Marriott Bonvoy Cash + Points
Marriott Bonvoy lets members pay for a stay with a combination of points and cash instead of choosing one or the other. The option is called Cash + Points, but the name covers two different booking types with different rules.
One type can still be booked on Marriott’s website and app. The other was removed from online booking on January 16, 2025, and now requires a phone call. This article explains how each type works, which rules apply, and how to check whether the price makes sense for your stay.
Two Booking Types Share One Name
The first type is the Cash + Points Award. Each night is paid with a set number of points plus a cash copay. The program sets the mix, and it is often close to half points and half cash. It applies to standard rooms at participating hotels and can be used for one night or more.
The second type is a customized reservation for a multi-night stay. You pay for some nights entirely with points and other nights entirely with cash, all under one confirmation number. Its main advantage is practical: you don’t need two reservations, and you don’t risk changing rooms in the middle of the stay.
| Item | Cash + Points Award | Customized by-night reservation |
|---|---|---|
| How each night is paid | A set mix of points and cash | Entirely points or entirely cash, chosen night by night |
| Length of stay | One night or more | Multi-night stays only |
| Where to book | Marriott website or app | By phone only since January 16, 2025 |
| Points earned on the cash portion | No | No |
What Changed on January 16, 2025
Marriott’s website used to include a tool for choosing points or cash for each night of a stay. That tool was removed on January 16, 2025, and it has not returned.
The customized reservation still exists, but only through Marriott Bonvoy customer service by phone. The Cash + Points Award was not affected and remains available online.
If you plan to call, prepare first:
- Look up both prices: Search your dates on the website twice, once with points and once with cash, and write down the nightly price for each.
- Decide the split: Mark which nights you want on points and which on cash. Points usually make more sense on the nights with the highest cash rates.
- Give the agent exact instructions: State the payment method for each date. Not every agent is familiar with this booking type, so if the agent cannot do it, ask for a transfer or call again.
- Check the confirmation: Make sure the points total and cash total match what you were quoted.
How to Book a Cash + Points Award Online
The fixed version takes a few minutes on the website or app.
- Sign in: Log in to your Marriott Bonvoy account.
- Search with points: Enter your destination and dates, select “Use Points / Awards,” and run the search.
- Open the hotel’s rate page: Cash + Points rates are not shown in the search results list. You have to open each hotel to see whether one is offered.
- Select the rate: If available, the Cash + Points rate appears alongside the regular award rate.
- Review and confirm: Check the points, the cash amount, taxes, and the cancellation deadline, which the hotel sets.
If your dates are open, the “Flexible Dates” option under the date field shows where the points price is lowest.
If you are short on points for the award portion, you can buy the missing points during checkout. Marriott allows the purchase of up to 100,000 points per calendar year, for yourself or for another member.
Rules to Know Before You Book
These rules apply to Cash + Points Awards.
- Availability: Each hotel decides whether to offer it and when. The number of participating hotels is limited, and it covers standard rooms only.
- Pricing: The cash and points amounts are updated continuously and can change at any time. Marriott has used dynamic award pricing since March 2022, so there is no fixed chart to check.
- Modifications: If you change the reservation, it is repriced at current rates and you cover any difference.
- No points on the cash portion: The cash copay is not a qualifying charge and earns no points or miles. Other qualifying charges during the stay still earn points as usual.
- Ambassador Elite spend: The cash portion does not count toward the Ambassador Elite annual qualifying spend.
- Taxes and fees: You pay taxes and service charges on the cash portion. Resort fees, where a hotel charges them, apply as they do on any award stay.
- Fifth night benefit: Stay for 5, Pay for 4 does not apply to Cash + Points Awards.
- Elite nights: The nights count toward elite status.
- Program changes: Marriott may modify, limit, or cancel the Cash + Points structure at any time without notice.
Homes & Villas has its own Cash & Points Payment option. It follows separate rules and is not the same product.
Not the Same as a Paid Room Upgrade
A regular award booking may show a cash charge for a better room. This is a Premium Room Redemption Award. You redeem points for the stay and pay a nightly cash amount for the upgrade to a suite or a room with a better view.
That cash is charged to your room bill during the stay. It cannot be paid with points, earns no points, and is subject to taxes and service charges. It is a separate award type, even though the final bill also mixes points and cash.
How to Tell Whether the Rate Is Worth It
A Cash + Points Award is not automatically cheaper. Compare three prices for the same room and dates: the full cash rate with taxes, the full points rate, and the Cash + Points rate with taxes.
Here is a hypothetical example. A room costs $260 with taxes, or 44,000 points. The Cash + Points rate is 22,000 points plus $143 with taxes.
- Value of a full redemption: Using 44,000 points to cover $260 gives about 0.59 cents per point.
- Value of a Cash + Points redemption: After paying $143 in cash, the remaining 22,000 points only cover $117 ($260 minus $143), which drops the value to about 0.53 cents per point.
In this case, the redemption value per point under Cash + Points (0.53 cents) is lower than a full points redemption (0.59 cents), making the full points rate the better choice.
Two more checks are worth making. A paid stay earns 10 base points per dollar on the room rate at most Marriott brands, while the cash copay earns nothing. And the standard or member cash rate is sometimes low enough to beat both award options.
Mixing Paid and Award Nights Without Calling
There is an alternative to the phone booking. Make two separate reservations online for the same room type: one with points and one with cash, back to back. Then contact the hotel and ask to have the reservations linked so you keep the same room.
This approach has two advantages. The paid reservation is a regular qualifying stay, so it earns points. And a points-only reservation of five consecutive nights keeps the Stay for 5, Pay for 4 benefit.
The drawback is that the hotel handles room continuity as a request and does not guarantee it. Contact the hotel a few days before arrival and mention it again at check-in.
Bottom Line
Cash + Points is useful when you are short on points or want to keep some for a later trip. It needs a quick price check each time, because the cash portion earns no points, carries taxes, and gives up the fifth night benefit.
The fixed Cash + Points Award is still easy to book online at participating hotels. The by-night version now takes a phone call, or two linked reservations if you prefer to book online. Compare the cash rate, the points rate, and the combined rate for your dates before choosing.
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