How to earn miles with 39 different airlines with the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card
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The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card lets you earn miles with 39 different frequent flyer schemes if you convert the Bonvoy points. This is a benefit which no other UK credit card can match.
For 25 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.
The representative APR is 54.8% variable, including the annual fee. The representative APR on purchases is 31.0% variable.
You can find out more and apply for the card here.
Which 25 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 25 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 Miles+Bonus
- AeroMexico ClubPremier
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air China PhoenixMiles
- Air New Zealand Airpoints
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- ANA Mileage Club
- Asiana Airlines Asiana Club
- Avianca LifeMiles
- China Southern Sky Pearl Club
- Copa Airlines ConnectMiles
- FRONTIER Miles
- Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club
- Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
- InterMiles
- Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank
- 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 14 frequent flyer programmes. However, these airline partners are not exclusive to Marriott Bonvoy in the UK. 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 Airways 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 or Delta Air Lines
For someone collecting Air Canada Aeroplan miles etc the Marriott Bonvoy American Express is a 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 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
You must spend £3,000 within three months to receive the bonus.
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.
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 39 different frequent flyer schemes at a decent rate is a low profile benefit of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card.
For 25 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.
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 2 Marriott Bonvoy points per £1 spent
- Earn 6 points per £1 spent at Marriott hotels
- Points convert at 3:1 into Avios or other airline miles
Other information:
- 15 elite night credits per year to help you towards higher status
- Free night, up to 25,000 points, when you spend £25,000 per year.
- Upgrade to Gold Elite status when you spend £15,000 in a card year
- Annual fee: £95
Representative 54.8% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £95 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 31.0% APR variable.
You will receive 20,000 points as a sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days of signing up.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the 15 elite night credits per year, the free night (up to 25,000 points) for spending £25,000 and Gold Elite status for spending £15,000.
You will receive 15 elite night credits per year in Marriott Bonvoy. The first batch will arrive within 60 days on applying and then in Spring in each subsequent year.
15 elite nights will automatically get you Silver Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy and put you nearer to Gold Elite and higher tiers.
If you spend £15,000 per card year, you will be upgraded to Gold Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy.
If you spend £25,000 per card year, you will receive a free night voucher, valid at any hotel where reward nights cost up to 25,000 points.
You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.
How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (September 2024)
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.
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 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 (40,000 bonus Amex points)
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.
The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.
(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.)
