50% Bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points on Amex Transfers

Converting Amex Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy points
Converting Amex Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy this month could be exceptionally good value. Photo: Adobe Stock.

This month, American Express cardholders can get 50% bonus points when transferring Australian Amex Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy.

If you’d like to use your Amex Membership Rewards points to book hotel nights with Marriott, this promo will of course help with that. But it’s also a lucrative way to convert your Amex points to frequent flyer points with over 30 different airlines. And at quite good rates!

When American Express and Marriott Bonvoy first ran a similar promotion in September 2022, it proved to be extremely popular. The two loyalty programs then brought the promotion back in May 2023. It’s now running for a third time, throughout August 2023. You’ll receive 50% bonus Marriott Bonvoy points when you transfer points from Amex Membership Rewards between 1 and 31 August 2023.

See the American Express website for the full offer terms & conditions.

Amex Membership Rewards transfer to Marriott Bonvoy
You can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy on the American Express website.

The ‘AFF on Air’ podcast covered the September 2022 promotion in detail. Most of the details are still the same, except that transfers from Marriott Bonvoy to some airlines no longer attract the 25% bonus. Also, the conversion rate from Marriott to United MileagePlus has changed. But the basic trick still works!

Converting Marriott Bonvoy points to airlines

In Australia, Amex Membership Rewards points can be transferred to 9-11 frequent flyer programs (depending on your card type) and two hotel loyalty programs – Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors.

That’s already a large number of airlines that you can transfer points to. But you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to even more frequent flyer programs – around 38 in total. This includes many useful programs that don’t allow direct transfers from Amex Membership Rewards, such as United MileagePlus, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan or Korean Air Skypass.

The transfer rate from Marriott Bonvoy to most airlines is 3:1. In addition, for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer to most airlines, you’ll get 25% bonus airline points or miles (i.e. you’ll receive 25,000 airline points or miles). There are a few exceptions, as shown below.

Here’s a full list of frequent flyer programs that you can convert Marriott Bonvoy points into:

Frequent Flyer ProgramTransfer Rate (Marriott Points : Airline Miles)Bonus for Transferring 60,000 Marriott Points
Aegean Miles+Bonus3:125% Bonus
Aer Lingus AerClub3:125% Bonus
Aeromexico Club Premier3:125% Bonus
Air Canada Aeroplan3:125% Bonus
Air France/KLM Flying Blue3:125% Bonus
Air New Zealand Airpoints200:125% Bonus
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan3:125% Bonus
MilleMiglia (formerly Alitalia)3:125% Bonus
ANA Mileage Club3:125% Bonus
American Airlines AAdvantage3:1No
Asiana Club3:125% Bonus
Avianca LifeMiles3:1No
British Airways Executive Club3:125% Bonus
Cathay (Asia Miles)3:125% Bonus
Copa Airlines ConnectMiles3:125% Bonus
Delta SkyMiles3:1No
Emirates Skywards3:125% Bonus
Etihad Guest3:125% Bonus
Frontier Airlines EarlyReturns3:125% Bonus
Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club3:125% Bonus
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles3:125% Bonus
Iberia Plus3:125% Bonus
JAL Mileage Bank3:125% Bonus
Korean Air Skypass3:1No
LATAM Pass3:125% Bonus
Qantas Frequent Flyer3:125% Bonus
Qatar Airways Privilege Club3:125% Bonus
Saudi Arabian Alfursan3:125% Bonus
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer3:125% Bonus
South African Airways Voyager3:125% Bonus
Southwest Rapid Rewards3:125% Bonus
TAP Portugal Miles&Go3:125% Bonus
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus3:125% Bonus
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles3:125% Bonus
United Mileage Plus3:150% Bonus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club3:125% Bonus
Virgin Australia Velocity3:125% Bonus
Vueling Club3:125% Bonus

For more on the Marriott Bonvoy program, see our guide to buying & redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points.

Why this promotion could be lucrative for you

Normally, Amex Membership Rewards points transfer to Marriott Bonvoy at a 3:2 rate. This means that 180,000 Membership Rewards points would convert to 120,000 Bonvoy points. If you then converted those Bonvoy points to United MileagePlus (for example), you’d receive 60,000 United MileagePlus miles after bonuses.

With this promo, your Amex points convert to Marriott at a 1:1 rate. So, to get 120,000 Bonvoy points, you would only need 120,000 Amex points. Those would then convert to 50,000 points with most frequent flyer programs (after the 25% bonus). Or, you’ll receive 60,000 United miles (with the 50% bonus for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred to United).

