Marriott Bonvoy Removing Transfer Bonuses for 3 Popular Airline Partners

While it’s commonly understood that you can use Marriott Bonvoy points to book free hotel night awards at Marriott properties worldwide, the Marriott Bonvoy program also delivers a valuable way to use your points besides on hotel stays — by transferring points to more than a dozen airlines.

A popular way to use and redeem Marriott Bonvoy points has historically been to convert points to airline miles by utilizing airline transfer partners. By doing so, you would earn 5,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred. However, after October 31, 2022, Marriott Bonvoy will end the airline transfer bonus with 3 popular airline partners.

Let’s take a look at the details.

Transfer Bonus Ending for 3 Major Airline Programs

Currently, for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer to airline partners, you earn a bonus of 5,000 miles. Marriott Bonvoy offers a 3:1 transfer ratio, but with the airline transfer bonus, the ratio improves to 2.4:1. You would receive 20,000 airline miles, in addition to the 5,000 bonus miles, when converting Marriott Bonvoy points to airline miles — for a total of 25,000 airline miles.

However, as of October 31, 2022, the 5,000-mile transfer bonus will no longer be available on transfers to American AAdvantage, Avianca Lifemiles, and Delta SkyMiles.

This makes the effective transfer ratio 3:1 for transfers to American, Avianca, and Delta. It’s a clear devaluation of the Marriott Bonvoy program, especially if you were planning on converting Marriott Bonvoy points to one of these 3 airline programs.

What This News Means

The impact of the 5,000-mile airline transfer bonus going away on 3 of the most popular airline transfer partners is a blow for Marriott Bonvoy members who were accustomed to converting their points to airline miles.

As it stands, there is only 1 transferrable currency that converts to American Airlines AAdvantage miles — Marriott Bonvoy. With the loss of the 5,000-mile bonus, Bonvoy members will be decisively less incentivized to transfer their points to American Airlines.

Despite the removal of Marriott Bonvoy’s 5,000-mile airline transfer bonus, Delta is still an American Express transfer partner at a 1:1 ratio. And, Avianca partners with almost every transferable points program (the exception being Chase Ultimate Rewards).

Bottom Line: As of October 31, 2022, Marriott Bonvoy’s 5,000-mile airline transfer bonus will no longer be available on transfers to American AAdvantage, Avianca Lifemiles, and Delta SkyMiles. If you’re looking to convert Marriott Bonvoy points to any of these 3 airline partners, you should do so before the end of this month. 

Final Thoughts

As of October 31, 2022, Marriott Bonvoy will no longer issue a 5,000-mile bonus when converting 60,000 points to airline miles with the following transfer partners: American Airlines AAdvantage, Avianca Lifemiles, and Delta SkyMiles.

If you wanted to transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points to any of these 3 airline loyalty programs, make sure to transfer points in increments of 60,000 to get the 2.4:1 transfer ratio — and do so before the end of this month so you can still earn the 5,000-mile bonus!