Marriott International is the largest hotel chain in the world, so it’s no surprise that when we think of the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, we think of hotels. But Marriott Bonvoy also allows you to transfer your points to airline programs.
In the hotel points and airline miles world, it’s almost never a good idea to transfer points between programs. That’s because the transfer rates are generally set so that you’ll lose a significant amount of value from the transfer. However, Marriott Bonvoy is the exception to this rule.
The Marriott Bonvoy points you earn are not only useful for a hotel redemption, but potentially an airline award redemption. Converting your Bonvoy points to airline miles can be very appealing, particularly when you’re just a few miles shy of making that dream award redemption. There are also situations where a Marriott airline partner has an award ticket redemption of outsized value and the only way you can obtain that airline’s miles quickly is through a Marriott Bonvoy transfer.
Not all Marriott Bonvoy points transfers are worthwhile and we’ll take a look at how to evaluate whether a Marriott Bonvoy points transfer makes good economic sense.
But first, let’s go over all the different ways you can earn Bonvoy points.
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How To Earn Marriott Bonvoy Points
The easiest and fastest way to build up your Marriott Bonvoy points balance is through paid Marriott hotel stays and using Marriott co-branded credit cards.
Stay at a Marriott
The traditional way to earn Bonvoy points is from paid stays at Marriott properties. At most Marriott properties, members earn 10 Bonvoy points per U.S. dollar spent. However, at extended-stay properties such as Element, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites and Marriott Homes & Villas, members earn a reduced 5 Bonvoy points per dollar. Marriott Executive Apartments earn 2.5 Bonvoy points per dollar. If a member books multiple rooms, points can be earned on up to two extra rooms, in addition to the one the member is occupying. However, elite night credit is only earned for one room.
Use a Marriott Bonvoy Co-Branded Credit Card
Marriott offers six co-branded credit cards through its relationship with Chase and American Express. The broad range of features and annual fees offered by the various cards in the portfolio ensure that there’s a Marriott card to suit every Marriott loyalist.
Earning Marriott Bonvoy points through credit card spending is the easiest way to earn points since you can leverage your everyday spending.
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (terms apply, see rates & fees) is the prestige Marriott Bonvoy Card. It has a high $650 annual fee, but offers a compensating welcome bonus: 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months. The card offers valuable benefits such as complimentary Marriott Platinum elite status and a free anniversary night after a cardholder’s renewal month (valid at a property valued at up to 85,000 points a night) as well as a monthly $25 statement credit toward restaurant expenses.
The Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card* credit card has a more moderate annual fee of $250 with a generous welcome bonus of 85,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in purchases in the first three months from your account opening. The card offers an elevated earning rate of 6 points per dollar on eligible Marriott purchases, 4 points per dollar on the first $15,000 spent in combined yearly grocery and dining purchases, and 2 points per dollar on all other purchases, an extra 1,000 Bonvoy points for every Marriott stay, automatic Marriott Gold elite status and a free night after spending $15,000 during a calendar year, redeemable at a property valued at up to 50,000 points a night.
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card (terms apply, see rates & fees) has similar features as the Bonvoy Bountiful Card, with the main difference being the issuing bank. It also has an annual fee of $250 and a welcome bonus of 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $5,000 in purchases on the card within the first 6 months of account opening. Benefits include an enhanced earning rate of 6 Marriott Bonvoy® points per dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy, 4 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $15,000 in combined purchases at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets per calendar year, then 2 points) and 2 points per dollar on all other eligible purchases, a bonus 1,000 Bonvoy points for each Marriott stay, complimentary Marriott Gold Elite status and a free night after annual purchases of $15,000 that can be used at a property priced at up to 50,000 points per night.
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card* from Chase has a strong welcome offer: 3 Free Night Awards after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. The card charges a reasonable $95 annual fee in exchange for a free night every cardholder anniversary (valid at a property valued at up to 35,000 points a night), automatic Marriott Silver Elite status and 3 points per dollar spent on groceries, gas and dining (up to a total of $6,000 each year) spent at Marriott properties.
