Planes, Points & Automobiles -- Marriott Rewards® Members Can Now Redeem Points or Combine Points & Cash for Rental Cars & Flights

BETHESDA, Md., Dec. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Marriott Rewards members now have a new option that allows them to purchase airline tickets and rent cars by either paying with points or using a combination of cash and points. Members can purchase airline tickets from more than 400 airlines and rent from Hertz rental cars worldwide just as they would with cash, and there are no "blackout dates."

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"Our new Air + Car award is designed to offer Marriott Rewards members greater versatility when using their Marriott Rewards Points. It was not created to compete with airline frequency programs, although in some situations, there may be better value redeeming Marriott Rewards Points for flights. As always, the greatest value for Marriott Rewards members will be for Free Night Award stays at more than 3,500 participating Marriott Rewards hotels around the world," said Ed French, senior vice president, Marriott Rewards.

For more information, visit: www.marriottrewardsairandcar.com

Marriott® has engaged ezRez Software, Inc. ("ezRez"), a third-party provider, to host this private label airline ticket redemption website.

About ezRez

ezRez Software Inc. is a global software-as-a-service provider that helps travel companies, loyalty programs and financial services institutions engage with their highest value customers.  The ezRez product suite includes a white-label travel commerce and loyalty redemption platform, a loyalty payments engine for digital wallets, and personalized marketing solutions.  ezRez works with more than 200,000 travel suppliers, loyalty programs and payment providers globally.  Collectively, more than 20 billion reward points are redeemed through the ezRez platform annually.  Based in San Francisco, ezRez was founded in 2003 and has secured $17 million in venture funding led by Canaan Partners with participation from Azure Capital Partners.  For more information, visit www.ezrez.com.

About Marriott Rewards

Marriott Rewards is free to join. The program has no blackout dates and members can earn and redeem points at more than 3,500 Marriott International hotels around the world. Members may also choose to earn airline miles or redeem points for miles with more than 30 airline mileage programs. In addition to hotels and frequent flyer miles, members can also redeem points for merchandise, cruises, car rentals and more. 

Marriott Rewards won the 2011 and 2010 Frequent Travel Award and 2009 Freddie Award for "Best Hotel Rewards Program," and has been named best hotel rewards program by the readers of Business Traveler, Global Traveler, Executive Travel and BusinessWeek magazines.

For information about Marriott Rewards, guests can call 800-450-4442 or visit MarriottRewards.com.

Visit Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) for company information. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at Marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com.   

SOURCE Marriott International