Pune woman stays at Marriott for free using this trick: ‘Bill was 3 lakhs’

A chartered accountant from Pune took to X to share how she was able to afford a holiday at the luxury Marriot resort in Uttarakhand without paying a single rupee.
X user Priti Jain said that she lived like royalty for three days in a room at Westin Himalayas that costs ₹90,000 per night and included complimentary breakfast.
“How I Turned a 4 Lakh Spend into a Dream Vacation at One of India’s Top Marriott Resorts! We were upgraded to Premier Room on Day 1 and then to Executive Suite for the upcoming two days which felt like Royalty. The hotel offers breathtaking vistas of the Himalayan foothills. Whether from our suite or the poolside, every angle was picture-perfect. An ideal retreat,” she wrote in a series of posts on X, describing her lavish stay and revealing how she was able to afford it.
Priti Jain revealed that she was able to afford the grand vacation after she earned 58,000 membership reward points by spending ₹4 lakh on her American Express Platinum card.
She used these points to turn them into Marriott Bonvoy points, the loyalty rewards offered by Marriott International. These point in turn can be redeemed for staying at their hotels.
During her fancy stay, the Marriott resort provided complimentary breakfasts and high-tea to her and her husband, as well as a “Ganga aarti every evening on the deck overlooking the river.” (Also read: In rain-battered Chennai, Taj hotel’s gesture for guest wins hearts)
Jain said that she booked the vacation using 25,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after she transferred her AMEX rewards to Marriott Bonvoy. Utilising their 30% bonus promotion, she turned 58,000 AMEX membership rewards which she had earned on spending ₹4 lakh into a three-night stay worth ₹1.5 lakh.
According to her calculation, with a suite upgrade and complimentary breakfast, the total value of her stay came to nearly ₹3 lakh, which she described as “an incredible deal.”
“There was live music, great food, and an overall relaxing experience for guests,” she said, adding that the resort also baked a special Negroni cake for her husband’s birthday and decorated their room every day of their stay.
“Next time someone declares credit cards are useless or bad, just drop this thread like a mic. Let’s see how they handle the facts,” she said. (Also read: Himachal’s Dharamshala is a 2024 hotspot for global travellers. Here’s why)