Help me with best use of 1.6L Amex Points

[nomad47]

Hi all, between myself and my wife, we have around 1.6L MR points. We are planning a trip next year (July) in SEA probably Indonesia or Vietnam.
I know Marriot is my best option, but 90% of Marriot properties shows unavailable when I select 4 people (2 adult+2 child).
Also, Indonesia being cheaper, the available options does not give much bang for buck redemption.
Are there any ways to use these points to fund the return air ticket? (Singapore airlines charges around 38k points per person on this route from whatI have seen so my points won't be sufficient).
What other options are available.
Any hack to get Marriot property for 4 people with these points?

P.s. Mods, apologies if this is the wrong section to post this. Kindly move to relevant section.

 

[Avatar Aang]

Currently which Marriott tier do you have?
It's usually difficult to extract high value from MB points in SE.

 

[nomad47]

Currently which Marriott tier do you have?
It's usually difficult to extract high value from MB points in SE.

I have just started on Marriot. So no status.
Any other destinations? The main problem I ma facing is for 4 occupancy majority of Marriot properties are unavailable.

 

[Avatar Aang]

I have just started on Marriot. So no status.
Any other destinations? The main problem I ma facing is for 4 occupancy majority of Marriot properties are unavailable.

If you've just started. I'll suggest you skip Marriott.
Marriott doesn't provide complimentary breakfast for award stays.
IMO you should sell the Marriott points. For 1.6L Marriott points you'll get 80K INR. With this you can book good luxury stays in SE Asia for 5-7 Nights depending on the resort.

 

[nomad47]

That's another way. How do we sell Marriot Points reliably?

 

[Avatar Aang]

That's another way. How do we sell Marriot Points reliably?

Join RML group on TF.

 

[navdeep22]

@nomad47
btw i visited vietnam earlier this year, and stayed in sheraton hanoi 2pax for 39-40k points for 3 night, it was around 1Rp=1Rs only, so you can get better value in some cases.

In my case i got points in december and had trip in january , so short time and availability might have increased points value there

i check 1 month before booking 48-52k points for 3 night booking
check around 2 weeks before arrival date it was 42-44k for 3 nights booked
check 1 week before arrival date it was 39.5 points, so cancelled and booked again

I didnt have that much time to plan to didnt check that far for availability.
Shared my experiance not sure if that helps in any way

 

[Avatar Aang]

@nomad47
btw i visited vietnam earlier this year, and stayed in sheraton hanoi 2pax for 39-40k points for 3 night, it was around 1Rp=1Rs only, so you can get better value in some cases.

In my case i got points in december and had trip in january , so short time and availability might have increased points value there

i check 1 month before booking 48-52k points for 3 night booking
check around 2 weeks before arrival date it was 42-44k for 3 nights booked
check 1 week before arrival date it was 39.5 points, so cancelled and booked again

I didnt have that much time to plan to didnt check that far for availability.
Shared my experiance not sure if that helps in any way

1Rs per point is really good value for Marriott points. I think the value could have gone up if you had stayed for 5 Nights.
Did you get complimentary breakfasts?

 

[navdeep22]

1Rs per point is really good value for Marriott points. I think the value could have gone up if you had stayed for 5 Nights.
Did you get complimentary breakfasts?

yeah had to change city after 3rd day.
No did not get brakfast only silver tier

 

[Avatar Aang]

yeah had to change city after 3rd day.
No did not get brakfast only silver tier

I once stayed for a night at JW Pune. Used the Free award night provided by HDFC Marriott Bonvoy card. Asked them for complimentary breakfast and I was lucky enough to get it.
But no complimentary breakfast is a disappointing. Especially on a foreign tour.

 

[navdeep22]

I once stayed for a night at JW Pune. Used the Free award night provided by HDFC Marriott Bonvoy card. Asked them for complimentary breakfast and I was lucky enough to get it.
But no complimentary breakfast is a disappointing. Especially on a foreign tour.

yeah asked them, twice thrice but they rejected. i even said ill pay extra with points , denied

 

[sachbs]

Hi all, between myself and my wife, we have around 1.6L MR points. We are planning a trip next year (July) in SEA probably Indonesia or Vietnam.
I know Marriot is my best option, but 90% of Marriot properties shows unavailable when I select 4 people (2 adult+2 child).
Also, Indonesia being cheaper, the available options does not give much bang for buck redemption.
Are there any ways to use these points to fund the return air ticket? (Singapore airlines charges around 38k points per person on this route from whatI have seen so my points won't be sufficient).
What other options are available.
Any hack to get Marriot property for 4 people with these points?

