
I strongly recommend to walk up and down the stairs though. Each level is decorated differently, but they are equally breath-taking and it feels like strolling in the flow of the 19th century.
As you can imagine, most of the rooms here are not quite up to the modern standard. There are few refurbished rooms though, and be sure to book or request them if you have the preference. The Bristol Suite, for which you can redeem your suit night awards, is one of them.
I don’t have a strong desire for suite though so didn’t use my suite night award. I’m upgraded to a Junior Suite on the top floor.
There’s more than enough space for me, although furnishing is definitely on the older side.
Welcome gift are a bottle of white wine and a fruit platter.
The highlight is this small rooftop balcony.
The balcony may not be huge, but you can enjoy a great view of the State Opera.
The hotel has a small gym. No swimming pool is available, but if you are in need they could arrange you a complimentary visit to the Ritz Carlton to use their spa facilities.
Breakfast is served in the Bristol Lounge. It’s an amazing venue.
There is a limited buffet section.
And you could order the usual suspects in addition.
Food is good, but nothing to write home about. It’s more about the ambiance and experience to be honest.
Like many others I usually prefer to stay at a modern hotel, but Hotel Bristol is quite different in that it’s historic enough but in the meantime not “dated”. It’s an experience not to miss and, I’ll probably try out Hotel Imperial the next time I’m in Vienna.
Remember to lock in your Marriott reservations before March 29th
I’m sure you are already aware that Marriott has recently announced its plan to introduce Flexible Point Redemption in details. You could find the FAQs here and I would not bore you with many interpretations as it’s already covered by almost every travel blog.
Here are some basic facts:
- The new policy kicks in on March 29th
- Hotels will no longer have a redemption category, nor will they show standard / peak / off-peak prices
- For stays in 2022, most hotels will keep the existing redemption cap, barring 217 properties whose cap will increase by up to 30,000 points
- For stays in 2023, no cap applies anymore to any hotels
- PointSavers and Fifth Night Free still apply
What I want to reiterate is: lock in your redemption now, even if the property you intend to stay with is not on the adjustment list. There are two reasons behind this:
- What remains unchanged is the cap, not what an award night actually costs. For example, a Category-1 hotel costs 5,000 / 7,500 / 10,000 points for off-peak / standard / peak dates nowadays, which may be spread evenly throughout the year. After March 29th however, you may see the hotel cost 10,000 points or near for most of dates.
- Note that there’s no cap for 2023 stays – if you have any potential stays in early 2023, at any property, make some speculative bookings now. On March 29th they could cost an arbitrary amount of points in theory – although to be fair I don’t think they’d be too far off initially at least.
Note that Points Advance bookings won’t lock in you bookings at the current price. You must accrue enough points for your bookings by the deadline.
My review of London Marriott County Hall
Marriott is running a ludicrous promotion for 2022 Q1, which makes retain my Titanium status much easier. My first stop is London Marriott County Hall, a renowned Marriott property in central London.
Although it’s only a Marriott, it’s one the most sought-after hotels in London, even compared to the luxurious brands such as JW Marriott, Edition and W. This is largely thanks to its location – by River Thames and right next to the London Eye!
Hotel entrance is on the south side. It’s a Grade-II listed building and originally served as London’s County Hall in 1922. It retired after 64 years and became a Marriott hotel in 1988.
I’m presented with a glass of Prosecco while waiting for check-in to complete.
It’s a prime touristic location, which explains the red telephone box and many other London icons in the hotel.
I used my suite upgrade voucher for the first time, and it didn’t take long for them to confirm my upgrade to a River Thames View Suite. I think it’s the second-highest room category (only second to the Westminster Suite), but I may be wrong.
The corridor turns orange when I approach my suite – is it the renovated part of the hotel?
I was stunned when I opened the door and saw the living room:
The furniture and the finish are perfectly spot-on, and it’s even completed with a six-seat dining table. However, the most amazing part of the living room has to be its view.
Especially when the sun shines, you are basically looking at a painting!
The living room and bedroom are connected by an curvy hallway.
