I find it quite interesting when we see other blogs post offers as a ‘new’ offer when in fact they have been around for quite sometime. And in fact we’ve been guilty of it as well, very infrequently however, as authors get all excited when you come across an offer that seems to be fresh hot off the presses and in fact the offer isn’t. Case in point over the past week we’ve seen several points and miles blogs discuss the Marriott new member offer where you can earn a free night stay (up to 25,000 points) when you complete two stays and they explicitly stated it is as a new offer. Truth be told this Marriott new member bonus has been around since the start of 2014. Here is a screen shot of our Marriott Bonus Points page take from The Internet Archive Wayback Machine which shows where we have the exact offer listed from February 2014:
And our blog post from January 2, 2014 where we first posted the offer:
Yes this offer is over 6 years old so it has been making the rounds not just for a few days or weeks but a few years! The landing page itself on Marriott’s website ‘automatically’ completes the start date to whatever day it is that the reader is viewing the page which may lead to the confusion that some blog authors think it is a brand new offer.
For example, here is a screen shot of the terms and conditions from today.
When we looked at it yesterday it had between 5/26/2020 and 9/28/2020 and tomorrow it will be 5/28/20 and 9/28/2020. As I mentioned the start date will be populated with whatever day it is that you look at the page. The end date however is updated every few weeks so that you typically have ~120 days to complete the two stays. Even Marriott’s current URL for the offer is from 2016 (it ends with freenight16) and they have been using that landing page since that time.
So this is just our PSA to let you know that just because blogs (even ourselves here at FFB) state that an offer is new it may not actually be the case. Typically the case can be that you see an offer make the rounds on blogs a few days, weeks, or sometimes a month or two after it has been released but not 6 years later.
If, by the odd chance this offer is new to you feel free to check it out here as it is great offer to get in on that first free night with Marriott Bonvoy! Just remember that you need to complete two separate stays (not nights) to get the free night award and right now with travel curtailed don’t be rushed by that 9/28/20 end date. If the past 6 years have been any indication the offer will be further extended, so wait to join until you know you’ll have some actual stays to earn that free night.
And let me close this by reminding you that FFB lists the most bonus offers out of any site on the internet and we list them in an easy to read format on our main site. Simply go to www.frequentflyerbonuses.com and look for your favorite airlines, hotels, car rental companies and more to see all the offers. And if you are big into Marriott Bonvoy here is the direct link to our Marriott Bonvoy bonus points page: https://www.frequentflyerbonuses.com/marriott.html
