Earn up to 2,000 Bonus AA Miles for Marriott Stays in Mexico

You can often earn airline miles instead of hotel points on your stays, and with a new promotion from American Airlines and Marriott you can earn up to 2,000 bonus American Airlines AAdvantage miles instead of Marriott Bonvoy points on Marriott stays in Mexico.

Here’s a closer look.

Earn AA Miles on Marriott Stays — Promotion Details

This promotion applies If you book a minimum of 2 nights at participating hotels and resorts in Mexico, allowing you to earn the following bonus AAdvantage miles:

• 500 bonus miles per stay in Midscale hotels (City Express)
• 1,000 bonus miles per stay in Select hotels (Courtyard, Four Points, Fairfield, AC Hotels, Aloft, and Residence Inn)
• 2,000 bonus miles per stay in Premium & Luxury hotels (EDITION, The Ritz-Carlton, The Luxury Collection, St. Regis, W Hotels, and JW Marriott)

The promotion is available only if you book by December 15, 2024, for stays until December 17. To get the AA miles, you should enter the promotional code MR6 at checkout, and the earnings will appear automatically in your account. It might take up to 2 weeks after checkout.

You must select American Airlines miles in your Bonvoy account as your preferred program to earn miles, rather than Bonvoy points.

Is This Promotion Worth It?

Should you change your earning preferences to AA miles from Bonvoy points for this promotion? It depends on the relative value.

Let’s consider a 3-night stay at a Select property: the Aloft in Tulum. From November 15 to 18, 2024, a king-size room with a jungle view and breakfast included would cost $319 at the Bonvoy member rate, before taxes and fees (which do not earn points).

At most Marriott brands, you’ll typically earn 10x Bonvoy points per $1 spent on stays booked directly with Marriott. (The exception among brands participating in this promotion is 5 points per $1 at Residence Inn and City Express properties.)

You also earn additional bonus points based on Marriott elite status — a 10%, 25%, 50%, or 75% bonus for Silver Elite, Gold Elite, Platinum Elite, or Titanium Elite members, respectively.

Without elite status, you would earn 3,190 Bonvoy points on this stay. We value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents apiece, so you’d have $22.33 worth of points.

If you set your earning preference to American Airlines miles, rather than Bonvoy points, you will typically earn 2x miles per $1 spent. So you would earn 638 miles, plus 1,000 bonus miles, on this stay. We value AA miles at 1.4 cents each, therefore your earnings would be worth $22.93.

The difference between the 2 would be minimal. In this case, whether you want to earn Bonvoy points or American Airlines miles comes down to preference or whichever currency you need more of.

Final Thoughts

If you need American Airlines miles — for example, if you are close to the total you need for an award redemption — this promotion may be a good idea, especially because the AAdvantage program does not allow points transfers from major credit card programs like American Express, Chase, or Citi. You could always change your earning preference back to Bonvoy points after your stay.