In August, the long-anticipated Starwood & Marriott hotels merger was finalized and the SPG program as we knew it was no longer. As a part of the merger, you now have the ability to transfer Marriott Rewards points to over 40 partner airlines. This is a benefit that came over from the SPG program and what previously made the program so valuable to points and miles enthusiasts.
While the earning rate on the SPG credit cards has been greatly devalued, the actual transfer ratio from Marriott Rewards to partner airlines has been kept intact.
With SPG airline transfers, the ratio was 1:1. Meaning for every 1 SPG point you transferred to an airline, you received 1 mile in the airline of your choice’s mileage currency. As an added bonus, for every 20,000 points you transferred, you received a 5,000-mile bonus in the airline you transferred into.
In this post, I will walk through how to transfer Marriott Rewards points into partner airlines and everything you need to know before doing so.
Transfer Partners
As a part of the merger, 1 SPG point transitioned into 3 Marriott Rewards points. With Marriott Rewards, you . will receive 1 airline mile for every 3 Marriott Rewards points you transfer. Additionally, you . will receive 5,000 additional airline miles when you transfer 60,000 Marriott Rewards points to airline miles. 60,000 Marriott points = 20,000 airline miles + 5,000 bonus miles.
As of writing this post, there are 44 airline transfer partners of Marriott Rewards. 41 of them transfer at a 3:1 ratio (3 Marriott Rewards points = 1 airline mile), while 3 of them offer different transfer ratios which are outlined below.
| Frequent Flyer Program | Marriott Rewards Points to Partner Airline Miles |
|---|---|
| Aegean Airlines | 3:1 |
| Aeroflot Bonus | 3:1 |
| AeroMexico ClubPremier | 3:1 |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 3:1 |
| Air China Phoenix Miles | 3:1 |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 3:1 |
| Air New Zealand Airpoints™ | 200:1 |
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan® | 3:1 |
| Alitalia MilleMiglia | 3:1 |
| ANA Mileage Club | 3:1 |
| American Airlines | 3:1 |
| Asiana Airlines Asiana Club | 3:1 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 3:1 |
| British Airways Executive Club | 3:1 |
| Asia Miles™ | 3:1 |
| China Southern Airlines | 3:1 |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | 3:1 |
| Delta SkyMiles® | 3:1 |
| Emirates Skywards® | 3:1 |
| Etihad Guest | 3:1 |
| Frontier Airlines EarlyReturns® | 3:1 |
| Hainan Airlines | 3:1 |
| Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles® | 3:1 |
| Iberia Plus | 3:1 |
| Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank | 3:1 |
| Jet Airways JetPrivilege® | 3:1 |
| JetBlue TrueBlue™ | 6:1 |
| Korean Air SKYPASS | 3:1 |
| LATAM Airlines LATAMPASS | 3:1 |
| Multiplus | 3:1 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 3:1 |
| Qatar Privilege Club | 3:1 |
| Saudia Airlines | 3:1 |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer® | 3:1 |
| South African Airways Voyager | 3:1 |
| Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® | 3:1 |
| TAP Air Portugal | 3:1 |
| THAI Airways | 3:1 |
| Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 3:1 |
| United MileagePlus® | 3:1.1 |
| Virgin Atlantic® Flying Club | 3:1 |
| Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer | 3:1 |
As you can see from the table above, all airline partners transfer at a 3:1 ratio except United Mileage Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, & Air New Zealand Airpoints.
- United MileagePlus transfers with a 10% bonus. So 60,000 Marriott points = 27,500 United miles. This is more favorable than the 3:1 ratio with other airlines.
- JetBlue TrueBlue transfers at a 6:1 ratio. 60,000 Marriott points = 12,500 JetBlue TrueBlue points. This is generally not a good transfer as you can transfer at a 1:1 ratio from both Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou.
- Air New Zealand Airpoints transfers at a ratio of 200:1. So 60,000 Marriott points = 325 points. This is an awful ratio and you should never consider this transfer option.
How to Transfer Marriott Rewards Points to Partner Airlines
Once you have decided on a transfer partner to send your Marriott Rewards points to, you can complete the transfer by following this link.
Once you click on the “Transfer Points” button, you will be prompted to log into your Marriott Rewards account if you are not already.
From here, you will be able to select one of the airline transfer partners from the table above from a drop-down menu. You will then enter your frequent flyer number for the selected airline and the number of Marriott Rewards points you wish to transfer.
You will need to have a frequent flyer account with the airline you are trying to transfer into. If you don’t have one, you will have to create one before completing a transfer. As you can see from the example above, 30,000 Marriott Rewards Points would equate to 10,000 Delta SkyMiles since the transfer ratio to Delta is 3:1.
You must transfer a minimum of 3,000 Marriott Rewards points (1,000 airline miles) and you can transfer up to 240,000 Marriott Rewards points per day. Additionally, when you transfer Marriott Rewards points to an airline, the transfers are one-way. This means you can not transfer points back to Marriott Rewards once the transfer is completed. All transfers will be final.
Finally, when you transfer Marriott Rewards points into partner airlines, make sure you build in time for the transfer to complete. None of the transfers are instant and some can take as long as 10 days to complete, depending on the airline.
Bottom Line
The ability to transfer SPG points into partner airlines is what made the program so valuable, so I am happy to see they have left the transfer ratios intact post-merger. In my opinion, this adds a lot of value to the Marriott Rewards program.
The lag time with getting the transfer points to airline kills this whole thing. If you find an award ticket that works, those tickets may no longer be available by the time the points appear. Marriott says it is the airline that is taking time but why does Chase and other credit card able to transfer instantly. I applied for Marriott card thinking it would be the same but now really regret it.
What airline specifically is delayed? Even with Chase and Amex, some transfers are not instant.