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Earlier this year, Marriott and Starbucks joined forces to offer reciprocal rewards on coffee purchases and hotel stays — and even introduced point transfers. One additional perk of this partnership is that about once a month, Marriott will make it “Marriott Bonvoy Week,” where you'll earn bonus rewards on eligible purchases. This time around, Marriott Bonvoy Week will be in effect through October 27, 2024.
Here's a quick recap of what this partnership entails, how to earn bonus rewards during Marriott Bonvoy Week, and whether you should consider converting Marriott Bonvoy points to Starbucks Stars.
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Link Your Marriott Bonvoy and Starbucks Accounts To Earn Reciprocal Rewards
The Marriott-Starbucks partnership is one of the latests way to earn Starbucks Stars on your travels — and one of the newest ways to earn bonus rewards on your morning cup of coffee. To earn reciprocal rewards, the first step is to link your Marriott and Starbucks accounts.
If you don't have an account with either program, both are free to join. Once you're a member of both programs, sign into your Starbucks Stars account and add your Marriott Bonvoy number to link your accounts.
After the linkage is complete, you're ready to earn. Starbucks and Marriott are offering the following rewards:
- Starbucks: Guests can earn double stars on qualifying transactions at participating Starbucks locations during an eligible stay at a Marriott Bonvoy-participating hotel.
- Marriott: During any designated Marriott Bonvoy Week, Starbucks Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy members earn 100 Marriott Bonvoy points when they make three qualifying transactions at participating Starbucks locations.
Earn 100 Bonus Points During Marriott Bonvoy Week
About once a month, members who linked their accounts have access to a special Marriott Bonvoy Week. During this week, members can earn 100 bonus Bonvoy points after three eligible purchases, each of at least $2.
Eligible purchases include any food, beverage, or merchandise purchase, excluding alcoholic beverages, Starbucks Card eGifts, and physical Starbucks gift cards. Participating locations include any U.S. Starbucks where members can earn Stars.
Members can earn the 100 bonus points once per Marriott Bonvoy Week. Points will deposit into the member's account within two days after the week concludes. The third and current Marriott Bonvoy Week runs from October 21 through October 27, 2024.
Suffice it to say that the Starbucks Stars you'll earn on qualifying purchases will get you to a free drink faster than 100 Bonvoy points will get you to your next free Marriott night. On average, AwardWallet users redeem Bonvoy points for 0.94¢ apiece, making the 100-point bonus worth $0.94. On the other hand, as you only have to spend at least $2 on each of your three purchases, you can get as much as 15% value back on your drinks.
Related: 12 Marriott Redemptions For Budget-Savvy Travelers
Marriott Bonvoy Point Transfers to Starbucks
As AwardWallet first caught in mid-September, Marriott introduced point transfers to Starbucks. Now, you can transfer Bonvoy points to Starbucks Stars at a ratio of 1,000 points to 100 Stars.
Members can transfer a minimum of 1,000 points and up to 50,000 points per day in 10-point increments to the linked Starbucks Rewards account. To initiate a transfer, click here. Per the terms, the transfer should take up to two days to complete.
Should you transfer Marriott points to Starbucks?
On balance, this transfer option presents poor value. 1,000 Marriott points are worth more than $9, while 100 Stars can be cashed in for a hot brewed coffee, tea, a bakery item, a packaged snack, and a few more things. Most of these items are worth about half of — if not far less than — what 1,000 Marriott points are worth.
So, you're better off saving your Marriott points for free nights or even transferring Bonvoy points to nearly 40 airlines. While transferring to Starbucks can unlock value, it's poor relative to virtually any other option you have at your fingertips.
Final Thoughts
The Marriott-Starbucks partnership isn't the most lucrative reciprocal rewards program available, but taking advantage of it is an easy way to earn a little extra nonetheless. At least you can earn double Stars during stays at Marriott hotels and 100 bonus points with Marriott Bonvoy Weeks.
And if you're sitting on more Marriott points than you know what to with — or can't scrounge enough for a free night — you can now initiate a points transfer to Starbucks. Based on the value you'll lose, it's hard to endorse these transfers as a good use of points. Yet, it might feel a lot more rewarding in the short term.
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