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Marriott operates some of my favorite hotels around the world. But you can miss a ton of value if you think of Marriott Bonvoy solely as a hotel loyalty program. Some of my favorite award redemptions of all time, including memorable long-haul flights in Cathay Pacific and Emirates first class, were made possible by transferring my Marriott points to the right airline.
That's why we strongly recommend building your travel rewards strategy around the best credit cards that earn transferable points such as the Chase Ultimate Rewards® or Amex Membership Rewards programs, instead of limiting yourself to a single airline.
Most people overlook the one loyalty program that offers the most transfer options of all: Marriott Bonvoy.
Let's take a look at everything you need to know about Marriott airline transfers, including how they work and some of the best options to consider.
Many of the world's best airline loyalty programs are inaccessible for most U.S. travelers without points and miles. Some airlines, like Emirates and Etihad, have great transfer partnerships with major credit card rewards programs. Others, like, Hainan Airlines, can be impossible to book on points if you don't have an alternative outlet to top up your stash of Fortune Wings Club points.
That's where Marriott comes in. You can quickly transfer unused Marriott points to unique airlines you want to try with minimal cash outlay, giving you access to a far wider array of travel options than before.
Not only can you redeem your Marriott points for free stays at thousands of hotels around the globe — you can also transfer them to 40 different airlines! That's more transfer options than Chase and Amex combined have to offer.
The transfer ratio is one of the most important things to remember when transferring Marriott points to airlines.
You can transfer Marriott points to the 40 airline partners listed below. Bonvoy points transfer to most airlines at a 3:1 ratio. Air New Zealand is the one exception to this 3:1 rule, with a transfer ratio of 200 Marriott points to 1 Air New Zealand Airpoint (200:1).
You must transfer a minimum of 3,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per transaction. You're allowed to transfer up to 240,000 Marriott points a day.
You'll receive a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott points transferred to any airline partners except for the following four:
On top of this bonus, you'll get 5,000 more miles when you transfer 60,000 Marriott points to United MileagePlus for a total of 10,000 bonus miles per 60,000 points.
This way, 60,000 Marriott points become 30,000 United miles — effectively a 2:1 transfer ratio. This is part of the partnership between Marriott and United, which offers reciprocal elite status for select members as well as other benefits.
With 40 options to pick from, it can be hard to decide which airlines are worth transferring Marriott points to. There are plenty of airlines on the list that aren't worth considering at all, as well as a few hidden gems
Before we start walking through some of the best transfer options, I want to highlight a group of airlines that probably aren't the best transfer options. Paradoxically, they're the ones you might fly the most.
United, Delta, British Airways, and Air Canada, for example, aren't great Marriott transfer options. That's because you can easily transfer to these airlines from other programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards (United, British Airways, and Air Canada) and Amex Membership Rewards (Delta, British Airways, and Air Canada).
You'll get the best value by holding on to your Marriott points for more niche transfers to airlines whose miles are harder to earn.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan sits at the top of this list because Alaska miles are incredibly valuable, and the program has no other transfer partners. However, you can often buy miles on sale, or earn them through actual flying or by spending on the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card or Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card.
Alaska is part of the Oneworld alliance with non-alliance partners as well, with very competitive award charts.
If you remember that first example we talked about, I said that 180,000 Marriott points would be enough to earn a free Cathay Pacific first-class award ticket if you transferred them to 75,000 Alaska Airlines miles. Technically, the Cathay Pacific ticket only costs 70,000 miles to fly first class from the U.S. to Asia — but if you transfer fewer Marriott points, you'll miss out on the last 5,000-mile bonus and come up short.
Cathay offers one of the most luxurious and refined first-class experiences in the sky, making you wish that the 16-hour flight from JFK to Hong Kong would stretch even longer. You can even build in a free stopover, spending a few days (or weeks) in Hong Kong before connecting to somewhere else in Asia. Just note that these awards won't show up directly on the Alaska website; you'll need to search for award seats with American Airlines or British Airways and call to book.
American is the only one of the major U.S. carriers that doesn't have a major bank transfer partner.
