It took a pandemic for me to find the time to post about this lesser known, lucrative perk from Marriott Bonvoy-the Eat Around Town membership. The program was launched late last year by Marriott.
Once a member, you can earn lots of Marriott Bonvoy Points for doing what you do anyway, eating out and especially now, ordering in.
To be eligible to earn Bonvoy points for dining, you need to ENROLL in the Eat Around Town Program. Once enrolled, you need to link a credit card to your account. Personally, I linked the card that I normally use for dining, my American Express Gold card (4X on dining). However, if you want to earn even more Marriot Bonvoy points, you can link one of your Bonvoy cards that earn extra points on dining like the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card (3x) or Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card (4x). Just remember, I am not in favor of using co-branded credit cards for every day spend, I would much rather prefer you to use a card that earns flexible rewards unless you are really trying to accumulate Bonvoy points.
Ok, so now you have enrolled and you have linked your card, what’s next?
You order in (eventually dine out at ) a restaurant in the program and pay with your enrolled card. You can search to see the restaurants in your area by using the search function on this page. You will earn extra Marriott Bonvoy Points (in addition to what you would normally earn with your registered card) as follows:
Regular member-You will receive 4 Marriott Bonvoy Points for each eligible USD$1 spent.
Elite Members-Those with Ambassador, Titanium, Platinum, Gold, or Silver status, you will receive 6 Marriott Bonvoy Points for each eligible USD$1 spent. Remember, you are likely at least Silver if you have a Bonvoy card issued by Amex or Chase and you are at minimum Gold if you have an Amex Platinum or a Business Platinum.
Eligible charges include food, drink, tax, and tip as charged to the registered card.
And if you register now, like I did, there is a bonus offer for new members. To qualify for and earn this New Member Bonus, you must enroll and link a card to your account by June 18, 2020. Then you must spend at least $30 (including tax and tip) in ONE dine at any participating restaurant, bar, or club within 90 days of joining the Eat Around Town program.
You should know that some restaurants offer the bonus points only on certain days of the week, for a limited number of restaurant visits per month, or up to a maximum spending amount per month. So if you are only ordering in from ABC Restaurant to score some bonus Bonvoy points, make sure one of these limitations don’t apply at the time. You can learn about some of the guidelines, restrictions, etc. at eataroundtown.marriott.com.