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One of the chief concerns expressed by SPG members leading up to the Marriott/SPG merger was the potential loss of SPG’s airline transfer bonus. SPG airline partners included 30+ frequent flyer programs, most of which transferred at a 1:1 ratio. The deal was even sweeter if you transferred 20,000+ Starpoints, with SPG throwing in a bonus 5,000 airline miles for every 20,000 Starpoints transferred. The bonus was one of the most valuable aspects of the SPG program. Next to elite status benefits, the loss of the airline transfer bonus was at the top of SPG member concerns.
So, it was music to the ears of points and miles fans when Marriott announced the airline transfer bonus was here to stay for the combined Starwood, Marriott, and Ritz-Carlton loyalty programs. Following the same 3:1 transfer ratio used when combining accounts, points transfer from Marriott to airlines at 3:1, and you'll receive a 15,000 point bonus (equal to 5,000 miles at 3:1) for every 60,000 Marriott Rewards points transferred, giving you 25,000 miles in the frequent flyer program of your choice.
In addition to maintaining the same value of points transfers to airline partners, Marriott has added more airlines to the list of transfer partners, which now includes over 40 frequent flyer programs.
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The Fastest Way to Earn Marriott Rewards Points
While there's plenty of ways to earn Marriott Rewards points, for most points enthusiasts the fastest way to earn points is via the co-brand Marriott and SPG credit cards. Marriott's co-brand card lineup has undergone a major revamp in the last 12 months, with new cards added to the Marriott stable and a major shakeup of earning rates and benefits on existing cards. The lineup of cards earning Marriott Rewards points now includes:
| CREDIT CARD | WELCOME OFFER | KEY BENEFITS | ANNUAL FEE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card (previously the Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card) | Earn 75,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card! | • 6x on Marriott spend • 2x on all other purchases • Anniversary free night certificate valid at any property up to 35,000 points • Automatic Silver Elite status • Path to Gold Elite status when you spend $35,000 on the card in an account year • 15 elite night credits per calendar year | $95 |
| Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card (previously the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express) | Limited Time Offer: Earn 100,000 Bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Offer ends 04/24/2019. Terms Apply. | • 6x on Marriott spend • 4x at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping • 2x on all other purchases • Anniversary free night certificate valid at any property up to 35,000 points • Automatic Silver Elite status • Path to Gold Elite status when you spend $35,000 on the card in an account year • 15 elite night credits per calendar year | $125 (If application received before 03/28/19, $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95) - Rates & Fees |
| Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card (previously the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card) | Limited time offer: Earn 100,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Offer ends 4/24/2019. | • 6x on Marriott spend • 3x at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines • 2x on all other purchases • Anniversary free night certificate valid at any property up to 50,000 points • Automatic Gold Elite status • Path to Platinum Elite status when you spend $75,000 on the card in an account year • $300 annual Marriott/SPG hotel credit • Priority Pass Select membership • Global Entry/TSA Pre credit every four years • 15 elite night credits per calendar year | $450 |
| Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Business Credit Card | No longer accepting applications | • 6x on Marriott and SPG spend • 4x at restaurants, gas stations, shipping, internet, cable and phone service purchases • 2x on all other purchases • Anniversary free night certificate valid at any property up to 35,000 points • Automatic Silver Elite status • Path to Gold Elite status when you spend $35,000 on the card in an account year • 15 elite night credits per calendar year (starting 2019) | $99 |
| Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express | No longer accepting applications | • 6x on Marriott and SPG spend • 2x on all other purchases • Anniversary free night certificate valid at any property up to 35,000 points • Automatic Silver Elite status • Path to Gold Elite status when you spend $30,000 on the card in an account year (rising to $35K from January 1, 2019) • 15 elite night credits per calendar year (starting 2019) | $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. |
| The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card | No longer accepting applications | • 6x on Marriott and SPG spend • 3x at restaurants, rental car agencies, on flights booked direct with the airline • 2x on all other purchases • Anniversary free night certificate valid at any property up to 50,000 points • Automatic Gold Elite status • Path to Platinum Elite status when you spend $75,000 on the card in an account year • $300 annual incidentals travel credit • Save $100 on multi-passenger domestic airfare purchases • Priority Pass Select membership • 3 annual club level upgrades on paid stays up to 7 nights • Global Entry/TSA Pre credit every 4 years • 15 elite night credits per calendar year (starting 2019) | $450 |
| Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card | No longer accepting applications | • 5x on Marriott and SPG spend • 2x restaurants, car rental agencies, and airfare purchased directly from the airline • 1x on all other purchases • Anniversary free night certificate valid at any Cat 1-5 property up to 25,000 points • 15 elite night credits per calendar year • 1 Elite Night Credit per $3,000 spent in purchases | $85 |
| Marriott Rewards® Consumer Credit Card | No longer accepting applications | • 3x on Marriott and SPG spend • 1x on all other purchases • Free night certificate valid at any Cat 1-4 property after you spend $25,000 on purchases each year • 10 elite night credits per calendar year • 1 Elite Night Credit per $3,000 spent in purchases | $45 |
| Marriott Rewards® Business Credit Card | No longer accepting applications | • 3x on Marriott and SPG spend • 1x on all other purchases • 10 elite night credits per calendar year • 1 Elite Night Credit per $3,000 spent in purchases | $45 |
5,000 Bonus Miles When You Transfer 60,000 Rewards Points to Airline Partners
When transferring Rewards points to airlines in multiples of 60,000, you receive 5,000 bonus airline miles from Marriott, credited to the airline partner to which you are transferring points. For instance, if we transfer 60k Rewards points to ANA Mileage Club, Marriott credits an extra 5k bonus miles to my ANA account at the time of transfer, for a total of 25,000 miles. This applies to 41 of the 44 transfer partners, we've outlined the exceptions below.
There are a few tricks, rules and tips that need to be followed to ensure transfers are trouble-free and you receive maximum value for your Rewards points.
- While SPG capped transfers at 79,999 points per day (meaning you could only transfer 60K points per day and receive the 25% bonus), Marriott allows you to transfer a maximum of 240,000 points per day, so you can receive up to 20,000 bonus miles each day via airline partner transfers. Transfer 240,000 Rewards points, and you’ll receive 100,000 airline miles.
- The names must match on your Marriott Rewards and frequent flyer account.
- Minimum transfer requirement is 3,000 Rewards points
- Transfer times for Marriott points vary, but, from experience and current data points, are faster than the SPG transfers of the past which could take up to two weeks to clear.
Marriott Rewards Airline Transfer Partners
The addition of new carriers to the airline transfer program places Marriott well ahead of other transferable points when it comes to the number of transfer partners, offering a total of 44 frequent flyer programs. Of the 44 partners, 41 get the 3:1 transfer ratio, while Air New Zealand is a staggering 200:1, and JetBlue receives a 6:1 transfer ratio. Check out the full list of transfer partners below.
| FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAM | TRANSFER RATIO (REWARDS:MILES) |
|---|---|
| Aegean Airlines Miles+Bonus | 3:1 |
| Aeroflot Bonus Program | 3:1 |
| Aeromexico Club Premier | 3:1 |
| Aeroplan/Air Canada | 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 |
| Alitalia MilleMiglia | 3:1 |
| All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club | 3:1 |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | 3:1 |
| Asia Miles/Cathay Pacific | 3:1 |
| Asiana Airlines Asiana Club | 3:1 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 3:1 |
| British Airways Executive Club | 3:1 |
| China Eastern Airlines Eastern Miles | 3:1 |
| China Southern Airlines Sky Pearl Club | 3:1 |
| COPA ConnectMiles | 3:1 |
| Delta Air Lines SkyMiles | 3:1 |
| Emirates Skywards | 3:1 |
| Etihad Airways | 3:1 |
| Frontier Airlines EarlyReturns | 3:1 |
| Gol Smiles | 2:1 |
| Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club | 3:1 |
| Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles | 3:1 |
| Iberia Plus | 3:1 |
| Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank | 3:1 |
| Jet Airways JetPrivilege | 3:1 |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 6:1 |
| Korean Air SKYPASS | 3:1 |
| LATAM Airlines LATAM Pass | 3:1 |
| Lufthansa Miles and More | 3:1 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 3:1 |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 3:1 |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines Alfursan | 3:1 |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 3:1 |
| South African Airways Voyager | 3:1 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | 3:1 |
| TAP Air Portugal Victoria | 3:1 |
| Thai Airways International Royal Orchid Plus | 3:1 |
| Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | 3:1 |
| United MileagePlus | 3:1.1 |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 3:1 |
| Virgin Australia Velocity | 3:1 |
There are a few exceptions to the standard transfer rates:
- United MileagePlus members receive a 10% bonus on transferred points via Marriott RewardsPlus, so 60,000 points will transfer to 27,500 United miles.
