Last week Marriott Rewards launched a new online shopping portal. And despite its short existence, there have already been changes. So here’s a Marriott Rewards MORE update.
As you may recall from last week, Marriott Rewards MORE is Marriott’s replacement for ShopMyWay Mall. And while it’s nice to have this option once again, the selection of retailers is TINY.
Marriott Rewards MORE Update
Not even a week since launch and Marriott Rewards MORE’s retailer lineup has already been changed. Can you tell what’s gone missing?
That’s right; Amazon and Best Buy have both been removed from the portal. At launch, members could earn 3 points per $1 spent at Amazon and 0.5 points per $1 spent at Best Buy, but those options have since disappeared. And I can’t say I’m surprised. Amazon is an incredibly popular website and the last time it appeared on a portal, it vanished within days. Oh, and my points were reversed out. This time, however, it seems as if my points are here to stay. I hope.
Questions Answered on Points Accrual
Reader and friend SeaTexan pointed out last week that she had received bonus points from the portal for being a Marriott Rewards Platinum Elite. She also suspected at the time that a bonus would be given to Gold Elite members too, though I saw no such activity at the time. However, after logging into my account recently, I now see that a Gold Elite bonus has been applied to my account.
What’s interesting, though, is when you break down my actual earnings, I earned 64 base points on a $32 purchase. That means the actual award rate was 2 points per $1, rather than the advertised 3 points (online) or 4 points (app). This isn’t all that big a deal for me, but it does show how inconsistent the portal has been thus far. However, you’ll also notice three bonuses from the purchase too.
The first is the 1,000 point bonus that is awarded for your first purchase made through the portal ($25 or more). The second two are the Gold Elite bonus and the Marriott Rewards Visa bonus. Both bonuses amount to 50% of the purchase price, so my overall points earnings equal 3 points per $1.
What’s even more interesting about these bonuses, though, is the fact that I didn’t use my Marriott Rewards Visa for the purchase. I have the card, but I made my purchase using my Chase Freedom Unlimited.
Marriott Rewards MORE Update, Final Thoughts
So there you have it. The loss of Amazon as a retailer is disappointing but come as no surprise to me. Hopefully, though, they’ll add more retailers soon, as the current selection just isn’t sufficient. I also wish the program terms would be made more explicit. There were a lot of questions at launch, though we’ve no answered a number of them. But, again, I’m glad we have this option back and am hoping to see future improvements.