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LAST CHANCE: Get a 30% bonus converting American Express points to Marriott Bonvoy

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American Express has been running a rare 30% bonus when you transfer Membership Rewards points into Marriott Bonvoy points.

This is, I think, the first Bonvoy transfer bonus we’ve seen since 2019 – and in 2019 it was targeted. This one is open to all.

The usual transfer rate is 1.5 Marriott Bonvoy points per 1 Membership Rewards point. Under this offer, you will receive 1.95 Marriott Bonvoy points per American Express point.

You are running out of time to take part, however. The offer ends on Monday 30th September.

30% bonus converting American Express Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy

The offer is not targeted although you need a UK-based Amex card and it shows very clearly on the Membership Rewards website if you attempt to make a transfer. If you don’t see any mention of the bonus, don’t do it – or just do a small transfer as a test first.

Here is the small print:

  • the offer runs to Monday 30th September 2024
  • there is no minimum transfer to receive the bonus, apart from the usual ‘Amex to Marriott’ minimum of 400 Membership Rewards points
  • you can receive the bonus on multiple transfers
  • your standard points should transfer instantly to Marriott Bonvoy but the small print says that the bonus points could take eight weeks to arrive – that said, this isn’t actually true and the bonus has been posting immediately

Is this a good deal?

Yes. I value a Marriott Bonvoy point at 0.5p.  On that basis, via this offer you are getting 0.975p per Amex point as opposed to the usual 0.75p.

This puts Bonvoy points on a par with redeeming for Avios or other airline miles, which I tend to value at 1p each.

However, it is relatively easy to get outsize value from your Marriott Bonvoy points. I have a spreadsheet showing my Starwood and Marriott redemptions over the last 10 years and I have averaged 0.75p. This is the equivalent of getting almost 1.5p per American Express point if I transfer under this offer.

30% bonus converting American Express Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy

Don’t get carried away though

You can buy Marriott Bonvoy points directly from Marriott – see here.

When a 40% bonus on purchased points is running, which happens a couple of times per year, you can buy Bonvoy points for around 0.7p each. You shouldn’t value Bonvoy points any higher than the cost of buying them directly, albeit there is an annual cap on the number of points you can purchase.

This offer may also work for airline miles

Marriott Bonvoy has 40 airline partners.  Not only does it have the biggest range of airline partners of any hotel scheme, it also has the most generous conversion rate.

Take a look at the full list on the Marriott Bonvoy site here.

In most programmes, including Avios and Virgin Flying Club, you receive 1 airline mile for every 3 Marriott Bonvoy points you convert.

If you convert in chunks of 60,000 Bonvoy points, you receive an additional 25% bonus – you get 25,000 miles instead of 20,000.

Let’s see what that means:

  • You convert 30,770 Amex Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy under this offer
  • You receive 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points in your account (46,155 base points plus the 30% bonus)
  • You transfer those 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points into airline miles
  • You receive 25,000 airline miles

This means that you receive 0.81 airline miles per Membership Rewards point.

Obviously this is not a good deal for those airlines which are already Membership Rewards partners at a 1:1 rate.  However, if you collect miles in an airline programme which is NOT a UK Membership Rewards partner, this is a great opportunity to convert them and get a ratio of 1 to 0.81 on the transfer.

Amusingly, if you want Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, it is now a better deal to convert like this than directly from American Express into KrisFlyer. This is because the transfer rate between Membership Rewards and Singapore Airlines is only 1 to 0.66.

The same goes for Emirates. The transfer rate between Membership Rewards and Emirates Skywards is now 1 to 0.75, so you are marginally better off going via Marriott in chunks of 30,770 Amex points.

Conclusion

This is the first Marriott Bonvoy transfer bonus we’ve seen in five years (I think) and you have to go back even further to find one that was open to all.

If you know how to get value out of Marriott Bonvoy points then it is definitely worth a look. I have already done a transfer a few weeks ago and may do another before Monday.

I wouldn’t normally stockpile Bonvoy points because transfers from Amex are instant, but a 30% bonus will swing me.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.

Category

American Express Membership Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy

Comments (20)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Nicholas says:
    28 Sep28 September 07:57

    I made a transfer last night and the points (inc bonus) are already showing this morning. The expiry date for my account hasn’t changed though – should this definitely count? (Am I just being a bit impatient?!)

  • Froggee says:
    28 Sep28 September 08:32

    After much pontification, I emptied out my MR into Bonvoy yesterday.

    I was in two minds having sat on the Bonvoy points for five years but recently used them all for SQ.

    Plenty Avios, arguably too many Virgin points, enough Hilton points so might as well.