Chase has a close relationship (and offers point transfers) with both United and Southwest, and Amex has a similar relationship with Delta. While American Airlines credit cards are issued by both Citi and Barclays, neither offers the ability to transfer miles to American Airlines AAdvantage.
The American Airlines AAdvantage program isn't as valuable as it used to be, after years of devaluation and the expansion of dynamic award pricing. That being said, flexible travelers can take advantage of many award sales that are worth booking. These include first-class award flight ss to Hong Kong for only 61,000 miles (as opposed to the normal price of ~200,000 miles or more), and plenty of 5,000-mile specials around North America.
That's to say nothing of all the amazing Oneworld partner awards you can book with American Airlines, including flying Qatar's industry-leading Qsuite to the Maldives for just 70,000 miles each way, or again, 180,000 Marriott points.
There are many airlines on the list of Marriott transfer partners that offer a decent value under the right circumstances. But many are plagued by some combination of high award rates, limited availability, excessive taxes, or poor IT that makes the booking process painfully complicated.
In these cases, you might consider transferring Marriott points if you're just short of a specific reward, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend planning to acquire Marriott points just to use with these airlines.
The joint loyalty program of Air France and KLM, Flying Blue was one of the first international frequent flyer programs to fully embrace dynamic pricing.
There are still deals to be had, especially if you're able to take advantage of one of the carrier's monthly Promo Rewards, which offer 25% to 50% discounts on flights between select cities and Europe (note that some monthly promos don't include any U.S. routes). Just be warned that, even if your mileage cost is low, you'll likely have to pay $200+ per person each way in taxes and fees.
There are an undeniable number of duds on this list — programs that aren't worth paying attention to because they don't offer competitive award charts or useful alliance networks. It's not worth getting into the details of why these programs aren't valuable, but suffice it to say, you probably won't want to transfer your Marriott points to airlines like Aegean, Copa, or Saudia.
Emirates used to be a reasonable Marriott partner, but it's experienced some harsh devaluations, making it a non-starter for most of us.
Transfer partners occasionally offer special transfer rates or bonus points to incentivize award winners to take action. Here's how to evaluate these promotions and understand the value conversion of your points between travel programs.
From time to time, you may be able to transfer Bonvoy points to partners at an elevated rate.
Transfer deals can be few and far between, so signing up for Marriott Bonvoy marketing emails can be your best bet for staying informed about potential bonuses.
There are several ways you can top up your Bonvoy account if you're a few thousand points short of the perfect transfer.
Marriott can receive transfer miles from select partner airlines, or points from several credit card rewards programs. However, you'll typically lose a lot of value by doing so, since Bonvoy points are worth significantly less than most airline miles or credit card rewards.
Business Insider values Marriott Bonvoy points at just 0.7 cents apiece on average, while points from most issuers like Chase Ultimate Rewards or Amex Membership Rewards are usually worth at least twice as much. On occasion, however, it might make sense to send over a few thousand points from one of your other reward "currencies" to help you reach the required number of points you need to transfer into airline miles.
One of the easiest and best ways to earn Marriott Bonvoy points is by signing up for a co-branded hotel credit card. The following Marriott cards all earn Bonvoy points at accelerated rates:
No, you cannot reverse point transfers in either direction. The Marriott Bonvoy points transfer page has a separate verification page before you complete a transfer, which gives you a second chance to reconsider your decision before sending points through.
Bonvoy point transfers typically take a day or two to process, so plan a few days ahead if you need the miles or points to hit your airline partner account by a certain date.
No, transferred points do not count toward elite status with any airline. They can only be used to book award travel.
Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a 3:1 ratio to most partner airlines: 3,000 Marriott points become 1,000 airline miles. Air New Zealand is the exception: 3,000 Marriott Bonvoy points become 15 Airpoints.
Most airlines offer an additional 5,000 miles for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred. The exceptions are American Airlines, Avianca, Delta Air Lines, and Korean Air, which do not offer any bonus transfer miles. United Airlines offers an extra 10,000 miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points.