by B. B. James

Created on: November 09, 2009

There are hundreds of customer loyalty programs operating today, and it's hard to figure out which ones are the best or which ones make the most sense for a particular consumer. However, the Marriott Rewards Program is rightfully one of the largest and most popular. The program's popularity rests on the ease with which rewards points can be accrued and the many options for using those points for hotel night or other benefits.

Let's focus on how to earn the points.

1. Register. Registering is free and it generates 5,000. Since the cheapest Marriott room can be had for 7,500 points, just a basic registration goes a long way towards a free visit. If that registration is tied to a Marriott-brand credit card, then the reward goes up to 15,000 points (of which 10,000 are given at the start and 5,000 are given at the one-year anniversary if the card has been used).

2. Stay at Marriott hotels. Rewards Program participants get 10 points for every dollar spent at a Marriott hotel. This is the baseline of the card's promotion of Marriott properties. Given an average of $150/night per room, that's 1500 points for a single stay at a fairly modestly priced motel or hotel. It should be remembered that Marriott owns the Renaissance, Springhill, TownePlace and Fairfield brands, as well as the brands called Marriott. In other words, there are lots of options for earning points. (Not coincidentally, this also means that there are lots of options for using points, too.)

3. Partners. Marriott has an array of partners, and doing business with these companies will generate 1 point for every dollar spent. Some partners are travel-related, such as rental car companies Hertz and Sixt. Some partners sell stuff, such as Old Navy, Dick's Sporting Goods, Dell Computer, etc. Others offer financial services. There are more than 100 of these partners. Unfortunately, Marriott does not have airline partners: Marriott points cannot be earned by flying, though Marriott points can be redeemed in order to generate airline frequent flier miles.

4. Credit Card. Chase Bank offers a Marriott-brand credit card. Signing up for the card is free for the first year, and it's $30/year after that. But each anniversary generates 5,000 Marriott points, so it's a good deal. On the card, most purchases generate 1 point for each dollar; a few things generate more than 1 point. The card is a Visa, and it comes with all the standard charges and features of any other card. For people who can handle credit, this is a great deal.

5. Special deals. For especially high users, there are a few extra deals. These include bonus points for staying at Marriotts for more than 10 nights during a specific promotional period, or buying a Marriott timeshare, or for booking a meeting at a Marriott hotel (if you are a meeting planner). The details are always posted online and announced through mailings from the company.

While the Marriott Rewards Program works just like the programs developed 25 years ago by the airlines, it's a much better deal for most people. It's easy to earn points; the array of choices is broader than most airlines can offer. Second, Marriott has 3,000 hotels worldwide, and none of them are ever blacked-out for points usage. Never. Sometimes, the hotels are sold out, but if rooms are available, a customer is never prohibited from using the points. This is a major contrast with airlines, which typically reserve a few seats on a flight for frequent flier users. With Marriott, you can stay where you want and when you want - as long as you have the points.

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