P.s. Mods, apologies if this is the wrong section to post this. Kindly move to relevant section.

I was able to book 2 return tickets from Hyderabad to Japan using cathay pacific for June 2025. It cost me 75000 miles i.e. 1,50,000. I paid an additional INR 45,000 in taxes. It should be the same cost for Vietnam as well. Plus since Hong Kong is visa free for Indians, you can take a day to cover the city during your layover.
I understand that Vietnam flight tickets might be cheaper from LCCs, but since there are 4 of you travelling, this might work out for you.

 

[bhavik886151]

Currently which Marriott tier do you have?
It's usually difficult to extract high value from MB points in SE.

which card is a best with good reward rare for go higher tier of marriot with out stay as i am collection amex points for a fully point funded foreign trip next year with family currently have 3 lakh point and will complete 4 lakh by these year end

 

[Avatar Aang]

which card is a best with good reward rare for go higher tier of marriot with out stay as i am collection amex points for a fully point funded foreign trip next year with family currently have 3 lakh point and will complete 4 lakh by these year end

Honestly speaking I'm not a Marriott Expert. HDFC Marriott Bonvoy will help you for the silver tier but I doubt if there any card exists in India which will help you to get higher tier.

 

[bhavik886151]

Honestly speaking I'm not a Marriott Expert. HDFC Marriott Bonvoy will help you for the silver tier but I doubt if there any card exists in India which will help you to get higher tier.

thank you so much for the reply

 

[nomad47]

Honestly speaking I'm not a Marriott Expert. HDFC Marriott Bonvoy will help you for the silver tier but I doubt if there any card exists in India which will help you to get higher tier.

IIRC Amex Platinum gives gold status for Marriot

 

[Anduril]

Any hack to get Marriot property for 4 people with these points?

You can book for 2 adults+1child. At the time of checkin you can get an extra bed at an additional cost.

Coming to SE Asia, for 1.6L points you'll get good options in Vietnam and Thailand. We stayed in Four-points Sheraton in Vietnam recently using points.
I'm on Bonvoy Gold and SE Asia Marriott properties usually give complementary breakfast during check-in (except Singapore) but since you are on MB base tier, probably complementary breakfast won't be available. But the beauty of SE Asia is, there will be ample options available outside close to your hotel.

Another good option to avail those points is Bhutan. There are 2 Le Meridien properties in Thimphu and Paro and with 1.6L points you can easily get 2 nights at both places. Just did that trip a month back and I could get 2 nights in Le Meridien Thimphu for 50K points in and another 2 nights in Paro for 80K points. In both places the points to Rs. ratio was 1:2 which is a very good deal.

 

[nomad47]

You can book for 2 adults+1child. At the time of checkin you can get an extra bed at an additional cost.

Coming to SE Asia, for 1.6L points you'll get good options in Vietnam and Thailand. We stayed in Four-points Sheraton in Vietnam recently using points.
I'm on Bonvoy Gold and SE Asia Marriott properties usually give complementary breakfast during check-in (except Singapore) but since you are on MB base tier, probably complementary breakfast won't be available. But the beauty of SE Asia is, there will be ample options available outside close to your hotel.

Another good option to avail those points is Bhutan. There are 2 Le Meridien properties in Thimphu and Paro and with 1.6L points you can easily get 2 nights at both places. Just did that trip a month back and I could get 2 nights in Le Meridien Thimphu for 50K points in and another 2 nights in Paro for 80K points. In both places the points to Rs. ratio was 1:2 which is a very good deal.

Oo I like this idea of booking for 3. Do I need to contact the hotel before to have an agreement or they will add the additional member at chcekin? Also any idea how much they charge for additional child?

 

[Anduril]

Oo I like this idea of booking for 3. Do I need to contact the hotel before to have an agreement or they will add the additional member at chcekin? Also any idea how much they charge for additional child?

I have a friend whose children are 9 and 5, we use this method to book and it works.
How old are you your children ? You can contact the hotel but usually they don't care as long as the children are younger can stay in the same room with their parents.
As for the charge, it varies from hotel to hotel but usually it's in the range of 2k-3k max/day (mostly will be lower).
Since you'll pay that in hotel, you can try using your leftover points for that too.

 

[nomad47]

I have a friend whose children are 9 and 5, we use this method to book and it works.
How old are you your children ? You can contact the hotel but usually they don't care as long as the children are younger can stay in the same room with their parents.
As for the charge, it varies from hotel to hotel but usually it's in the range of 2k-3k max/day (mostly will be lower).
Since you'll pay that in hotel, you can try using your leftover points for that too.

7 and 2 years. So should not be an issue I think . This was really helpful. Thanks