- Points transfer to Air New Zealand at 200:1 with 25 Airpoints added as a bonus when you transfer 60K, so 60,000 points will transfer to 325 Airpoints (redeemable for $1 per point)
- Points transfer to JetBlue at 6:1 with 2,500 points added when you transfer 60K, so 60,000 points will transfer to 12,500 TrueBlue points
The Best Marriott Airline Transfer Partners
The five transfer partners at the top of our list are Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, Alaska MileagePlan, American AAdvantage, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and British Airways Executive Club. Here's why:
British Airways Executive Club
On top of the excellent value flying transatlantic on oneworld® partner Iberia, British Airways still retains a distance-based program meaning short haul flights with Avios are a great way of redeeming Marriott points. Short-haul flights within North America price out at 7,500 Avios one-way, and non-stop economy flights from the West Coast to Hawaii will set you back only 12,500 points each way flying American or Alaska. Short hops between cities in popular destinations in Europe, Japan, and Australia cost just 4,500 points in coach, presenting top value when compared to the cash price of tickets.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
With Alaska Airlines not a member of any major alliances, it leaves them in the unique position of being able to pick and choose the airlines with whom they partner. Combined with low fees and the ability to add a stop-over when booking most one-way flights, something that typically requires a round-trip on most other airlines if it is allowed at all, Alaska offers some of the best redemption options of any frequent flyer program in the world.
The best options for Alaska are often aspirational redemptions such as first-class long-haul Cathay Pacific awards to Asia (with a stop-over in both directions possible on most itineraries) and Qantas first-class to Australia and New Zealand for 140k miles roundtrip. Award space can be elusive on Qantas but once secured, you are flying one of the best first-class products to one of the best destinations in the world.
Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
Unlike the other programs on this list, the most significant setback for Japan Airlines is that there is no easy way to accumulate miles other than transferring them from Marriott. Depending on the destination, however, JAL offers fantastic value as a distance-based program and allows multiple stopovers on awards.
While they raised the number of miles required for some business and first-class redemptions towards the end of last year, the rates are still competitive. The value in JAL is the ability to build itineraries with multiple stopovers and an open jaw in one award. You will pay hefty taxes and fees on some oneworld® partners, but LATAM, Qatar, and AA all have small fees for select flights. You can see all the taxes and fees on JAL's website, alongside the JAL award chart for partners. Additionally, outside of partners within Oneworld, JAL provides access to awards with Emirates at reasonable redemption rates.
American Airlines AAdvantage
Despite recent changes to the AAdvantage program, which had a massive impact on the cost of first-class awards (and to a lesser degree, business-class), AAdvantage is still the best transfer partner of the big three legacy carriers for Marriott points. Most changes to American's award chart were negative; however, award costs were reduced for business-class flights to Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean (dropped 2,500 miles) and economy tickets to the Middle East/Indian Subcontinent (dropped 5,000 miles).
While the award costs rose on many first-class redemptions in the latest changes to AAdvantage, most of the changes to business-class just bought American into line with the other legacy carriers.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Virgin partners with all four major transferrable rewards currencies, making it easy to accumulate enough miles for an award even if you have stray balances across different programs. Virgin cops a bad rap from a lot of folks due to exorbitant carrier-imposed surcharges, but the program also provides some outstanding sweet spots that provide killer value.
Try 17,500 miles one-way Transatlantic in Virgin’s Premium Economy seats. You’ll wear roughly $200 in fees, but the cost in miles is so low that the $200 still provides good value. Or, one of our all-time favorites, 120K miles in first or 95K miles in business to fly round-trip ANA from the East Coast to Japan.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Special mention at this point goes to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer which offers some of the most sought-after and aspirational redemptions in the award travel space. In fact, it could be argued they provide a better cent-per-point value in some instances than the options above, but when all factors come into play, the five programs listed offer the best mix of standout redemptions, value, flexibility, and award availability.
