For a limited time, American Express cardholders can transfer Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy with a 35% bonus. When combined with the current welcome bonus offered by the American Express® Gold Card, cardholders have the opportunity to turn 60,000 American Express Membership Rewards into over 80,000 Bonvoy points.
If you’re looking to build up your Marriott Bonvoy balance, now is a great time to take advantage of this 35% bonus. In this post, we’ll break down how to make the most of this promotion, when it makes sense to transfer points and explore two additional opportunities to earn bonus miles. Let’s dive into the details and see how you can boost your points with this limited-time offer.
Transfer Amex Points to Marriott Bonvoy with a 35% Bonus
The American Express Membership Rewards program is quite versatile. This versatility is thanks to an extensive list of airline and hotel transfer partners. These transfer partners allow eligible American Express cardholders the ability to transfer their Membership Rewards to major airline and hotel loyalty programs; including Marriott Bonvoy.
Typically, Amex Membership Rewards points transfer to partners at a 1-to-1 ratio meaning 1,000 Amex points will get you 1,000 partner points or miles. However, for a limited time, you can transfer Amex points to Marriott Bonvoy with a 35% bonus.
Promotion Details:
- Start Date: November 1, 2024
- End Date: December 31, 2024
- Transfer Ratio: 1 Membership Reward point = 1.35 Bonvoy points
- Minimum Transfer for Bonus: 1,000 points
- Maximum Transfer: 999,000 points
- Estimated Transfer Time: 48 hours
By leveraging this 35% bonus, each point transferred to Marriott Bonvoy has the potential to unlock added value, making it a solid option for Amex cardholders looking to maximize their Membership Rewards points.
Related: What is Marriott Homes & Villas?
American Express Membership Rewards vs. Marriott Bonvoy Points
The value of Amex Membership Rewards points varies significantly depending on your preferred source. The Points Guy values Amex points at 2 cents a piece while AwardWallet (which uses real member award redemption data) puts the value per point at 1.91 cents. In my experience, I would place the value of American Express points closer to 1.75 cents per point.
The value you get per point also varies depending on how you redeem your points. For example, redeeming your points for flights booked via Amex Travel almost always yields a fixed value. To book a flight priced at $254 you will need 25,448 points valuing each point at about 1 cent.
When you book hotels that are not a part of the Fine Hotels & Resort collection, you receive even less from your Amex points. For Fine Hotels & Resort Collection properties, you will get 1.00 cent per point but for all other hotels booked with Amex points, you will receive 0.70 cents per point in value.
However, when you transfer your American Express points to Marriott Bonvoy with a 35% bonus, you have the potential to unlock far more value per point. But, you also have the potential to unlock less value.
You might assume that you will receive more value when booking Marriott properties with Bonvoy points. Surprisingly, there are numerous examples in which you actually receive more value from your American Express Membership Rewards points when booking Marriott hotels via Amex Travel. That being said, it’s a good idea to have a desired redemption in mind before transferring points to your Bonvoy account.
Let’s say you were to transfer 60,000 American Express Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy during this promotion. You would receive 81,000 Bonvoy points.
Here are just a few examples of what you can book with 81,000 Bonvoy points or less:
| Property | Points Needed (per night) | Cash Rate (per night) | Value per Point | Sample Dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Westin Resort & Spa, Cancun | 32,000 | $156 | 0.49 cents | Nov. 19-20 |
| AC Hotel A Coruna, Spain | 9,000 | $69 | 0.77 cents | Jan. 21-22 |
| W Osaka | 41,000 | $474 | 1.16 cents | Jan. 21-22 |
| The St. Regis Chicago | 50,000 | $499 | 1.00 cents | Jan. 7-8 |
| The Westin St. Louis | 31,000 | $166 | 0.54 cents | Jan. 7-8 |
Looking at the last two properties on that list, we will then compare the number of points needed to book these properties with American Express points via Amex Travel:
- The St. Regis Chicago: Cash Rate $565, Points Needed 56,556, Value per Point 1.00 cent
- The Westin St. Louis: Cash Rate $176, Points Needed 25,286, Value per Point 0.70 cents
You can see in this example that it doesn’t always make sense to transfer your points to your Bonvoy account as you may be able to get more value per point when redeeming Amex points. Nevertheless, if you’re a loyal Marriott Bonvoy member and just need to top off your account balance, this is one of the better times to transfer points from American Express.
Related: How Much Are Southwest Rapid Rewards Points Worth?
Other Amex Transfer Partner Bonuses
There are two more American Express partner bonuses currently available to eligible cardholders. For a limited time, eligible cardholders can also receive a bonus when transferring Amex points to Avianca LifeMiles and Air France/KLM Flying Blue. Here are the details of these two transfer bonus promotions:
Transfer Amex Points to LifeMiles
Now through the end of November, you will receive a 15% bonus when you transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to your Avianca LifeMiles account. While not 35%, this is still a tempting bonus as the LifeMiles program can be quite lucrative. LifeMiles partners include United, Lufthansa, ANA, and Iberia. In theory, you can even redeem LifeMiles for Lufthansa First Class however, finding first class award space can be quite the challenge.
LifeMiles are currently valued by AwardWallet at a whopping 2.89 cents per point. So, it’s never a bad idea to have a stash of LifeMiles ready to go should you find premium cabin award space on one of the program’s many partner airlines.
Here are the details of the current 15% bonus transfer promotion:
- Start Date: November 1, 2024
- End Date: November 30, 2024
- Transfer Ratio: 1 Membership Reward point = 1.15 LifeMiles
- Minimum Transfer for Bonus: 1,000 points
- Maximum Transfer: 750,000 points
- Estimated Transfer Time: 72 hours
Transfer Amex Points to FlyingBlue
Also through the end of the month, you can transfer Amex points to FlyingBlue for a 20% bonus. Like the LifeMiles program, the FlyingBlue program features numerous global partners with which you can redeem your miles. Of course, you can redeem your miles for flights with Air France or KLM, but also Delta, Korean Air, and Virgin Atlantic, among others.
FlyingBlue miles are currently valued by AwardWallet at 2.17 cents per mile. Here are the details of this 20% bonus promotion on transfers from American Express:
- Start Date: November 1, 2024
- End Date: November 30, 2024
- Transfer Ratio: 1 Membership Reward point = 1.20 FlyingBlue miles
- Minimum Transfer for Bonus: 1,000 points
- Maximum Transfer: 999,000 points
- Estimated Transfer Time: 48 hours
The Bottom Line
The current limited-time 35% transfer bonus from American Express Membership Rewards to Marriott Bonvoy is potentially a valuable opportunity for loyal Bonvoy members. While it’s not always the best idea to transfer Amex points to Marriott due to variable redemption values, this limited-time bonus makes it a more attractive option, particularly for those aiming to top up their Bonvoy points for upcoming stays.
In addition to Marriott Bonvoy, you can transfer Amex Membership Rewards to two airline partners: Air France/KLM FlyingBlue and Avianca LifeMiles. However, the bonus is not as lucrative for these partners. Still, both the FlyingBlue and LifeMiles programs can be quite lucrative for premium cabin award redemptions.
Do you plan on taking advantage of any of these transfer bonus promotions? What is your favorite way to redeem American Express Membership Rewards points?
