Marriott has allowed members to transfer points between Bonvoy accounts without a fee but with yearly caps by contacting customer support. This has now been made easier.
You no longer need to call Marriott but can use a Points Transfer Tool that allows you to do it on their website.
You can access Marriott’s Points Transfer Tool here.
READ MORE: Marriott Bonvoy Rate & Bonus Points Offers
UPDATE: Marriott told us that the transfer is not instantaneous but will complete within 24 hours.
Points Transfer Requirements:
- You can transfer a maximum of 100,000 points to another member in a calendar year, and a member can receive up to 500,000 from other members in the same period.
- Both accounts must have been open for at least 30 days with a qualifying activity or 90 days without.
- If you transfer points to an INACTIVE ACCOUNT, the points are transferred but then canceled.
Transfer Requirements:
You need to log into your Marriott Bonvoy account and now the first and last names of the recipient and their account number.
You can transfer a minimum of 1,000 or a maximum of 100,000 Bonvoy points.
When pooling points make sense?
1. Family has points in several accounts
- You can pool points from family member accounts (often stranded) into one.
2. Points are about to expire
- You have a small number of points that are about to expire, and your friend has use for them.
3. Combining for more significant redemption
- Family members or friends can pool their points for a more significant award
4. Elite benefits
- Redeeming an award from an account with the highest elite tier makes sense to maximize the benefits.
Conclusion
It was about time for Marriott to allow members to transfer points online without a call.
It is still unclear, at least for me, whether this process is fully automated or if there are manual processes that a customer service member must perform (not instantaneous).
This is a welcomed enhancement because many of us would perform all loyalty-related tasks by ourselves rather than calling and speaking with customer service.