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Did you know your points can be used for other things besides flights, hotels, or *shudders*, cash back?
Many hotel and airline programs offer the option to redeem or bid in an auction to win experiences. This is how I was able to win a meet and greet with Jason Kelce for just 1 point! Then I won another chance to meet him for 6,200 points! For those that are points millionaires, there was even an auction to win suite tickets and accommodations to this year’s big game in New Orleans. So what the heck am I talking about?
Marriott Bonvoy Moments.
If you have Marriott points, you can currently bid on various experiential options across sports, food, travel, and entertainment options across the world. New experiences are constantly being added!
Watch Manchester United take on Arsenal or try to win some points against Ipswich Town, see Tiesto perform in Dubai, or watch the University of Tennessee men’s and women’s basketball team. Or try to win a chance for an intimate dinner at Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas. There is something for everyone, but the question is do you have enough points?
That is where Marriott releases highly-coveted instant redemptions including a 1-point drop promotion that has previously featured opportunities to watch the Eagles play with Jason Kelce, meet Lewis Hamilton and attend the Dutch Grand Prix, tequila tasting with Breaking Bad stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, or take the “hot” seat with Hot Ones host Sean Evans. There are also other instant redemptions that may cost a reasonable amount of points or money as well.
If you aren’t points rich, hopefully you are a fast clicker. I was able to snag both the Kelce 1-point drop and also a Mystery Moment with Jason Kelce for 6,200 points. Some tips I recommend to have a chance in winning these drops is to be logged in a few minutes before the drop is set to occur (Marriott typically tells you what time they will release), use the Time.gov site (extremely accurate atomic clock site) and refresh about 1 second before the drop is timed to occur, and don’t read the terms and conditions and just hit “accept!” when you have to check a box to accept the terms of winning the event. Both Kelce events I won had all the slots taken within a few seconds, and I was somehow able to snag them both using those tips.
The Marriott 1-point drop was a watch party in the suburbs of LA to watch the Eagles take on the Rams. Jason Kelce made an appearance, did Q&A, signed autographs, raffled off prizes. Only the event was provided and flights and accommodations needed to be booked separately. There were also a few slots available for auction, and others noted they paid around 150k points to win.
The hotel, Courtyard Marriott Monterey Park, played host to the event and provided modern and welcoming accommodations. We were even upgraded to their 2-bedroom suite as a Platinum member!! Being Philly-based, I flew out of Newark on United directly to LAX.
In addition to the 1-point drop, I was able to win a Mystery Moment in Philadelphia for 6,200 Marriott points, representing Kelce’s #62 when he played for the Eagles. Again, I somehow proved I was the world’s fastest clicker to secure this event. This event was a complete mystery to those who won, with the only information provided at the time of redemption being the date of the event. Then a few days before the event, we learned what time and where to meet.
A day full of surprises that only a football fan could dream of.
The event was a complete mystery but the only clue, provided just days before the event – meet at the Courtyard Marriott by The Linc. Surely that meant we would be going into the stadium right? But what would happen there if we did go?
The day of, less than 20 fans and lucky winners arrived at the Courtyard Marriott by the Navy Yard. We were treated to breakfast, pictures with a cardboard cutout with Jason Kelce, and jitteriness on what the day would look like. We were ushered onto buses after our breakfast with no idea where we were headed. Well, my prediction came true, we were off to the stadium!!
A group of Eagles Cheerleaders and the mascot, Swoop, met us in the players parking lot, where we were greeted by team staff. We walked through the tunnel where media often films and photographs players walking into the locker room, received a locker room tour, and were assigned our own lockers! I was feeling pretty anxious at that point as it looked like there was gear there to set us up for team tryouts, like the Eagles had in the 1970s. The issue is I am more of a Dennis Reynolds than a Vince Papale…and I haven’t exercised in 10 years. The cameras are here and I am not ready to make a fool of myself. Fortunately, the equipment was actually for the real players. Our assigned lockers had gifts waiting for us including a Marriott-themed ugly sweater, the newest version of A Philly Christmas Party on vinyl, and other Eagles-related merch/gifts.
We received a quick locker room tour, and also were able to pose with the Lombardi Trophy that the Eagles won during the 2017 season. Then Jason walked in.
Similar to the LA event, he held a Q&A session, talked about his time playing for the Eagles, and led us out onto the field. Attendees were treated with an unforgettable walkout onto the field, just like the players do on Sundays, name on the jumbotron and all. Then we posed for pictures and received autographs from Jason. Marriott also had professional photographers on site and sent us Marriott-themed Christmas cards of us at the event with Jason!
Other programs with experiences
Marriott isn’t the only program that offers members the ability to redeem their points for experiences, although I think they are one of the better ones based on how many they have and how fun and unique they are.
Hilton has their Hilton Honors Experience program, where you can currently bid on various events including VIP tickets to F1 races + accommodations, NHL games with VIP access, or meet & greet with tennis pros. At the time of this post, there were only 24 experiences to redeem or bid for.
Hyatt has more options with 500+ experiential options with FIND Experiences by World of Hyatt, ranging from culture, food, and sports. However, the experiences are more centered around offering experiences while staying in areas that have Hyatt hotels such as local cooking classes, food and drink tours, or curated historical tours. These packages are generally suplemental to existing hotel stays and can be redeemed at a fixed cash or points rate. This is a change of pace vs. Marriott and Hilton that offer “home run” deals that may require over a million points.
Choice Hotels and IHG also offer experiences, but options are currently limited.
Airlines have their own programs as well. Qatar Airways has their Privilege Club Collection, which is more similar to Marriott and Hilton and focus on larger events such as Formula One, international soccer games, and hard-to-get concerts at the Barclays Arena in New York or the O2 Arena in the UK. United Airlines has MileagePlus Experiences, which let you bid on various food, culture, and sporting events or even the opportunity to tour an airport! Delta has their SkyMiles Experiences, which is similar to United but maybe slightly more elevated and more travel-focused. American has a program but it’s nothing to write home about… save them up for JAL redemptions instead.