    Hope I don’t regret it. SQ losing its 5,000 bonus on 20,000 or Bonvoy going full on revenue redemptions would result in a very sad face.

    • G bit says:
      28 Sep28 September 09:04

      I’ve done the same. Thought it was a decent offer and with a few devaluations happening within MR recently I thought Bonvoy the better bet.

    • JDB says:
      28 Sep28 September 09:22

      @Froggee – as a master wordsmith, if not the HfP master wordsmith, I was a bit surprised by the use of the word “pontification” here.

      • JDB says:
        28 Sep28 September 09:24

        @Froggee – for clarification, you are the master wordsmith! I realise my post might suggest I was referring to me.

        • Froggee says:
          28 Sep28 September 10:08

          Lolz @JDB.

          Mrs Froggee has endured me “discussing” this with her for the last several weeks. And by a happy coincidence, this morning, she has now also converted her MR points to Bonvoy.

          But seeing as we are seeking clarity, I was most confused at the use of the word “disintermediation” by a random punter on the internet the other day. I didn’t mention it at the time as nobody likes a pedant. Perhaps you could explain it’s meaning to me as such minutiae is totally your thing:

          https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/reply/691009/

          Luv ewe

          Froggee

          PS I wroted “it’s” just for you.
          PPS My English licks bag. Grammar was not even taught at my inner city comprehensive other than, in passing, in modern languages.
          PPS Thanks for playing.

          • JDB says:
            28 Sep28 September 10:35

            Touché. You are, of course, correct. It should have been ‘re’ not ‘dis’. Probably would have been simpler just to say speak to the organ grinder not the monkey.

            I don’t particularly recall being taught grammar or spelling even though one had to do English Language O level but I have always read a lot. Britain is a bit unique in having a majority of its citizens not having a proper command of their own language something you won’t find in other European countries or even in the remotest villages in China or Argentina. They might have a local accent but they can master even the most complicated aspects of grammar and spell correctly. We thus end up in the unusual position of having foreigners and people born here but with some other heritage speaking English better and generally being better educated than many of the so called natives.

            PS that’s probably pontificating.

          • RussellH says:
            28 Sep28 September 11:10

            I also do not recall much in the way of English grammar being taught at secondary level – a faily well regarded English Public School, albeit with a number of highly idiosyncratic and non-standard aspects, but nevertheless very conservative (with both ‘C’ and a ‘c’).
            But – we were most certainly taught a lot of grammer (though I do not think that that word was used) at primary in Middlesex, as it then was.
            Strangely, the book used was Scottish, as were the aids to learning copperplate handwriting, resulting in a number of phrases that we had to copy out meaning nothing to me until 1970, when I moved to Scotland.

    • BBbetter says:
      28 Sep28 September 09:25

      Thanks Froggee, I was just hoping someone can validate my assumptions. Avios boost is one way to keep the balance ticking up and not rely on MRs. Will transfer now.
      Bonvoy is already 75% dynamic as Rob mentioned some time back. Can see some signs of demand softening and cash prices falling relatively. Hope that delays devaluations for some more time.

    • CamFlyer says:
      28 Sep28 September 11:06

      Glad to see you’re doing the conversion — I was sitting on the fence, bit think I will similarly empty my MR acount this weekend (after converting all my Bonvoy points to TK earlier this year, for a redemption that now needs to be cancelled…).

  • louie says:
    28 Sep28 September 10:29

    If only you got the extra miles transferring to AA 🙁

  • ukpolak says:
    28 Sep28 September 10:57

    I emptied my MR account after 10 months of accumulation through Plat SUB / retentions.

    It is paying for 5 nights in a Lux property on the Gulf Coast next summer at value 1.1p / Marriott point, even more valuable when considering the Amex transfer that sat behind it as this article outlines.

    Also, interestingly, I understand moving MRs from one person to another is problematic (or impossible?) but my wife and I combined Bonvoy points using their online tool.

    Thanks for the tips.

    • will says:
      1 Oct1 October 16:07

      online tool for a transfer to another Member is not working… have to call

  • will says:
    1 Oct1 October 16:06

    still showing as available, but expiry date 30th Sept hidden in the further notes…. reckon will still credit the bonus?

    • squall says:
      2 Oct2 October 11:11

      Just wondering the same – maybe it’s been extended?

      • Rob says:
        2 Oct2 October 11:15

        Transfer the smallest possible amount and see what posts – bonus goes on immediately.

        • squall says:
          2 Oct2 October 11:28

          Thanks Rob 👍

          • Daniel says:
            3 Oct3 October 07:50

            I can confirm that while the site still shows the bonus banner, when the points transfer 400 still only gives you 600.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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