If you want to minimize annual fees, the no annual fee Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card* from Chase also has a welcome bonus worth considering. New customers can earn 30,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. While you won’t get an anniversary night award, cardholders do get automatic Silver Elite status and a 15 night boost towards higher elite status (through 7/10/2024).
Lastly, if you have a business, the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (terms apply, see rates & fees) may be the right choice for you. The card has a solid welcome offer of three Free Night Awards after spending $6,000 in purchases within the first six months of account opening. Cardmembers earn 6 points per dollar on eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program, 4 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping and 2 points per dollar on all other eligible purchases. Other benefits include a 7% discount on eligible paid night stays, automatic Marriott Gold Elite status and a free anniversary night after annual card renewal, worth up to 35,000 points per night.
Other methods of earning Marriott points include taking advantage of Marriott’s partnerships with Uber (ride-sharing) and Hertz (auto rental). You can also earn points by participating in Marriott’s dining program, Eat Around Town by Marriott Bonvoy, by booking a cruise with Marriott’s Cruise with Points program or by purchasing a mattress from Marriott Bonvoy Boutiques.
Learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program here.
Marriott’s Airline Transfer Partners
Marriott members can currently transfer Bonvoy points to approximately 40 airlines. For almost all of these airlines, the transfer ratio is 3 Marriott Bonvoy points to 1 airline mile. The one exception is Air New Zealand.
| Airline Program | Transfer Ratio(Bonvoy Points: Airline Miles) |
|---|---|
|
Aegean Miles+Bonus
|
3:1
|
|
Aer Lingus AerClub
|
3:1
|
|
Aeromexico ClubPremier
|
3:1
|
|
Air Canada Aeroplan
|
3:1
|
|
Air China PhoenixMiles
|
3:1
|
|
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
|
3:1
|
|
Air New Zealand Airpoints
|
200:1
|
|
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
|
3:1
|
|
American Airlines AAdvantage
|
3:1
|
|
ANA Mileage Club
|
3:1
|
|
Asiana Airlines Asiana Club
|
3:1
|
|
Avianca LifeMiles
|
3:1
|
|
British Airways Executive Club
|
3:1
|
|
China Southern Airlines Sky Pearl Club
|
3:1
|
|
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
|
3:1
|
|
Copa Airlines ConnectMiles
|
3:1
|
|
Delta SkyMiles
|
3:1
|
|
Emirates Skywards
|
3:1
|
|
Etihad Guest
|
3:1
|
|
Frontier Miles
|
3:1
|
|
Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club
|
3:1
|
|
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
|
3:1
|
|
Iberia Plus
|
3:1
|
|
InterMiles
|
3:1
|
|
Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank
|
3:1
|
|
Korean Air SKYPASS
|
3:1
|
|
LATAM Airlines LATAM Pass
|
3:1
|
|
Multiplus Fidelidade
|
3:1
|
|
Qantas Frequent Flyer
|
3:1
|
|
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
|
3:1
|
|
Saudia Alfursan
|
3:1
|
|
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
|
3:1
|
|
Southwest Rapid Rewards
|
3:1
|
|
TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
|
3:1
|
|
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
|
3:1
|
|
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
|
3:1
|
|
United MileagePlus
|
3:1
|
|
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
|
3:1
|
|
Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer
|
3:1
|
|
Vueling Club
|
3:1
|
Which U.S. Airlines Are Partners With Marriott?
Seven U.S. airline loyalty programs are transfer partners of Marriott Bonvoy:
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan (3:1)
- American Airlines AAdvantage (3:1)
- Delta SkyMiles (3:1)
- Frontier Miles (3:1)
- Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles (3:1)
- Southwest Rapid Rewards (3:1)
- United MileagePlus (3:1)
Marriott’s transfer ratio to Air New Zealand is 200:1. The high ratio is explained by the unique currency of Airpoints. Each Airpoint is worth one New Zealand dollar and this fixed value is reflected in the transfer ratio. The value of Airpoints for U.S.-based travelers varies with the exchange rate. Using an exchange rate of 1 New Zealand dollar equaling about 0.61 U.S. dollars as an example, you’d receive a set redemption rate of no more than 0.325 cents (U.S.) per Marriott point. Even Marriott’s worst redemption options generally provide more value than this, so you’ll want to avoid this option.
