The Marriott Bonvoy The program has many air transportation partners. These transfer partners include a number of programs where Marriott may be your only option if you want to transfer rewards into a program to place rewards.
However, one of TPG’s employees saw a post in an online group with an email from Marriott saying, “Change is happening. Starting October 31, 2022, 5,000 points offer Mileage bonus with American Airlines will end.” I personally have not received this email; looks like Marriott only sends it to members who have transferred Marriott points to AAdvantage in the past.
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TPG has contacted Marriott and confirmed that the program sent notice of this change on Monday.
Currently, you get a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer from Marriott to airline partners (incl. American Airlines A Pros). So transferring 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to AAdvantage will get you 25,000 US miles (effective transfer ratio 2.4:1). However, starting October 31, Marriott will end the transfer bonus. The effective transmission ratio then drops to 3:1.
A Marriott spokesperson told TPG that the 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred will also end for Avianca LifeMiles and Delta SkyMiles. After we first published this story, a number of TPG readers forwarded the following email about the change to us (email with subject line “Updating point-to-mile benefits”):
Strange, Marriott website about converting points to miles still states, “Transfer your points to the frequent flyer program* and as a bonus, we’ll add 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points you convert to frequent flyer miles.”
The asterisk does not lead to a note on excluded aeronautical programs. Instead, just keep in mind that your account name must match to transfer Marriott points to most airline programs. It is disappointing that Marriott is announcing these upcoming changes to select members via email but has not updated its website.
Related: Here’s what you should know before converting Marriott points to airline miles
Analyze this change
At first, it seems strange that Marriott only drops transfer bonuses for flights on certain airlines. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that many airlines added to the transfer list will not receive a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott points transferred.
And second, this is the obvious devaluation of Marriott points – especially since it can be difficult earn American Airlines miles. Unique specialization transferable currency transfer to American Airlines A Advantages are Marriott Bonvoy and Bilt Rewards the point.
I don’t expect the removal of these bonuses – even if it extends to all airlines – to significantly affect me because I like redeem Marriott points for hotel stays. However, I would certainly have considered transferring Marriott points to airlines – for example, to receive Korean Airlines miles as there are no other major transferable currencies. Korean Air SkyPass – so this change is a small devaluation to the way I use Marriott points.
However, since Marriott Bonvoy has reduced its award pricing limit for stays in 2023 and beyond, some loyal customers may find more value in transferring Marriott points to airlines. are not. As a result, it’s sad to hear that transfers to American Airlines AAdvantage, Delta SkyMiles and Avianca LifeMiles will soon not benefit from the current 5,000 miles bonus for every 60,000 points transferred.
Related: How I Spend Over 5 Million Marriott Bonvoy Points
Key point
It’s never good to see a loyalty program strip away the benefits its members enjoy. And it’s disappointing that Marriott has only emailed some of its members about this impending change.
I suspect these are just the first programs that will likely lose this bonus in the months and years to come. But here are the main rewards programs that allow you to transfer points or miles to the soon-to-be affected airline programs:
If you’re planning to transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to American, Delta or Avianca, I recommend doing so early. We are aware that rewards will not be offered when moving to American AAdvantage and Delta SkyMiles starting October 31, but we do not have an exact end date for Avianca. If you receive an email from Marriott about an end bonus for Avianca – or other airlines – consider forwarding it to [email protected].
