Amex to Marriott Points: How to Transfer the Points

Transferrable points across credit cards and loyalty programs are beneficial, especially if you’re a member of both programs. American Express Membership Rewards points are transferrable to many hotel points or airline miles. Among many, we can transfer our Amex to Marriott points, which is the topic I will cover in this post! 

So, what’s the transfer ratio of Amex to Marriott points? How do we transfer points from Amex to Marriott Bonvoy? Is it worth transferring points from Amex to Marriott? Let’s find out!

Bottom Line Up Front

With a transfer ratio of 1:1, some people may think it’s not worth transferring Amex points to Marriott Bonvoy as you can transfer points to other hotel partners with a better transfer ratio from American Express. 

While I’m not against transferring points from Amex to Marriott Bonvoy, I think it’s only worth it if you’re planning to stay in an ultra-luxury accommodation like St. Regis or the Ritz-Carlton. Otherwise, you may get more value if you transfer your Amex points to miles instead. 

Amex to Marriot points requires a minimum of 1000 points to transfer, while you can transfer Amex points to Qatar Airways QMiles or British Airways Avios for as low as 900 points. As for hotel partners, I find transferring from Amex to Hilton Honors points more valuable, with a 4:5 ratio between the two programs! 

Transferring Amex to Marriott Points

Transferring Amex to Marriott Points

You can transfer your Amex to Marriott points if you have both memberships. While you can quickly get the automatic membership status for both programs through a co-branded Marriott Bonvoy American Express card, you can still sign up for a Marriott Bonvoy membership separately if you hold a regular Amex card. 

Sign up for a Marriot Bonvoy membership for free via Marriott’s website here. You will get a number where you can connect with your American Express Membership Rewards program later. 

Transfer Ratio & Minimum Amount of Points to Transfer From Amex to Marriott Points

The transfer ratio between Amex to Marriott Bonvoy points is 1:1, which means that the number of points between both programs will not change if you transfer it across the platforms. 

However, make sure you subscribe to Amex and Marriott Bonvoy’s mailing lists to ensure that you’ll be the first to get notified when they have promotional offers for the transfer points between both programs. They occasionally offer bonus points that make transferring across programs worth more value. 

The minimum amount to transfer points from Amex to Marriott Bonvoy is 1,000 points, with an increment of the same amount for each transfer. Typically, the transfer will not take longer than one business day. However, the estimated standard transfer time can take up to five days.

How to Transfer Amex to Marriott Points

If you already have a membership of both American Express and Marriott Bonvoy, all you need to have is your Marriott Bonvoy number and login access to your American Express account. 

So, how do we transfer Amex to Marriott points? 

Log Into Your American Express Account.

Transferring Amex to Marriott Points

First, you can log in to your account via American Express’s website until you get to the dashboard. If you have more than one Amex card, you’ll be able to pick the specific card with the points you want to transfer. Make sure you choose the right card. 

Head to the Membership Rewards Page. 

On the home dashboard, you will see the “Membership Reward” section below your card options. In this section, you can see the total amount of your Amex points for the card chosen. Scroll down until there’s a button that says “View and Redeem Points,” and double-click to get to the main Membership Rewards page to start the transfer. 

On the new page, you will see some recommended items to use your point for. However, pay attention to the tabs on the page where you can see options like “Shop,” “Travel,” “Gift Cards,” and “More Ways” as below. 

Pick Marriott Bonvoy to Transfer Your Amex Points.

Hover over the Travel tab, where you will see a few options to proceed. Pick “Frequent Flyer Participants,” and you will get to the next page where you can see Amex partners with whom you can transfer the points. Make sure to pick the hotel section and choose the Marriott Bonvoy program to transfer your points. 

Connect Your Amex Account With Your Marriott Bonvoy Number.

Transferring Amex to Marriott Points

Once clicked, you will get to a new page that requires you to connect your Amex account with your Marriott Bonvoy membership. Enter your Marriott Bonvoy number in the column and the postcode registered under your account so you can proceed to the next stage. If your Marriott Bonvoy number is correct, you will get a notification to confirm the linking request to your account. 

Your American Express is Now Linked to Your Marriott Bonvoy Membership. 

Once your accounts are connected, you can repeat the process to transfer your Amex to Marriott points. In the transfer amount section, enter the Amex points you want to transfer to your Marriott Bonvoy account. While the 1:1 transfer ratio will not make it any different, it’s also essential to remain vigilant, especially when you do it during the promotional offer where you potentially get bonus points in the process. 

The minimum amount to transfer from Amex to Marriott Bonvoy is 1,000 points or an increment of the same amount, so make sure to enter the correct amount to proceed. Once it’s done, click “Confirm Transfer” to submit your point transfer request. 

Your Amex Points are Successfully Transferred to Your Marriott Bonvoy Account. 

Although the estimated time to transfer Amex to Marriott points is around five business days, typically, the process will take sooner than that, so check your Marriott points from time to time to see if your Amex points are successfully transferred. The transferred points will show on your Marriott Bonvoy activity log as a “Points Transfer,” meaning your Amex points are now fully transferred if you see them on your Marriott account. 

How to Use Marriott Bonvoy Points

Ways To Use Your Points

Once your point transfer is completed from Amex to Marriott Bonvoy, you can start splurging your points on numerous travel activities. From booking accommodation and renting a car to getting a flight upgrade! 

So, how else can we use our Marriott Bonvoy points? 

