Over the summer, Starbucks and Marriott Bonvoy announced a new partnership. Unfortunately, unlike the deal that Starbucks serves up with Delta, I wasn’t too impressed with the Marriott offering that limits Bonvoy point-earning to select weeks and requires customers to make at least three purchases during that week to earn just 100 Marriott Bonvoy points. However, there is another component to the partnership that I thought was a bit more interesting — and one that I happened to be able to take advantage of this week.
Currently, I’m in Atlanta, Georgia for FinCon 2024. And while the conference itself is actually being held at the Hyatt Regency, I (for reasons I’ll explain in my upcoming review of this property) elected to stay across the street at the Marriott Marquis instead. Not only did this give me the opportunity to try Starbucks’ “double Stars during Marriott stays” perks but, conveniently, there is also a Starbucks location in the hotel lobby, making it even easier.
For whatever reason, I didn’t bring along my normal travel coffee set-up for this trip — and the in-room coffee maker just wasn’t cutting it for me after a long drive the day before. So, I headed to the lobby for an Americano. Sidenote: at a price of $4.75, it was on the pricey side but wasn’t as awful as it could be. Delicious coffee in hand, I headed back to my room.
It wasn’t until a few hours after my purchase that I realized my Bonvoy account wasn’t linked to my reservation. That’s because I booked through Amex Travel — and, although it will sometimes allow you to enter a loyalty account, it wouldn’t this time around. So, even though I figured it was too late, I went ahead and asked the front desk to add it to my reservation.
To my surprise, despite the order of operations, my Marriott bonus Stars still popped up on my Starbucks app. As you’d expect, my subsequent purchase today earned me even more bonus Stars (somehow the housekeeper not only restocked me with decaf but swapped out the remaining regular coffee I had for another decaf, leaving me with no other option but to return to the Bucks).
While I stand by my assertion that the “Marriott Bonvoy Week” aspect of the Marriot-Starbucks partnership is pretty laughable, I’ll admit that being able to earn double Stars on purchases during my Marriott stay is pretty nice. Moreover, I am impressed that they were able to apply this deal retroactively (although I can’t speak to just how far back in the past this could apply if you were to link your account after your stay). So, although I won’t be going out of my way to purchase Starbucks while booked at Marriott Bonvoy properties, it is a nice little bonus to have.