The Marriott Bonvoy program has many airline transfer partners. These transfer partners include some programs for which Marriott is likely your only option if you want to transfer rewards into the program to book an award.
- Maximizing Marriott Bonvoy’s unique airline transfer options: Part 1.
- Maximizing Marriott Bonvoy’s unique airline transfer options: Part 2.
However, one of TPG’s staffers saw a post in an online group with an email from Marriott stating, “Change is in the air. Beginning October 31, 2022, the 5,000 bonus points-to-miles incentive with American Airlines will end.” I haven’t received this email personally; it seems Marriott only sent it to members who had transferred Marriott points to AAdvantage in the past.
TPG reached out to Marriott and confirmed that the program sent out a communication about this change Monday.
Currently, you get a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer from Marriott to airline partners (including American Airlines AAdvantage). So, transferring 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to AAdvantage would get you 25,000 American miles (an effective transfer ratio of 2.4:1). However, starting Oct. 31, Marriott will end the transfer bonus. Then the effective transfer ratio will drop to 3:1.
A Marriott spokesperson told TPG that the 5,000-mile bonus per 60,000 points transferred is also ending for Avianca LifeMiles and Delta SkyMiles.
Strangely, Marriott’s webpage about transferring points to miles still states, “Transfer your points to your frequent-flyer program*, and as a bonus, we’ll add 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer to frequent flyer miles.”
The asterisk doesn’t lead to a note about excluded airline programs. Instead, it’s just a note that your account names must match to transfer Marriott points to most airline programs. It’s disappointing that Marriott is communicating these upcoming changes to select members by email but hasn’t updated its website.
Related: Here’s what you should know before transferring Marriott points to airline miles
Analysis of this change
First, it seems strange for Marriott to only drop the transfer bonus for select airline transfers. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more airlines added to the list of transfers that won’t get a 5,000-miles bonus per 60,000 Marriott points transferred.
And second, this is a clear devaluation of Marriott points — especially since it can be difficult to earn American Airlines miles. The only major transferable currencies that transfer to American Airlines AAdvantage are Marriott Bonvoy and Bilt Rewards points.
I don’t expect removing these bonuses — even if it expands to all airlines — to affect me significantly since I prefer to redeem Marriott points for hotel stays. However, I’ve certainly considered transferring Marriott points to airlines before — for example, to get Korean Airlines miles since no other major transferable currencies transfer to Korean Air SkyPass — so this change is a minor devaluation for how I use Marriott points.
However, since Marriott Bonvoy is dropping all of its award pricing bounds for staying on Jan. 1, 2023, some loyalists may find more value in 2023 and onward through transferring Marriott points to airlines. As such, it’s a bummer to learn that transfers to American Airlines AAdvantage, Delta SkyMiles and Avianca LifeMiles will soon not benefit from the current 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred.
Related: How I’m spending over 5 million Marriott Bonvoy points
Bottom line
It’s never good to see a loyalty program remove benefits its members enjoy. And it’s disappointing that Marriott only emailed some of its members about this impending change.
I suspect these are only the first programs that will likely lose this bonus over the coming months and years. But here are the major rewards programs that let you transfer points or miles to the soon-to-be-affected airline programs:
- American Airlines AAdvantage: Marriott Bonvoy and Bilt Rewards.
- Avianca LifeMiles: American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, Citi ThankYou, Marriott Bonvoy and Brex Cash.
- Delta Air Lines SkyMiles: American Express Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.
If you’re planning to transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to American, Delta or Avianca, I recommend doing so soon. We know the bonus won’t be offered for transfers to American AAdvantage starting Oct. 31, but we don’t have an exact end date for Delta and Avianca. If you get an email from Marriott about the bonus ending for these airlines — or other airlines — consider forwarding it to [email protected].
