Marriott's MegaBonus 2016 promotion now open

Marriott’s first promotion for the year, as also their Spring 2016 promotion, is now out. This round of MegaBonus, which is the name of virtually all Marriott promotions in the recent past, has however undergone a change from past offers, possibly in a move to align with the current trend being followed by the other hotel majors as well (we will come to the details in a moment).

Past promotions by Marriott were rather straightforward - typically double points starting with the second stay, with an overall capping on points earned. This, of course, has been the typical base offer, with enhanced offers for Marriott regulars. 

However, the current MegaBonus seems different, and is more like IHG's Accelerate 2016 promotion, in the sense that (a) )there are targeted offers for different guests, based on stay history and (b) there are levels within the promotion, which are unlocked once you clear the previous level. 

The base promotion is as follows:

• Register by April 15, 2016
• Stay at participating properties between February 1 – May 15, 2016
• Win #1: Earn a free night after two stays
• Win #2: Unlock your new bonus points offer – and register when it appears in your online account
• Win #3: Every stay counts at 4,000+ hotels worldwide

The free night is valid at Category 1-5 hotels, and should be used within 6 months of earning it.

JW Marriott Bangalore

As Loyalty Lobby points out, there is also at least one more type of MegaBonus offer, likely for the high-rollers, which offers:

• Win #1: 15,000 bonus points after 20 paid nights plus 3,000 bonus points each additional night, up to 30,000 bonus points
• Win #2: At the same time, earn a free night after two paid stays (separate registration required)
• Win #3: Unlock a new bonus points offer after you complete Win #1 and Win #2.

There are variants of the above type of promotion as well. So basically if you've been targeted for this version of the promotion, you're automatically eligible for the base promotion also, though it requires separate registration, as Loyalty Lobby's post also shows.

I have some unconfirmed information on what the unlocked offers for the base promotion might be, being:

• After achieving Win#1, there's an option for Win #2:
  Stay 15 nights and get 10k points plus get additional 2k points per additional night (Max 20k Points) OR
  Stay 20 nights and earn 15k points plus get additional 3k points per additional night (Max 30k Points) 
• After achieving Win #2, you're eligible for Win#3: Stay at a Marriott and earn 1k points per night (5k points max)

Win #2 here seems to be partly what is available in the second type of promotion I've described earlier above.

Registration is open, and you need to register by 15 April 2016. The promotion is valid for stays between 1 February and 15 May 2016. To register, you will need to login to your Marriott Rewards account and go to the Promotion Central section. 

Conclusion

Targeted promotions offer the hotel chain the ability to discriminate (positively, I hope) between their regulars and the not-so-regulars. On the other hand, personally, I prefer to know exactly what it is that I'm signing up for, which is why I like IHG's Accelerate promotion. This particular MegaBonus doesn't offer me that, and while it does keep the next Win in suspense, it also means that I cannot really plan my stays, which is a bit of a bummer for me.

Having said that, for those that are sure of their upcoming stays and in a position to plan them out in advance, this current promotion might be useful.

What's your take on promotions that are in stages, and promotions with hidden / suspense offers?