(Note that there’s a limit to the number of Marriott Bonvoy points you can transfer to an airline each day. So you’d need to transfer those points over multiple days.)

As an example, 55,000 United MileagePlus miles is enough to book a one-way Thai Airways Business Class flight from Melbourne to Bangkok.

United redemption on TG MEL-BKK
You could redeem 55,000 United miles (plus taxes) to fly Thai Airways Business Class.

In short, with this promotion you can use your Amex Membership Rewards points to access frequent flyer programs that you can’t directly transfer points into – without giving your Amex points nearly as much of a “haircut” in the process.

Great Cards for Amex Membership Rewards Points

American Express Explorer Credit Card
Earn
2

American Express Membership Rewards points on everyday purchases

Signup Bonus

50,000 bonus Membership Rewards Points

Annual Fee
$395 p.a.
Go to offer
American Express Platinum Card
Earn
2.25

American Express Membership Rewards points on everyday purchases

Signup Bonus

150,000 bonus Membership Rewards points

Apply by 28th Jan 2025

Annual Fee
$1,450 p.a.
Go to offer
American Express Platinum Edge
Earn
1

American Express Membership Rewards points on everyday purchases

Signup Bonus

No current signup bonus

Annual Fee
$0 in the first year, $195 p.a.
Go to offer

Transfer CommBank Awards points to Marriott for 50% bonus points

This month, Commonwealth Bank customers can also transfer CommBank Awards points to Marriott Bonvoy and receive 50% bonus points. This offer also ends on 31 August 2023 and there’s a limit of up to 300,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points in total for CommBank Awards members.

CommBank Awards points can be converted to Marriott Bonvoy at a 3:1 rate. With this offer, that effectively becomes a 2:1 rate.

This is the first time CommBank Awards members have been able to earn a bonus when transferring points to Marriott Bonvoy.

Other transfer bonuses available this month

Until 18 August 2023, you can also get 20% bonus Avios when transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

Plus, this month you can earn a 30% bonus on Amex Membership Rewards points transfers to Hilton Honors.

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.
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During a limited period, you can receive 50% additional Marriott Bonvoy® points by transferring American Express Membership Rewards® points to your Marriott Bonvoy account. For every 600 Membership Rewards points transferred, you'll earn an extra 300 Marriott Bonvoy points.

This offer is valid until August 31, 2023.

Reply 3 Likes

Thanks for the heads-up. I emptied my MR account on the previous bonus promo, so only have around 10K now, perhaps might get to 20K by end of August.

I do tend to launder MR via Bonvoy, where I can use them directly from Bonvoy or launder further to AAdvantage if needed - though the AA path is nowhere near as attractive as it used was in the past.

Reply Like

The Marriott bonus is great for me - I have a specific redemption in mind for the Christmas/New Year peak period - so need all the points I can get my hands on! I'm just hoping there will also be a points purchase bonus this month too.

Reply 2 Likes

View attachment 338127

During a limited period, you can receive 50% additional Marriott Bonvoy® points by transferring American Express Membership Rewards® points to your Marriott Bonvoy account. For every 600 Membership Rewards points transferred, you'll earn an extra 300 Marriott Bonvoy points.

This offer is valid until August 31, 2023.

Not appearing on the nz amex accounts…

Reply Like

These seem to be coming up more regularly. Anyone noticed any pattern at all yet?

Reply Like

During a limited period, you can receive 50% additional Marriott Bonvoy® points by transferring American Express Membership Rewards® points to your Marriott Bonvoy account. For every 600 Membership Rewards points transferred, you'll earn an extra 300 Marriott Bonvoy points.

This offer is valid until August 31, 2023.

Isn't that for every 600 MR points transferred you get an extra 200 Marriott points (600 = 400 + 50% bonus of 200 = 600), so effectively 1:1?

Reply 1 Like

I did an AMEX to Marriott points transfer this evening and both regular and bonus points showing in my account straight away (my Bonvoy account was already linked).

Reply 1 Like

best use of marriott bonvoy is 5 nights redemption? or to another program?
I need to figure out what to do with krisflyer devaluation ..

Reply Like

I topped my Bonvoy balance up last promotion. Looks like these promos are coming around more frequently so I might wait it out. Though I have used some of the points already.

Agree the KF devaluation is a downer so opportunities like this one take some of the sting out of it.

Reply 1 Like

Makes one wonder whether Bonvoy or Avios is the better destination for points. Hmm!

Reply Like