United is running a promotion where if you transfer points from a hotel loyalty program to United you’ll receive a 30% bonus, although this promotion ends TODAY, November 30, 2017. You can transfer to the following hotels programs: Marriott Rewards, Hilton Honors, Starwood Preferred Guest, IHG Rewards Club, Club Carlson, World of Hyatt, Choice Privileges, Wyndham Rewards, Golden Circle, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards.
Typically, there are only two programs where it makes sense to transfer your hotel points to airline miles – Starwood and Marriott. However, Starwood has a pretty awful transfer ratio to United where 2 United points = 1 SPG points (almost all other transfer rates are 1:1 when it comes to SPG and partner airline programs). That means Marriott is your best option or if you are looking to get rid of some orphaned points in another program and you’d prefer them in your United account.
Marriott Transfer to United
The best transfer is for Marriott’s Hotel + Air packages where you receive a certain number of miles based on the package selected. Not only that, United already has a special partnership with Marriott where you are receiving an additional 10% bonus on points transferred compared to transferring to other airlines.
Since the number of bonus points you’ll earn is 25,000 miles, the best option is the 7 Nights + 77,000 miles option. Anything above that means that you will not earn the full 30% bonus, but depending on how many United miles you need and how you value your United miles vs. Marriott points, it still might be worth it even with the cap. With that option, you’ll receive a 7 Night certificate + 100,100 miles for the cost of 220,000-490,000 Marriott points. The number of points redeemed depends on the category hotel you are looking to stay at. You can also always purchase the lower category 1-5 certificate and if you end up wanting to stay at a higher category hotel, you can call Marriott and pay the difference in points.
Overall… a nice promotion for those that are looking to increase their airline miles and get a better value with their Marriott points.
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