"Member rate" means 2 different things, and they do opposite things to your hotel points. Book Marriott's own Member Rate on marriott.com and the stay counts toward points and status. Book a member rate from your employer's perks site or a membership platform, at the same Marriott, and it counts for nothing.
That's Marriott's rule, and other chains will often still credit points if you give your number at check-in. But it shows why the channel matters as much as the price. The same room can be sold to you at least 4 ways: a public rate, a member rate (both kinds), a corporate rate and a package.
The same room, sold 4 ways
The points column uses Marriott because its Bonvoy program rules say plainly which bookings earn. Other chains write their own, so check yours.
| Rate | Who sets the price | Who can book it | Earns Marriott points and status? | Check before you pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public rate | The hotel | Anyone | Yes if booked with Marriott. No through a third-party site | Flexible or prepaid version |
| Hotel member rate | The hotel chain | Signed-in loyalty members, on the chain's own site, app or phone line | Yes, booked with Marriott | It won't combine with corporate, government or AAA rates |
| Private member rate | A company that buys rooms at wholesale | Members of an employer perk, association or booking platform | No | Cancellation deadline; prepaid is common |
| Corporate rate | Your employer and the hotel or chain | The travelers the deal covers | Yes | Whether personal trips are allowed |
| Package (flight + hotel) | A tour operator or travel site | Anyone buying the flight and hotel together | No, through a tour operator or wholesaler | Add hotel taxes to the separate quote before comparing |
Public rate: the price everyone can see
This is the rate on the hotel's own site with no code and no login. Many hotels sell it 2 ways: a flexible version you can cancel and a cheaper advance-purchase version you pay for up front. Marriott's rules name both, "standard and premium retail rates, advanced purchase rates," among the rates that earn.
The catch is where you book it. The exact same price on a travel site earns nothing at Marriott. Its rules list a room "booked through a tour operator, online travel channel or other third-party channel" as a Non-Qualifying Rate, which earns no points and no elite benefits.
Since May 12, 2025, the FTC's rule on unfair or deceptive fees has required a hotel's headline price to include every mandatory fee, though taxes can still wait until checkout. That matters most when you compare packages.
2 different things called a member rate
The hotel's own member rate. This is the lower price a chain shows you once you're signed in to its free loyalty program. Marriott describes its Member Rates as "an exclusive, preferred rate offered to Members" that is "available when booked through Marriott Channels," meaning its website, app, hotels and call centers. Joining costs nothing: the rules say "There is no fee or cost to enroll."
Book it on marriott.com and it should earn, because the rules count rates "found on Marriott.com without an application of a discount code" among the ones that do. It won't stack with "government rates, negotiated rates, AAA rates, or senior discount rates," so if you have one of those, you're choosing between them.
A private member rate. This is the one your employer, union, alumni group or a booking platform offers. A company buys rooms from hotels at wholesale and resells them behind a login. The discount can be bigger, and the trade is your points. At Marriott, a room "booked at a tour operator, wholesaler, or crew room rate" earns no points and no status.
We've written up that trade in detail, including how to put a number on the points you'd give up, in what you get and what you trade with private hotel rates.
Corporate rate: your employer's deal with the hotel
A corporate rate is a price your employer has agreed with a hotel or chain, for the travelers the deal covers. Whether that stretches to a personal weekend is your employer's call, so ask before you try.
If you're allowed to use it, use it. It's discounted and still earns: Marriott's rules name "corporate negotiated rates" among the rates that earn points, and members get their elite benefits on them.
If you're the one setting up rates for a team, our guide to offering private hotel rates as an employee benefit covers the employer side.
Packages: the price includes taxes, a hotel price doesn't have to
A package is a flight and a hotel bought together for 1 price. The US Department of Transportation calls this a "tour," which its full fare advertising rule defines as "a combination of air transportation and ground or cruise accommodations." Under that rule the advertised price has to be "the entire price to be paid by the customer," taxes included.
A hotel booked on its own can leave taxes out until you pay. The FTC pointed out the difference itself when it published the final rule: for "bundled travel packages, such as for airfare and hotels," the DOT rule "requires the inclusion of government taxes and fees in the total price."
That's why packages fool people. A package can look pricier than a flight plus a hotel when it isn't, because only one of the 2 prices you're comparing has the taxes in. Add the hotel's taxes to the separate booking, then compare.
You also give up the points. At Marriott, "package bookings" made through a tour operator or wholesaler earn no points or status.
Which channel when: 5 steps
Work down the list. The first 4 steps pick a rate, and the last one applies whatever you picked.
- Is it a work trip? Book your company's corporate rate, the way your employer asks you to. At Marriott it earns points and status.
- Are you buying flights too? Price the package against the flight plus the hotel booked separately, with the hotel's taxes added. Take whichever final amount is lower, unless points matter to you more.
- Chasing status at this chain, or booking a Marriott where the points matter? Book the chain's member rate on its own site or app.
- Otherwise, compare the private member rate with the hotel's member rate, both as final amounts with taxes in, for the same room and dates. Our guide to comparing a member rate with a public hotel rate walks through it.
- Could your plans change? Whatever you picked, read the cancellation deadline and the penalty before you pay. A cheaper prepaid rate stops being cheaper the day you can't go.
The one time a private member rate reliably loses is when you're a few nights short of a status tier you use. A discount can't buy those nights back.
Where Dyme fits
Dyme sells private member rates. They're wholesale rates, which is where the discount comes from.
Give the hotel your loyalty number at check-in anyway. Most major chains credit points, but it's the hotel's call, so we don't promise it. Marriott Bonvoy doesn't credit rooms booked at wholesale rates or through third-party sites, and that includes ours.
You do earn Dyme Miles, worth a cent each on any hotel. The Dyme Miles rules cover earning and spending. If you joined through your employer or an association and later leave, you keep your Dyme membership. How Dyme works has the rest.
FAQ: hotel booking channels
Is booking directly with a hotel cheaper?＋
Sometimes. The hotel's own member rate is usually lower than its public rate, and a private member rate from an employer perk or booking platform can be lower again. Booking direct, or at your employer's corporate rate, is how you earn points and status. So compare final amounts with taxes in, and count what the points are worth to you.
Does a hotel's own member rate earn points?＋
At Marriott it should, when you book it through Marriott's own website, app, hotels or call centers. Its rules count rates found on marriott.com without a discount code among the rates that earn points and elite benefits. Other chains set their own rules, so check your program's terms.
Can I use my company's corporate rate for a personal trip?＋
Ask your employer first. A corporate rate is a deal between your employer and the hotel, meant for the travelers it covers, which normally means work trips.
Do vacation packages earn hotel points?＋
At Marriott, no. Its rules list "package bookings" made through a tour operator or wholesaler as Non-Qualifying Rates, which earn no points and no elite benefits.
Why does a package look more expensive than booking the flight and hotel separately?＋
Often because the package price already includes taxes. The DOT's full fare advertising rule requires the advertised price of a flight-plus-hotel package to be the entire price, while the FTC rule lets a hotel leave taxes out of its headline total until checkout. Add the hotel's taxes to the separate booking before you compare.
