Up until 29th December you can buy Starwood Preferred Guest points which can convert into Marriott Rewards at a 35% discount. You can buy these on the SPG website.
You need to buy a minimum of 5,000 points and can buy up to a maximum of 30,000 points which will cost you $682.50 USD (£522 GBP).
30,000 Starwood points would also convert into 90,000 Marriott Rewards points. If you are working towards a Marriott Travel Package redemption, then buying the full 30,000 Starwood points may well make sense.
This Venice hotel is a Marriott category 8 property which means I can stay here for a week on the Marriott Reward Plus Hotel & Air Package for 290,000 Marriott rewards or 96,000 spg points (as you can transfer them over at a rate of 1SPG=3 Marriott) PLUS I get 55,000 Air Miles (in my case I collect Avios which I value at around £0.02 GBP per point making 55,000 worth £1100 GBP to me). With the Marriott Reward Plus Hotel & Air Package, 96,000 spg points will get me a stay (7 nights) worth €2597 EUR ($3017 USD) + 55,000 Avios worth £1100 GBP ($1438 USD) of Avios. This values my SPG points at $4,455 USD / 96,000 = $0.046 USD.
Alternatively, if I book 5 nights (which is probably long enough at this property) I can book 4 nights and get the 5th free which costs 160,000 Marriott points (53,333 SPG) in mid-August. I could book this for cash and it would cost me €1,855 EUR (€371 EUR per night). This values my SPG points at $1,855 USD / 160,000 = €0.0116 EUR * 3 or $0.01 USD and my SPG points at $0.04 USD.
Interestingly, with the Marriott Reward Plus Hotel & Air Package, 360,000 Marriott Rewards = 120,000 SPG will get me a 7-night stay worth €2597 EUR ($3017 USD)+ 120,000 Avios which I value at £2400 GBP ($3138 USD) of Avios. This values my SPG points at $4,455 USD / 120,000 = $0.036 USD.
If I purchase 30,000 points for $682.50 USD these are therefore worth $1,392 USD to me. Points post within 24 hours. Of course, your valuation of points and miles may well be different from mine!
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