How to earn SPG or Marriott hotel points when you fly Delta, Emirates and China Eastern

One thing that is going to be lost when the merger of Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest completes is the ability to earn Starwood Preferred Guest hotel points when you fly three airlines.

This is an underappreciated benefit of Starwood Preferred Guest.  Unfortunately, as Marriott has a long-standing partnership with United Airlines which we will look at again soon, the existing Starwood partnerships have to go.

There is still time to take part, however.  If you have any Delta, Emirates or China Eastern flights lined up, read on.  Remember that the Starwood points you earn through these offers can be turned into Marriott Rewards points at the ratio of 1:3.

The deal that dies soon – Starwood and Delta

The ‘Crossover Rewards’ programme gives elite members of Starwood Preferred Guest and Delta SkyMiles status benefits with each other.

Starwood has a website outlining the benefits which you can find here.  This is what you get:

If you have Starwood SPG Gold or Platinum status:

You will earn 1 SPG point for every US$1 you spend on flights with Delta.

To qualify, flights must have been booked directly with Delta or via a normal travel agency – online travel agents are excluded. Your ticket must contain ONLY Delta operated and Delta coded flights – having a Delta flight plus a non-Delta flight on the same ticket means you earn nothing.

For SPG Platinum members only, you will get special benefits when flying with Delta – 1 free checked bag (for you and 3 companions), Zone 1 Priority Boarding (for you and 8 companions), priority check-in, ‘day of departure’ upgrades.

If you have Delta SkyMiles Diamond, Platinum, Gold or Silver status:

You will earn 1 Delta SkyMile for every $1 spent at Starwood hotels. This is on top of your usual Starwood points.

You will receive 4pm check-out, free internet, priority check-in and an upgrade to an ‘enhanced’ room. These are fundamentally the same as SPG Gold benefits.

This deal dies on 15th July 2018. 

The deal that continues but registration ends – Starwood and Emirates

The Emirates / Starwood partnership is called ‘Your World Rewards’ and is designed to encourage Emirates flyers to stay at SPG hotels and vice versa.  Full details can be found on the Emirates website here.

For Emirates flyers at SPG hotels:

If you are an Emirates Skywards Silver, Gold or Platinum member you will receive 1 Skywards mile for every $1 you spend in an SPG hotel.  As with the Delta offer, this is in addition to the Starwood Preferred Guest points that you already receive.  This is a genuine extra benefit.

If you are a Gold or Platinum Skywards member, you will also receive additional SPG benefits which are equivalent to those that a Gold-level SPG member would receive.  These are priority check-in, 4pm late check-out subject to availability and free wi-fi.

For SPG members when flying Emirates:

SPG Gold or Platinum members will receive 1 SPG point per $1 spent on Emirates flights.  All Emirates flights count as long as your ticket is under an EK flight code.

This is a very generous deal in my view.  I tend to value SPG points at 1.5p each.  A £3,000 Emirates business class flight would therefore earn you £60 of free hotel stays.  This is on top of your usual Skywards miles.

Remember that you can obtain SPG Gold status for free by signing up for the American Express Platinum charge card.  You will retain your SPG Gold status for a full year even if you later choose to cancel your Platinum card.

You need to register for ‘Your World Rewards’ – it is not automatic.  You can register via this page on the Emirates website.  The Emirates website also includes further details of ‘Your World Rewards’ if you want to know more.

Registration for this partnership ends on 15th July.  You can continue to benefit from it after that date, however.

The deal that continues but registration ends – Starwood and China Eastern

Starwood and China Eastern have a similar deal called ‘Eastern Explorer Rewards’.

I won’t go into it in detail as I doubt many Head for Points readers fly with China Eastern.  You can find full details of the benefits and how to register on the Starwood website here.

Registration for this partnership ends on 15th July.  You can continue to benefit from it after that date, however.

The Marriott Rewards and United Airlines partnership will continue

The Marriott / United partnership will, as I said at the top of the page, continue into 2019 and beyond.  I will run a separate article on this in a day or so.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (50,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.