Points and miles open up travel opportunities that, quite frankly, may be out of reach for many. And while you may want your redemptions to always be luxurious, not all of them are going to be. There are times when using points for a practical redemption, like on standard hotel accommodations, can save you boatloads of money.

I’m a huge college football fan and travel often to see my team, the Oregon Ducks, play. In particular, I have one game this season highlighted on my calendar that I’m attending: the Oregon versus Penn State game. I most likely wouldn’t have been able to go without the help of points.

Here’s how I saved over $1,500 by using points to unlock the door on my next hotel stay.

I used points to save $1,500 on a college football weekend

The Oregon versus Penn State game will take place in State College, Pennsylvania, a town with a population of just slightly over 40,000 people, but with a football stadium that seats over 106,000 people. This specific game is a top-ten matchup and the famous “White Out” game. Penn State hosts a White Out game every year, usually against a ranked opponent, where all of the fans wear all white. It is one of the loudest sports atmospheres, and it sounds absolutely deafening inside Beaver Stadium, even when watching it on TV. I’m making sure to pack some earplugs. The stadium will be sold out.

State College is a small town, so hotel choices are limited, with most hotels sold out months in advance for this big game.

As someone who frequently travels to attend college football games, I knew hotel prices were going to be absolutely bonkers. Prices for that weekend, staying Friday through Sunday, were absolutely absurd, running upward of $750 per night for basic hotels like Hampton Inns or Hyatt Places. Granted, this is a small college town, so I wasn’t expecting any Ritz-Carlton or Conrad hotels, but I did have some sticker shock when I saw Courtyard by Marriotts costing upward of $1,100 per night.

You may be thinking, “There have to be cheaper hotels in the city,” and there are. But quite frankly, I didn’t feel comfortable staying there or want to pay upward of $500 a night for a Motel 6.

Typically, during major events, points availability at hotels is very limited. I always have to search far and wide and sometimes even split reservations up daily if I want to get a good deal and use points. I searched for hotels with points availability with Marriott and Hyatt. I only searched with these two chains because I have a stockpile of Marriott points, and with Hyatt, I can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points and get excellent value. Hyatt is the only hotel partner that I will transfer credit card points to. I didn’t even bother searching with Hilton, as I didn’t have any Hilton points and don’t like transferring points to Hilton, as it generally offers a very poor redemption value due to its frequent devaluations.

There was no points availability with Hyatt. I was quite disappointed because there was a Hyatt Place across from the stadium that caught my eye. Unfortunately, hotels tend to limit award night availability or significantly raise the points price during times of high demand.

I also checked the Marriott Bonvoy app daily, hoping to find award availability, but nothing was coming up. I kept searching because I refused to spend over $1,500 for two nights at an average hotel. Eventually, I got lucky, and a Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott popped up for just 25,000 Marriott points per night; I booked it immediately.

Since I have a healthy stash of over half a million Marriott Bonvoy points that I struggle to use, I was ecstatic when I found this deal. TPG’s September 2025 valuations peg Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents apiece, making 50,000 Bonvoy points worth just $350. With the cash prices over $1,500, I’m getting a value of 3 cents per point, almost four times TPG’s valuation, which is almost unheard of with Marriott’s frequent devaluations.

And while the hotel I’m staying at is nothing fancy, it will get the job done; plus, I likely won’t be spending much time in the room anyway.

Related: 5 reasons why every sports fan should have the Chase Sapphire Reserve

How I earned my Marriott points

I acquired all my Marriott points just from completing stays and targeted promotions. And I know it may be shocking, but I don’t have a Marriott cobranded credit card and still hold top-tier Titanium Elite status. I’ve gained a large chunk of these points from Marriott’s (seemingly) annual bonus points promotion, where you earn an extra 1,000 points per night on eligible stays. This promotion has typically run from part of February to part of April every year, and I always take advantage of it. I also have gained a fair amount of points as compensation when issues arose during my stays, like when I got 80,000 Bonvoy points for the air conditioning being broken during a Marriott stay in Paris last year during the Olympics.

TPG tip: I always add hotel bar or restaurant charges to my room bill so I can earn Marriott points on those charges.

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points

Here are some of the best ways to earn Marriott points:

• Stay at Marriott hotels
• Earn with a cobranded Marriott credit card
• Transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Transfer rewards from airline partners to Marriott Bonvoy

There are many ways to get Marriott points, but I recommend only the first two options (I’ll jump into that later).

What cards earn Marriott Bonvoy points?

The easiest way to earn Bonvoy points is to hold a cobranded Marriott card. You’ll earn Bonvoy points on all your purchases. Here are some popular cards and their welcome offers:

• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card (see rates and fees): Earn 125,000 bonus points and 1 Free Night Award (valued at up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Certain hotels may have resort fees.
• Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card (see rates and fees): Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Related: 5 ways to maximize Marriott Bonvoy award night redemptions

Transferring points from credit card programs

Transferring points from credit card programs to Marriott generally yields a poor return, even with a transfer bonus, since Marriott points are worth less than credit card points, per our September 2025 valuations.

You can transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards to Marriott Bonvoy. Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio, but many times these issuers will offer transfer bonuses, where you will receive more points.

Plus, Bilt Rewards offers 5,000 bonus Bonvoy points for every 20,000 Bilt Points transferred to Marriott.

In general, I’m against transferring credit card rewards to hotel loyalty programs unless it’s World of Hyatt. World of Hyatt still uses a fixed award chart so you can get amazing value and maximize your credit card rewards. However, transferring your credit card points can make sense if you need to top off your account for a redemption or just want to save money by redeeming your rewards.

If you do want to go the transfer route, here are some popular cards with rewards you can transfer to Marriott and their welcome offers:

• American Express® Gold Card: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 100,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
  The Platinum Card® from American Express: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 175,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
  Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees): There is no welcome offer currently available.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees): Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees): Earn 125,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Related: Why I’m transferring my Marriott Bonvoy points to an airline for the first time

Bottom line

Points and miles redemptions don’t always have to be luxurious. Any time you can save a chunk of money, you should consider using your rewards. My football college redemption isn’t glamorous by any means, but it saved me a great deal of money and allowed me to go see my favorite team play. Without points, I would likely be watching the game on my couch.

For rates and fees of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.
For rewards and benefits of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.