Get 200,000 bonus points with Marriott Bonvoy World Elite Mastercard

Emirates NBD is offering a welcome bonus of up to 200,000 Bonvoy points when you sign up for the Emirates NBD Marriott Bonvoy World Elite Mastercard.

The Emirates NBD Marriot Bonvoy Mastercard is one of only two hotel loyalty co-brand cards available in the UAE. It comes with complimentary Gold Elite status in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty programme.

A couple of things to keep in mind. A welcome bonus of 75,000 is earned when the card is activated. However, you must spend US$10,000 over the first three months you hold the card to trigger the additional 75,000 bonus.

The annual fee for the Emirates NBD Marriott Bonvoy Mastercard is AED 1,575.

If it is hotel status you are after, there are a few other routes to get free status via UAE issued charge and credit cards.

What are the benefits of Bonvoy Gold Elite?

One of the major perks of Bonvoy status is that Marriott is the largest hotel group in the world. Wherever you are travelling and whatever your budget, there will almost always be a Marriott hotel nearby.

The Marriott portfolio includes 30 hotel brands ranging from the Ritz-Carlton, Edition and St Regis to the W, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Westin and Aloft. Marriott operates more than 6,900 properties across 130 countries.

Marriott has an excellent footprint in the Middle East with amazing hotels such as the Al Maha Desert Resort outside of Dubai and the iconic Al Bustan Palace near Muscat.

Marriot Bonvoy has five tier levels. Gold Elite status is the second from the bottom. The benefits are not extensive:

• 2 pm late check-out
• ‘Enhanced’ Room Upgrade at check-in
• 25% bonus on base points earned
• Gold Welcome Gift – usually miles

For expats in the Middle East, the most exciting benefit on offer is the late check-out at 2 pm. That can be particularly useful for weekend breaks around the region and staycations in the UAE.

The ‘enhanced’ room upgrade is not as impressive as it sounds. It just means a better room within the category you have booked. It is not an ‘upgrade’ in the conventional sense most travellers would understand.

However, both the late check-out and enhanced room upgrades are subject to availability. It is not guaranteed that you will receive either of these benefits.

Annual free night and stay credits

The card comes with a couple of extra Bonvoy benefits over and above the standard Gold Elite perks:

• 1 Free Night Award on your Card anniversary. This is redeemable for a one-night stay worth up to 35,000 points.
• 5 Elite Night Credits towards achieving your next Elite status level within the Marriott Bonvoy programme.

The free night award is possibly the most valuable Bonvoy perks with the card.

Airport lounge access with World Mastercard

There are five tiers of Mastercard: Gold, Titanium, Platinum, World and World Elite. Each level has a different collection of Lifestyle, Insurance and Travel benefits.

The Emirates NBD Marriott Bonvoy co-card is a ‘World Mastercard’. This second-highest tier offers a range of useful benefits, from travel discounts to elite car rental status. You can find the full list of World Mastercard perks here.

The most helpful perk for frequent flying expats will be worldwide airport lounge access. Mastercard has partnered with LoungeKey to provide global access to a network of over 900 airport lounges.

How valuable are Marriott Bonvoy points?

Bonvoy points can be very valuable. The card earns a base rate of 3 points per US$1 and 6 points per US$1 for spend at Marriott properties.

The 150,000 bonus points are enough for a three-night stay at Category 7 hotels like the Ritz Carlton, Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert or The Westin Miriandhoo Resort in the Maldives.

One of the attractions of Bonvoy points is that it is a transferable currency. Marriott has transfer partnerships with 40 frequent-flyer programmes. Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest and British Airways Executive Club are all Bonvoy airline transfer partners.

Bonvoy points transfer to most airline programmes at a ratio of 3:1. Bonvoy will also add a 5,000 miles bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer.

Combining the welcome bonus, transfer bonuses and points earned from spend would give you close to 80,000 Skywards, Etihad Guest or British Airways Avios.

Should you add the Emirates NBD Marriott Bonvoy card to your wallet?

The Emirates NBD Marriott Bonvoy World Mastercard is one of only two hotel co-brand cards issued in the UAE. Any UAE expats spending more than a few nights every year in hotels would certainly benefit from having the card in their wallet.

If you want elite hotel status, this is not the only option in town. There are other ways to obtain free hotel status via UAE issued charge and credit cards.