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How To Transfer Marriott Points to Airline Partners
Transferring your Marriott Bonvoy points to the airline of your choice is a simple process.
- Navigate to Marriott’s points transfer page.
- Log into your Marriott Bonvoy account at the top of the page
- Click “Transfer Points”
- Select the airline that you want to transfer miles to and enter your airline frequent flyer number.
- Enter the number of Marriott points you want to transfer. Marriott will show you how many miles this converts to at the airline’s transfer ratio. Note that the 5,000-mile bonus for transferring at least 60,000 points will not show up in this calculation.
- Confirm the transfer before the conversion is initiated
Get 5,000 Bonus Airline Miles for Transferring 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points
Transferring Bonvoy points from Marriott to airline programs is generally best when you just need to top off your account for a redemption. However, Marriott rewards larger points transfers, giving you a bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer.
You’ll get a 5,000 mile bonus for every 60,000 Bonvoy points that you transfer from Marriott to an airline. That means you’ll get 25,000 airline miles for every 60,000 points transferred, resulting in a 2.4:1 transfer ratio instead of the standard 3:1, assuming you transfer exactly 60,000 Bonvoy points or a multiple of. However, you’ll get a 10,000 miles bonus for every 60,000 Bonvoy points that you transfer from Marriott to United, which means you’ll get 30,000 airline miles for every 60,000 points transferred, resulting in a 2:1 transfer ratio. More on this later.
There are four airline partners that are not eligible for the 5,000 mile bonus. They are:
- American Airlines AAdvantageⓇ
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Delta SkyMilesⓇ
- Korean Air SKYPASS
You do not need to make multiple separate transactions to get the transfer bonus multiple times. Marriott has confirmed that you’ll earn a 5,000-mile bonus for every multiple of 60,000 points that you transfer:
- Transfers of 60,000 to 119,000 points earn a 5,000 mile bonus
- Transfers of 120,000 to 179,000 points earn a 10,000 mile bonus
- Transfers of 180,000 to 239,000 points earn a 15,000 mile bonus
- Transfers of 240,000 points earn a 20,000 mile bonus
Marriott’s Enhanced Partnership With United
Marriott and United have teamed up to offer reciprocal benefits to Marriott Bonvoy and United MileagePlus members through the RewardsPlus program. As part of this partnership with United, Bonvoy members get a 10,000 mile bonus on points transfers of 60,000 Bonvoy points instead of the 5,000 bonus offered for other airline transfers. That means when you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to United, you’ll get 30,000 United MileagePlus miles, effectively a 2:1 ratio.
Another benefit of the Marriott-United partnership is reciprocal elite status. Both Marriott Titanium Elites and Ambassador Elites can get complimentary United Silver elite status just by connecting their Marriott Bonvoy and United MileagePlus accounts. Similarly, United elites with at least Premier Gold status will get Marriott Gold Elite status.
Restrictions on Transferring Marriott Bonvoy Points
There are only a couple of restrictions on transferring Marriott points to airlines. First, members must transfer a minimum of 3,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. For the majority of airline transfer partners, that means you’ll receive 1,000 airline miles.
Marriott limits points transfers to airlines to 240,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per calendar day. If you need to transfer more points, the limit resets the next day and you can send another 240,000 points.
When Is It a Good Idea To Transfer Marriott Bonvoy Points to Airlines?
Transferring Bonvoy points to airlines can make sense when you’re short only a few thousand miles for an airline award redemption and just need to top up your balance. In these cases, the value of the transfer is the opportunity to use your airline miles for an award redemption.
However, if you’re considering making a large transfer of Marriott points to an airline program to redeem an award, you’ll want to do some math first to see whether a transfer represents good value i.e. would you be better off keeping the Bonvoy points and using them for hotel redemptions.
How Much Value Can You Get From Your Airline Miles?
