Marriott Bonvoy The accruals at Protea Hotels, one of Marriott’s lesser-known brands mainly found in Africa, are about to be significantly reduced in value.
If you pay at a Protea property on or after March 1, you will only earn 5 points per dollar (instead of 10 points per dollar), and half an elite night for every night you stay. This news was communicated to a number of Marriott Bonvoy members via email on Wednesday.
Here’s what you need to know.
Points earned are halved
Marriott Bonvoy rewards its members with 10 points for every dollar at most brands. The following brands earn less points per Marriott.
Brands earn 2.5 Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar spent qualified expenses:
- Marriott executive apartment.
Brands earn 5 Marriott Bonvoy points for every dollar spent on qualified expenses:
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- Element.
- Marriott International Homes & Villas.
- Motel.
- Towne Place apartment.
- Hotel Protea (for stays with check-out on or after March 1).
Related: Your Complete Guide to Marriott Hotel Brands
Elite midnight
This is a brand new concept for Marriott Bonvoy. For each night of stay at a Protea property, you’ll only earn midnight elite after the changes go into effect next month. For Marriott Bonvoy customers staying at Protea properties, eligibility becomes doubly difficult Marriott Bonvoy status.
To earn exclusive Titanium Elite status at Protea-branded hotels, which requires 75 elite nights in a calendar year, you’ll have to stay 150 amazing nights. Of course, you can earn elite nights with a Marriott co-branded credit cardand it is unlikely that Bonvoy customers in North America will stay only at Protea hotels.
Regardless, this is an unfavorable update for those pursuing Marriott’s elite status, and we hope it doesn’t roll out to other brands in Marriott’s portfolio.
Related: Sign up now to earn double Marriott elite nights and bonus points on all paid stays
bottom line
You’ll earn half of the points when you check out at Protea on or after March 1.
More interestingly, Marriott will only reward elite midnight for every night you stay at the brand. While Marriott has not yet applied the midnight elite framework to other brands earning less than 10 points per dollar, it has set a disturbing precedent.
