40,000 POINTS BONUS: How to earn miles with 38 different airlines with the Marriott Amex

UPDATE – SEPTEMBER 2023:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.  We produce a monthly directory of the top UK travel credit card offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Credit Cards’ menu above.  Thank you.

SPECIAL OFFER: The sign-up bonus on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard is doubled to 30,000 Virgin Points if you apply by 2nd October. You receive 15,000 Virgin Points with your first purchase and a further 15,000 points if you spend £3,000 within 90 days. Apply here.

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The Marriott Bonvoy American Express lets you earn miles with 38 different frequent flyer schemes if you convert the Bonvoy points. This is a benefit which no other UK credit card can match.

For 24 of these airline schemes, the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is the ONLY way of earning their miles via a UK credit card.

You might not realise it but, for example, if you are after Air Canada or Air New Zealand miles, this card is your only route to earn them from day to day spending.

With the Marriott Bonvoy card recently doubling its sign-up bonus to 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points AND throwing in a free night voucher (offer ends 30th May) I wanted to take another look at this unique feature.

The representative APR is 48.9% variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 30.7% variable.

You can find out more and apply for the card here.

Which 24 airline currencies can only be earned from the Marriott Bonvoy American Express?

Here is the full list of Marriott Bonvoy airline partners (you can also see it online here) and the transfer rates.

For the 24 airlines below, the Marriott Bonvoy American Express is the ONLY UK credit card which can be used to earn their miles, when you transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points.

The conversion rate is 3:1, except for Air New Zealand which is 200:1.

• Aegean Airlines
• AeroMexico ClubPremier
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air New Zealand Airpoints
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
• American Airlines AAdvantage
• ANA Mileage Club
• Asiana Airlines Asiana Club
• Avianca LifeMiles
• Copa Airlines ConnectMiles
• FRONTIER Miles
• Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club
• Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
• InterMiles
• Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank
• Korean Air SKYPASS
• LATAM Airlines LATAM Pass
• Multiplus Fidelidade
• Saudia Alfursan
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards 
• THAI Airways Royal Orchid Plus
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• United MileagePlus
• Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer

For completeness, Marriott Bonvoy can also be converted into the following frequent flyer programmes. There are other options for earning these miles from a credit card, such as American Express Gold or Platinum, and in most cases at higher rates.

The conversion rate from Marriott Bonvoy in all the programmes below is 3:1.

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• British Airways Executive Club
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Delta SkyMiles
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Iberia Plus
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Qatar Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• TAP Air Portugal Miles&Bonus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Vueling Club

How many miles does the Marriott Bonvoy American Express earn?

You earn 2 Marriott Bonvoy points for every £1 you spend, with 6 points per £1 when spending in Marriott hotels.

These transfer to airline miles at 3:1, as the list above shows, so you are getting 0.66 miles per £1 spent.

If you move 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to an airline at once you get a 5,000 miles bonus.  60,000 Marriott points will therefore get you 25,000 airline miles.  This is 0.833 airline miles per £1 spent on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card.

There are two exceptions to the bonus:

• transfers to United Airlines get a bonus of 10,000 miles when you convert 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points

• you do not receive the 5,000 miles bonus on transfers to American Airlines, Avianca, Delta Air Lines or Korean Air

For someone collecting Air Canada Aeroplan miles etc the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card is a straightforward way of picking them up at an attractive ‘0.833 miles per £1’ rate.

And don’t forget the sign-up bonus ….

If you qualify, the sign-up bonus is currently worth 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.  This converts to 13,334 airline miles.

40,000 Marriott Bonvoy is a special offer which runs until 30th May 2023. The standard bonus is just 20,000 points.

There is an extra perk too – a voucher for a free hotel night at a hotel costing up to 25,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.

You must spend £3,000 within three months to receive the two bonuses.

If you collect, say, Air Canada miles, this is one of the very few ways in the UK to give your account a quick boost.

Of course, you can also use your bonus points for Marriott hotels where 40,000 Bonvoy points should get you at least £200 of value.

Eligibility for the bonus is restricted.  You only qualify if you have not held ANY personal American Express cards in the previous 24 months.

You CAN still apply for the card even if you don’t qualify for the bonus, of course.  You will receive all of the other benefits, including the 15 free elite night credits and Silver status.

Conclusion

The ability to earn miles in 38 different frequent flyer schemes at a decent rate is a low profile benefit of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card.

For 24 of these airlines, including high profile carriers such as American Airlines and United Airlines, this is the only UK credit card which lets you earn their miles from your daily spending.

You can apply for the card here.

You can find out more about how Marriott Bonvoy works in our review here.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (September 2023)

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.

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.

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 (40,000 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. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)