Now that the Marriott acquisition of Starwood is complete, I’ve spent more time looking into the Marriott Rewards program. One feature that was surprising for me to learn about is the ability to transfer Marriott points from one account to another. This points sharing can occur from any account to any other. Here are some more details of this benefit.
This benefit makes for various opportunities, and thanks to unlimited points transfers between SPG and Marriott, is a back door way to transfer SPG points. SPG rules do not allow for sharing points, other than for those residing at the same address. Marriott refers to this process as points sharing, and more information on their site is here, and a snippet is below
Details of Marriott Points Transfers
This is a somewhat new benefit of Marriott Rewards, and for some people, a potentially useful feature. These transfers can be between anyone with a Marriott Rewards account. For those with Gold or Platinum status, the transfer is free. There is a $10 charge for those with lower (or without) status in the Marriott Rewards program. Up to 50,000 Marriott Rewards points can be transferred into or out of an account each year, with exceptions made if booking a specific award that would exceed that total. Definitely some opportunities here, including trading points among friends, or offering your own points to a friend for them to book a reward from their account.
Besides points transfers, there is also a standing offer to match status between the two programs. You can link from SPG or from Marriott. Despite zero stays this year, I now have Marriott Platinum status matched from my SPG Platinum status. That beats the Marriott Gold status that I’ve had for a few years via United and the Rewards Plus program.
Have you matched your SPG and Marriott Status? Is this option to transfer Marriott Rewards points useful to you?
