There are eighteen different options on how to use your MVC point. One of the options is staying at one of the more luxurious hotels or residences, and using MVC points to do so. The best value — hands down — is using MVC points on MVC properties. But sometimes you want a really nice place to stay, and there aren’t any MVC properties in that area. You can use MVC points to stay in VERY nice hotels or luxury residences throughout the the world, part of the Explorer Collection. You could stay at the Westin in Seattle pictured above for $227 a night, or 550 MVC points a night.
I ran a bunch of comparisons on cash price vs MVC points on a variety of hotels available with the “Hotels and Luxury Residences” option. I found a few interesting observations. Staying at foreign hotels using MVC points gives you a better value for Destination points than staying at US hotels. The average value for Destination points in a foreign hotel was just over 56 cents per points compared to almost 33 cents per point for domestic hotels.
Another observation I made was the number of properties being continually added to this option –– there are way more hotels and luxury residences than a year ago, which is a good thing. Check back often to the available hotels available if you are looking at this option in using your Destination points.
So is using MVC points for Hotels and Luxury Residences something you should seriously consider? I say yes, with caution. It gives you the opportunity to stay at amazing hotels using your Destination Points — for 1 night or a whole week in hotels that aren’t MVC properties. But you should do some homework to understand the “best bang for your buck” for your particular situation. Do your own comparison. See how many Destination points it takes, and compare it to the cash price (remember to include all fees and taxes), and the Bonvoy points required (if you have enough Bonvoy points to make it a viable option) — all for the same room type and date. If the Bonvoy point value is over .8 cents that’s above average for Bonvoy points. Or if the MVC point value is over 60 cents, it’s above average for using points for Hotels and Luxury Residences. Having said that, you would get about $1.50ish for MVC properties per MVC point — a much better value in using your points.
Thanks Shanna, can you post an example of how you’re calculating your cost per point using both DPs and Bonvoy points?
Also, with the new valuation coming for Bonvoy points have you heard any news on what will become of the 5 and 7 day vouchers that included airfare?
Thomas — I just saw this!!! Oh my goodness, I have no idea how I missed your comment 6 months ago. Please accept my apologies. It is a high priority of mine to see and reply to messages within 24 hours.
I would be happy to explain how I calculate my point values. For DPs, I take a hefty sampling of MVC resorts, using each resort at random times — high and low seasons, etc. and compare number of DPs required to how much it would cost to rent the same units at the same time. I take the average and have come up with the number $1.57 per DP when using them for MVC properties.
For Bonvoy points, I use “The Points Guy” valuation. They follow the same process I do in calculating Bonvoy points, and it has been at 8 cents for a number of years now. Interestingly, with the dynamic pricing that Marriott went to in March, it didn’t affect the valuation of Bonvoy as many speculated it would.
As for the 5 and 7 day vouchers that included airfare, those are a thing of the past. Marriott no longer offers that benefit.
I hope that answered your long ago asked questions. Again, please accept my apologies. Let me know how I can assist you in the future.
Shanna