How it works
Normal hotel search asks where you want to go. We ask what you have.
1. Start with your balance
Tell us how many Marriott Bonvoy points you have. No destination, no dates, no account connection. We show you the stays that balance can actually book: five nights in Kyoto, a week in the Maldives, a long weekend in Venice.
2. We judge every stay against its cash price
Think of your points as a jar of tokens. You can spend tokens on a hotel instead of paying money. What matters is how much money each token saves you, so for every stay we work it out:
Cash price ÷ points = value per point
Higher is better. A higher number means each point is saving you more money.
The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort
5 nights: $6,420 in cash, or 280,000 points.
$6,420 ÷ 280,000 = 2.29¢ per point
Each point saves you 2.29¢. Use your points.
5 nights: $610 in cash, or 140,000 points.
$610 ÷ 140,000 = 0.44¢ per point
Each point saves you 0.44¢. Pay cash, save your points.
Preview: sample prices for illustration. The first stay gets you 5 times as much from every point.
The simple rule
- Higher number: your points are doing a lot of work. Use them.
- Lower number: your points are being wasted. Pay with money and keep the points for a better trip.
How we rate a stay
| Value per point | Rating |
|---|---|
| 1.5¢ or more | Exceptional |
| 1.0¢ to 1.5¢ | Great |
| 0.7¢ to 1.0¢ | Fair |
| Under 0.7¢ | Pay cash |
You never have to do the math: we work out the number for every stay and turn it into a plain verdict. We also compare each stay with what that hotel usually charges, so a stay can stand out because it costs fewer points than usual.
Marriott makes the fifth night of an award stay free, so five-night stays often stand out. We account for that automatically.
3. Sometimes we tell you to pay cash
Below 0.7¢ a point, your Bonvoy points are worth more somewhere else. When that happens we say so, plainly: save your points, pay cash. That honesty is the point of AwardEscape.
4. You book directly with Marriott
AwardEscape never takes your booking. Every link goes straight to marriott.com, where your reservation, your status and your points stay exactly where they belong. We may earn a commission on some cash bookings, which never affects our recommendations.
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