Using Marriott Bonvoy Points for Accommodation

As the largest hotel chain in the world, the best way to use your Marriott points is by booking your accommodation. With a total of 30 brands in various hotel ranges, you can redeem your Marriott points to stay at over 7,000 hotels in more than 130 countries. While I think it’s worth using points if you collect your Marriott Bonvoy points organically from scratch, I wouldn’t transfer my Amex points to Marriott solely for accommodation purposes. 

Given the idea that Marriott Bonvoy enables loyalty members to combine cash and points to book accommodation, I think it’s better to use this scheme if I have some Marriott Bonvoy points to spare in a hotel. After all, I can always use my American Express card to combine with my points to utilize my Marriott points while earning Amex points for my future use. 

However, transferring Amex points to Marriott Bonvoy may be worth it if I redeem them to book a stay at some of their ultra-luxury properties like St. Regis or J.W. Marriott. 

Using Marriott Bonvoy Points for Transportation

Whether you want to rent a car in your travel destination, book a cruise for your next vacation or even book a flight to your favorite spot, you can use your Marriott Bonvoy points for it! 

While transferring Amex to Marriott points may be worth it for car rental or booking a cruise, I don’t think transferring your Amex points for a flight with Marriott Bonvoy points is a good deal. Instead, I would transfer my Amex points directly to the airline miles and have to book the flight through Marriott Bonvoy. 

With Amex and Marriott Bonvoy having a transfer ratio of 1:1, American Express offers a better deal to transfer points directly to miles on different airlines. For instance, we can transfer Amex points directly to British Airways Avios with a transfer ratio of 3:2, while if we use Marriott Bonvoy points to book a flight with the same airline, the ratio will be only 3:1, which may require more Marriott Bonvoy points to book a flight with the British Airways

So, while American Express Membership Rewards points should have the same value as Marriott Bonvoy points, each point may have a different value compared to its other merchant partners. Both programs have a partnership with various airlines. On average, Amex points seem to be worth more than Marriott Bonvoy points when you transfer them to miles. 

Using Marriott Bonvoy Points for Shopping

Like almost all loyalty programs in the market, you can now use your Marriott Bonvoy points for shopping in various merchants.  Whether you want to shop for yourself or prefer buying a gift card for your loved ones, Marriott has partnered with many e-commerce and retailers to make it possible to use your Marriott Bonvoy points for shopping there.

You can find some of their notable brand partners to shop from, including Barnes & Noble, Bath & Body Works to Amazon.com!

Compared to the American Express website, Marriott Bonvoy seems to have a more streamlined interface for shopping features. However, I find the shopping section on American Express is more effective in tempting customers to splurge their points to shop and buy something from the catalog. 

FAQs

Question: Are Amex points worth more than Marriott points? 

Answer: Yes and no. When transferring Amex to Marriott points, their worth is supposed to be equal to a transfer ratio of 1:1. In reality, I find Amex points are more valuable than Marriott points if you convert them to USD. 
While 1 Amex point is typically equivalent to $1 USD, Marriott Bonvoy point is only worth around 0.7 cents. Some people may think transferring their American Express points to Marriott makes them lose some point value. However, transferring the points can still be beneficial if you use both programs simultaneously so you can top-up across the platforms to get benefits from each. 

Question: What are the other programs points transferrable to Marriott?

Answer: Apart from Amex points, you can also transfer miles from various airlines to your Marriott Bonvoy points. These include but aren’t limited to: 
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
Air New Zealand AirPoint
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
American Airlines AAdvantage
ANA Mileage Club
Asiana Airlines Asiana Club
British Airways Executive Club
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Delta SkyMiles
Emirates Skywards
Etihad Guest
FRONTIER Miles
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Singapore Airlines KrisFLyer
Southwest Rapid Rewards
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
United MileagePlus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
The transfer ratio from the miles of most airline partners to Marriott Bonvoy points is 3:1, except for Air New Zealand AirPoint and United Mileage Plus. 
The ratio to transfer from Air New Zealand AirPoint to Marriott Bonvoy is 2:1. At the same time, United Mileage Plus has become Marriott’s preferred airline partner that offers the best value to transfer miles with a ratio of 3:1.1.

Question: Can you transfer Amex points to another person?

Answer: No, you cannot transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points to someone else. 
However, suppose you manage to transfer your Amex points to Marriott Bonvoy. In that case, you can transfer your points to someone else if they also have a Marriott Bonvoy account by contacting Marriott’s customer service representative by phone. Transferring Marriott points across the accounts is only possible if you proceed with a call, as customer service may require verification for your membership before finalizing the point transfer. 

Amex to Marriott Points: Should You Transfer?

Transferring points from American Express Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy is easy. You only need to log into your American Express account and add your Marriott Bonvoy membership number. However, depending on the purpose of transferring Amex to Marriott points, some points may be more valuable to transfer to another merchant. 

Compared to some other hotel programs, Marriott Bonvoy seems to be the hotel program with the best value, with a transfer ratio of 1:1 with Amex points. However, when we compare it to some airline miles, Marriott Bonvoy seems to have less value, so it’s probably worth keeping your Amex points and transferring to your miles instead if you want to use the points to book a flight. 

I find the best way to transfer Amex to Marriott points is to use it for staying at a high-end Marriott property, especially if you only need a few Marriott Bonvoy points to redeem a complimentary stay at their luxury brands like St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, or J.W. Marriott.