The major hotel loyalty programs all have different policies when it comes to combining points between accounts belonging to different members.
Hilton Honors is by far the best in this regard, as the program lets you transfer points instantly to any other member online, and you can transfer up to 500,000 points and receive up to two million points per account per calendar year. Personally I quite like World of Hyatt’s policy as well, letting you combine points so that you have enough for a redemption (with no official limit).
Marriott Bonvoy is the world’s largest loyalty program, so how does the program’s policy on combining points compare? Not very favorably, but it can still prove to be quite useful. Up until recently you could only transfer points to someone else by phone, while there’s now a useful tool on Marriott’s website for transferring points. Let’s take a look at how all of this works.
How many Marriott Bonvoy points can you combine?
Marriott Bonvoy lets you combine points between accounts at no cost, with the following restrictions:
- You can transfer up to 100,000 points per calendar year
- You can receive up to 500,000 points per calendar year
- You can only combine points in 1,000 point increments
Who can you combine Marriott Bonvoy points with?
There’s no need to be related to the person you’re sharing points with, or even to share the same address. Rather you can transfer your points to any member.
The only limitation is how long accounts have to be active:
- With qualifying activity, you can combine points with someone after they’ve had an account for 30 days
- Without qualifying activity, you can combine points with someone after they’ve had an account for 90 days
Qualifying activity includes any earning or redeeming of points, with the exception of gifting or transferring points, receiving points as a gift or transfer, or earning points through social media programs.
Along those lines, it’s also worth pointing out that combining points with a member won’t count toward extending the expiration of your points, if that’s something you’re going for (Bonvoy points expire after 24 months of inactivity).
How do you combine Marriott Bonvoy points?
Nowadays it’s possible to combine Marriott Bonvoy points between accounts either by phone or via an online tool, so let’s go over both of those options.
Combine Marriott Bonvoy points online
Thanks to a handy new tool, it’s possible to transfer points to another Marriott Bonvoy member at this link. The member looking to transfer their points (rather than the recipient) should log into their account at that link, and they’ll then be brought to the points transfer tool.
On that page you’ll have to enter the recipient’s first and last name, Marriott Bonvoy number, and how many points you want to transfer (between 1,000 and 100,000).
You’ll then be asked to receive a verification code, either by email or text.
You’ll then receive confirmation that your request has been made. While the transfer tool suggests that it could take up to one hour for points to post, in reality they typically post instantly.
Combine Marriott Bonvoy points by phone
If for whatever reason you don’t want to use the online tool to transfer points to another Marriott Bonvoy member, you can continue to do this by phone. Here’s how the process works:
- Contact member support at 801.468.4000
- To get through to an agent, say “transfer points,” and then enter your Bonvoy number
- The person looking to transfer points should make the call; they’ll be asked to verify some information (like the phone number and email address on the account)
- You’ll also need the account number and name of the person you’re transferring points to, though don’t need any other info about their account
- Points should transfer instantly once the process is initiated
Why would you want to combine Marriott Bonvoy points?
Now that we’ve established that you can transfer points, perhaps the bigger question is why you would want to. There are some circ*mstances where combining points between Marriott Bonvoy accounts could make a lot of sense:
- If you want to book a free night award but don’t have enough points in a single account to book
- If you want to book an award for a friend or family member, then this is the easiest way to book a stay in their name
- If you plan to travel with a friend or spouse and they have elite status, so that you can transfer points to them and then you’d receive the perks associated with status for your stay
Ford transfers 100,000 Bonvoy points to me every year. Why? Because he has a sizable Bonvoy points balance, I have the higher status with Marriott, and we usually travel together. There’s more value in having Bonvoy points in my account rather than his, so that we can take advantage of elite perks when redeeming points.
Bottom line
While Marriott Bonvoy isn’t the most generous when it comes to letting members combine points between accounts, this is still a functionality worth being aware of. There are plenty of circ*mstances where it could make sense to combine points, whether you’re looking to maximize elite benefits or book travel for others.
The major catch is the restriction on how old the accounts have to be, and also the limit on how many points you can transfer. Fortunately it’s now possible to make these transfers online, as you no longer have to call. I’d consider that to be great news.
Have you ever transferred Marriott Bonvoy points? What was your experience like?