The bathroom is also very beautiful, with a smart toilet seat.
Here’s the wardrobe:
And finally the bedroom:
If you are tired of the Big Ben view in the living room, have a change of scenery here for the London Eye:
The design of their wellness centre is a bit weird. For accessing the swimming pool, you need to request an access code from the fifth floor, and then go up to the sixth floor to open a gate, which leads you down to the swimming pool.
The pool itself, though, is very impressive – it’s probably the largest I’ve ever seen in a hotel.
Same can be said with their massive gym.
M Club is located on the fifth floor.
The club lounge is quite big, but unfortunately not with enough windows.
The happy hour is a big let-down though. Everything’s table service and canapes are limited to 2 or 3 portions per person, which you have to order from the staff.
Here’s what I got after a 30-minute wait. It’s not a new policy though – I visited the lounge once about three years ago courtesy of a friend, and it was the same arrangement back then.
Breakfast (free for Platinum members and above) is served in the main restaurant. It’s fully a-la-carta and decent.
I’m genuinely impressed by this stay, and rate London Marriott County Hall higher than W Leicester Square and JW Marriott Grosvenor House. The River Thames View Suite and swimming pool are absolutely stunning, and the hotel is a definite must-visit if you are a Marriott fan!
Select company employees can save 30% on their hotel stays with Marriott’s BreakAway program
Marriott sometimes offer fast track programs to select corporate partners. They have another scheme called BreakAway which offers discounted rates to employees from companies that presumably have corporate deals with Marriott.
You could view the offer page here. There are more than 200 names on that list, so if you work for a big company, it’s likely you are already eligible even if you aren’t aware. Some of the participating companies are: Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Siemens, Bosch, HP, Barclays, Citigroup, Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, Nike, L’Oreal and Estee Lauder.
The terms and how to use the rate are:
- Valid for stays from Thursday through Sunday
- Stay must include Friday or Saturday
- Promo code is XML
- Discount is up to 30%
- The rate is eligible for points and night credits
Note that BreakAway is a special rate that Marriott voluntarily offers to its partners, which is different to the individually negotiated corporate rates that these companies may be entitled to. The rate should be for personal (leisure) use only, which is why the weekend-stay restriction, although it’s mentioned that some hotels may waive it.
I’ve checked some hotels and listed the rates for comparison (BreakAway v.s. other best available rate):
- London Marriott County Hall £297 / £343
- London Marriott Marble Arch £153 / £177
- AC Hotel Manchester City Centre £102 / £103
- Aloft Birmingham Eastside £89 / £74
- The Glasshouse Edinburgh £229 / £218
- W Barcelona €325 / €329
- Hotel Bristol Vienna €210 / €255
- The Ritz-Carlton, Istanbul €207 / €247
- St Regis New York $737 / $818
- The Westin San Francisco $187 / $198
- Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre C$187 / C$222
The discount against Best Flexible Rate is more often closer to 10%, which makes it not competitive at all since most hotels would also have pre-paid rates or other deals. However there are also many generous hotels – Hotel Bristol Vienna for example offers a discount of 40%.
If you work for an eligible company, it’s something worth keeping in mind when you need to book a Marriott hotel. Remember that you need to show the business card / ID when you check in.
Register Now: Marriott Q1 Every Night Counts promotion
Marriott’s Q1 promotion Every Night Counts is now open for registration.
You can access the offer here.
- Register by April 20th
- Stay between February 8th and May 4th
- 1,000 bonus points and 1 additional night credit for every paid night
- Homes & Villas, Marriott Vacation Club and Marriott Executive Apartments excluded
It’s quite similar to what Marriott offered last year, except that double points becomes 1,000 bonus points. The offer is very enticing, especially as Marriott is not giving free night credits this year like the last two, so maintaining elite status is not that easy anymore.
There was a sweet spot last year, where you could do 5 award nights + 1 paid night and earn double points/credits for the entire stay. I don’t think it will work this time, as it says every paid night instead of every paid stay, however the official FAQs should follow suit very soon to confirm.