First, consider how valuable Marriott points are to you. Marriott Bonvoy members can generally get 0.7 to 0.8 cents per point when using points for Marriott rewards stays. But your valuation of Marriott points may be different depending on your situation. If you have a large balance of Marriott points or find yourself rarely staying in a Marriott, you may value your Bonvoy points less.
The 3:1 transfer ratio for most airlines implies that you should expect to get at least 2.2 cents per mile (3 x 0.74 cents) from your airline miles to justify transferring Marriott points to airline miles.
If you’re getting the 5,000-mile bonus for transferring 60,000 points, the ratio of Bonvoy points to airline miles decreases to 2.4:1. If you transfer exactly 60,000 points, you’ll want to get at least 1.8 cents per mile (2.4 x 0.74 cents) in value from your airline redemption.
For United, transferring 60,000 Marriott points yields 30,000 United MileagePlus miles, which translates to a ratio of 2:1. At that level, you’ll want to get at least 1.5 cents per mile (2.0 x 0.74) in return to make the transfer worthwhile.
Getting 1.5 to 1.8 cents per airline mile in value may be more challenging when making an economy flight redemption. It’s easier to get a higher cents per mile return on business- or first-class tickets and in those cases, a Bonvoy points transfer is more likely to make sense.
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Bottom Line
Transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to airline programs is a useful method to top off your airline mileage balances when you want to redeem for an award ticket or to take advantage of a flight redemption in a program that you don’t have miles in. Not all Marriott Bonvoy points transfers are worthwhile as it’s possible to lose considerable point value with a poor transfer. With the above information, you’ll be ready to assess whether a Marriott Bonvoy points transfer is a good choice for your situation.
To view rates and fees for Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card please visit this page.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can you transfer Marriott points from one member account to another?
Marriott permits the transfer of Bonvoy points between members as long as both accounts are in good standing. Member-to-member transfers are free of charge. A member can transfer up to 100,000 points per calendar year to another member. Members may receive up to 500,000 points annually.
Using points transfers is a practical way to pool your points with your travel companions if you don’t have enough points for a desired hotel award individually. Similarly, if you’re wanting to transfer to an airline partner to make a flight redemption, you may want to combine your Bonvoy points to take advantage of the 5,000 mile bonus and increase your airline mileage balance.
To do a member transfer, you’ll need to use Marriott’s Points Transfer tool and be prepared to enter both your account number and that of the person you’re making a transfer to. A minimum of 1,000 points is required to do a transfer.
How long does it take to transfer Marriott points to airline partners?
In most cases, Marriott Bonvoy will complete the transfer to your desired airline partner account within a week.
Which are the best Marriott transfer partners?
With multiple credit card transferable points programs available, it’s possible to transfer points from a credit card account to a huge range of frequent flyer programs. However, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and American Airlines Aadvantage are exceptions. Neither have a major credit card transfer partner, which makes accumulating their miles more difficult. The Marriott Bonvoy transfer is an effective way to obtain Alaska and AA miles quickly when the need arises.
Having said that, the best Marriott airline transfer partner is the one with the award you want when you want it. Maybe it’s the airline partner where you just need a top up of points to nab the flight you want. Or maybe it’s the airline with availability to your dream destination for a bargain award price like those in our examples. A Marriott transfer may be your only way to get that point currency for the redemption.
Airline award redemption prices change regularly, meaning that the opportunities for exceptional value can change too. In addition, award availability varies over time. Keep in mind that it can take a week to transfer your Bonvoy points from Marriott to an airline partner. Award availability can disappear quickly so wherever possible, ask the airline to hold your award until your points are transferred. Some airlines will permit holds on occasion so it’s worth asking.
We don’t recommend transferring Marriott points without a specific redemption in mind. Award charts and availability change often and having points stranded in a program you don’t normally use isn’t ideal.
Can you reverse your Bonvoy points transfer?
Once you’ve transferred your Bonvoy points, you cannot transfer them back to Marriott. This is why it’s important to have a specific, available award redemption identified before you commit to making an irreversible points transfer.