Final Thoughts
Marriott's transfer partners are a stellar addition to the combined program, and one of the best legacy features to carry over from SPG. With the majority of airlines converting at 3:1, the additional 5,000 bonus miles received for every 60,000 points transferred, and the sheer number of transfer partners, Marriott Rewards has put itself on the radar as one of the big players in transferrable rewards.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
The second paragraph of the article states “you’ll receive a 15,000 point bonus for every 60,000 Marriott Rewards points transferred”. I believe this should say 5,000 points.
15K bonus MR points is correct – converts to 5,000 miles. Have clarified the paragraph in the post.
Good outline of options
At present, there is a bonus that can be signed up for on United giving 30% extra miles on transfers.
Thanks for the heads up about the United bonus as well!
I have transferred miles to AA for the bonus previously so I’m glad to see this little perk will be staying!
Can this be combined to the promotion that British Airline has for additional 20% bonus?
Just moved 60k Marriott over to AA recently, ended up with 25k and then will be redeemed on EY.
Great summary of Marriott earning cards and transfer partners. Thanks for compiling this and putting it all in one place.
I believe in the 2nd paragraph you mean to say 5,000 mile bonus, not 15,000.
Have updated the paragraph to clarify. The bonus is awarded as 15K points which converts to 5K miles.
Thank goodness Marriott has done something positive! I hate it when I call and am put on hold for an hour plus!!!
Really nice breakdown, and I can’t really disagree with your comments about Marriott.
thanks for sharing. marriott 7-night certificate is dead.
Thanks for sharing it.
Marriott’s wide range of airline partners is excellent.
Great stuff on this conversion!!!
Thanks for the heads up!
The only hotel program I have transferred points from was SPG which was 1:1 with a 5000 point bonus on a 20,000 point transfer.
Given Starpoints converted to Marriott at 1:3, and Marriott points transfer to airlines at 3:1, the transfer rates and the bonus remain the same. Marriott awards the bonus as 15,000 points which converts to 5,000 airline miles.
Thank you for the best value list.
It is nice that AA is on the best value list.
Agreed!!
Thank you for these comprehensive posts that both relate to a lot of people, and makes everything straightforward.
Always rely on these extra bonus point transfer bonuses.
Fantastic, these promos help!
The best part is this isn’t a promo! The 25% bonus is a permanent feature of transfers from Marriott Rewards to airline miles.
Cool perk on having Marriott points to transfer! Thanks!
Nice to see these benefits preserved.
Very nice to have bonuses but bear in mind how long the transfers can take! I hoped to use some transferred miles for my last trip, the first bunch came through in a couple days but the next have never arrived – yet. I will have to keep bugging them. I can only hope ill get a bonus!
Thanks for the reminder and the “best-value” list.
Nice compilation of information for easy reference.
It is a good SPG legacy.
Not bad considering how I’m no longer inclined to stay at Marriott after this data breech
I have less than 60k points so I will wait next promo.
I’m eagerly waiting for transfer bonuses on top of the regular 25% bonus. 🙂
Marriott is very slow to post point bonuses
Might be a good way to use points but only with a specific trip in mind.
Transfers to Alaska Airlines are well worth it!
Wish ANA had a better exchange rate.
Will be taking advantage of this. Thanks for the info.
Good summary, is nice that AA is on the list
Good compilation, there are many possibilities swap points and move
Looks like Marriott travel package redemption is excluded from the transfer promo (again). Was saving up in hopes of taking advantage of holiday promo, looks like I’ll keep my points.
good pointers. thx.
Marriott points lose value if you are trying to catch an airline award for a specific date. The long transfer time, now quoted at “up to six weeks” is a deal breaker. Limited award seats you find today will typically be long gone before your transferred points arrive. I was told by customer service (for platinum elite level) that there are no longer any options for expediting the transfer process.
I though ANA is also a nice option.
Agree, the long transfer time is horrible. And the customer service is so unapologetic. I regret applying for this card as the point is completely useless.The only thing I really can use it for is hotel stays. What is the point of having such a long list of airline partners? No award tickets will be available by the time the points arrive. If chase and other programs can do an instant transfer, why can’t Marriott?
The long transfer time is a complete bummer. I regret applying for this card.