An Indian couple recently posted about their extravagant vacation in Kenya, opting to stay at the ultra-luxury JW Marriott Masai Mara . The resort, renowned for its breathtaking views and luxury, offers accommodations that come with a hefty price tag of Rs 5.5 lakh per night.
While some admire their ability to indulge in such luxury, others have raised questions about the appropriateness of spending such a significant sum on a single vacation.
Anirban Chowdhury recently took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to post about his extravagant vacation. “Just ticked off a bucket list experience at one of Marriott's most exclusive and expensive properties—JW Marriott Masai Mara! If you're dreaming of luxury safaris, this is the place. Stunning tented suites, epic game drives, and personalized service in the heart of the Mara! Would you add this to your bucket list? #MarriottLuxury #BucketListAdventures #ccgeek #ccgeeks.”
The couple's decision to stay at the ultra-luxury resort has drawn both praise and criticism. A user posted on X, “Unable to wrap my head around the kind of wealth people have. I think I'm fairly rich and I am, by any reasonable standard So I was like, "Let's check this place out and it costs 3.5 lakhs for ONE NIGHT. Almost 10 lakhs for a 3 day stay. What kind of money do folks earn?”
Chowdhury then replied to the user explaining about the entire stay at Masai Mara resort. Chowdhury clarified that the actual tariff for the Masai Mara Game Lodge was Rs 5.5 lakh, including taxes. He explained that he was able to offset part of the cost by utilising 424,000 Marriott Bonvoy points .
Read the complete post here
Chalo, it's time for some myth-busting:
1. The price per night for two isn’t 3.5L, it's actually 5.5L INR with taxes. For 5 nights, that totals 27.5L INR.
2. I offset that cost by using 424,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Marriott has a 5th night free program on award bookings. So, I booked 5 nights at 106,000 points per night, paying only for 4:
106,000 x 4 = 424,000 points.
And no, you don’t need good looks or fancy attire to be smart
3. I earned those Marriott Bonvoy points by transferring 3.26L Amex points.
Amex allows you to transfer points to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio. Plus, during their frequent campaigns, you get a 30% bonus. That's how I got the 4.24L Marriott Bonvoy points.
4. Let’s keep it simple—if I had bought those points directly, Marriott often runs promos where you can get them at 65p per point. So, I could have spent 2.75L INR to buy the points and still saved 24.75L INR on that luxury stay.
P.S. I didn’t buy points; I earned them through regular spends and it didn’t take me years. In fact, I’ve redeemed points for luxury stays and flights multiple times, as you can see on my profile!
5. I’m not a multimillionaire. I’m a salaried employee, and I pay my taxes (auto-deducted!).
6. I travel a lot for work, which helps me earn even more points.
7. I don’t have a verified profile on X (aka no farming here, no crops to harvest).
8. Body shaming is outdated (like 80s fashion). My profession pays me to write code, not look good or model.
9. You don’t need to splurge to cross things off your bucket list. You just need to be smart about it.
Bonus:
Marriott doesn’t need to sponsor me; the resort is almost always at full occupancy anyway.
And if Marriott wanted to promote such a fancy property, they’d probably pick a public figure over me, right?
Final Note:
If you really want to learn how to earn more points instead of sitting behind a screen and contemplating, you’ll find a lot of good folks who’ve tried to make you understand the process. Do follow them and learn.
Hope this clears things up. Thanks and happy travels!
While some admire their ability to indulge in such luxury, others have raised questions about the appropriateness of spending such a significant sum on a single vacation.
Anirban Chowdhury recently took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to post about his extravagant vacation. “Just ticked off a bucket list experience at one of Marriott's most exclusive and expensive properties—JW Marriott Masai Mara! If you're dreaming of luxury safaris, this is the place. Stunning tented suites, epic game drives, and personalized service in the heart of the Mara! Would you add this to your bucket list? #MarriottLuxury #BucketListAdventures #ccgeek #ccgeeks.”
Just ticked off a bucket list experience at one of Marriott's most exclusive and expensive properties—JW Marriott Masai Mara! 🌍💎 If you're dreaming of luxury safaris, this is the place. Stunning tented suites, epic game drives, and personalized service in the heart of the Mara!… pic.twitter.com/rwWv5sk77b
— Anirban chowdhury (@VoyageBliss) September 15, 2024
The couple's decision to stay at the ultra-luxury resort has drawn both praise and criticism. A user posted on X, “Unable to wrap my head around the kind of wealth people have. I think I'm fairly rich and I am, by any reasonable standard So I was like, "Let's check this place out and it costs 3.5 lakhs for ONE NIGHT. Almost 10 lakhs for a 3 day stay. What kind of money do folks earn?”
Unable to wrap my head around the kind of wealth people have. I think I'm fairly rich and I am, by any reasonable standard
— R (@Full_Meals) September 16, 2024
So I was like nice let's check this place out and it costs 3.5 lakhs for ONE NIGHT. 😭😭
Almost 10 lakhs for a 3 day stay
What kind of money do folks earn? https://t.co/Joqla8QkxU
Chowdhury then replied to the user explaining about the entire stay at Masai Mara resort. Chowdhury clarified that the actual tariff for the Masai Mara Game Lodge was Rs 5.5 lakh, including taxes. He explained that he was able to offset part of the cost by utilising 424,000 Marriott Bonvoy points .
Read the complete post here
Chalo, it's time for some myth-busting:
1. The price per night for two isn’t 3.5L, it's actually 5.5L INR with taxes. For 5 nights, that totals 27.5L INR.
2. I offset that cost by using 424,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Marriott has a 5th night free program on award bookings. So, I booked 5 nights at 106,000 points per night, paying only for 4:
106,000 x 4 = 424,000 points.
And no, you don’t need good looks or fancy attire to be smart
3. I earned those Marriott Bonvoy points by transferring 3.26L Amex points.
Amex allows you to transfer points to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio. Plus, during their frequent campaigns, you get a 30% bonus. That's how I got the 4.24L Marriott Bonvoy points.
4. Let’s keep it simple—if I had bought those points directly, Marriott often runs promos where you can get them at 65p per point. So, I could have spent 2.75L INR to buy the points and still saved 24.75L INR on that luxury stay.
P.S. I didn’t buy points; I earned them through regular spends and it didn’t take me years. In fact, I’ve redeemed points for luxury stays and flights multiple times, as you can see on my profile!
Chalo, it's time for some myth-busting:
— Anirban chowdhury (@VoyageBliss) September 17, 2024
1. The price per night for two isn’t 3.5L, it's actually 5.5L INR with taxes. For 5 nights, that totals 27.5L INR.
2. I offset that cost by using 424,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Marriott has a 5th night free program on award bookings. So,… https://t.co/2ZEPTNDkSd
5. I’m not a multimillionaire. I’m a salaried employee, and I pay my taxes (auto-deducted!).
6. I travel a lot for work, which helps me earn even more points.
7. I don’t have a verified profile on X (aka no farming here, no crops to harvest).
8. Body shaming is outdated (like 80s fashion). My profession pays me to write code, not look good or model.
9. You don’t need to splurge to cross things off your bucket list. You just need to be smart about it.
Bonus:
Marriott doesn’t need to sponsor me; the resort is almost always at full occupancy anyway.
And if Marriott wanted to promote such a fancy property, they’d probably pick a public figure over me, right?
Final Note:
If you really want to learn how to earn more points instead of sitting behind a screen and contemplating, you’ll find a lot of good folks who’ve tried to make you understand the process. Do follow them and learn.
Hope this clears things up. Thanks and happy travels!
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