Marriott news: transfer Emirates miles (handy if expiring), 37th Bonvoy brand launched

Two bits of Marriott Bonvoy news in brief:

Transfer Emirates Skywards miles to Marriott Bonvoy

Marriott and Emirates have had a partnership for many years called ‘Your World Rewards’ – our most recent article on it is here.

The benefits are:

• If you are an Emirates Skywards Silver, Gold or Platinum member you receive 1 Skywards mile for every $1 you spend in a Marriott Bonvoy hotel

• Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite, Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite or Ambassador Elite members receive 3 Marriott Bonvoy points per $1 spent on Emirates flights (base fare only)

These are both attractive offers, especially the latter given our 0.5p valuation of Marriott Bonvoy points – a value you can easily beat on a good day.

In fact, if you are spending a lot on Emirates flights then you should look for ways to get Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. The quickest option is via The Platinum Card from American Express which offers it as a benefit. Our full review of The Platinum Card is here.

You can now convert into Bonvoy too

The Marriott / Emirates partnership has now expanded to allow you to convert Emirates Skywards miles into Marriott Bonvoy points.

(The reverse has always been possible. Marriott Bonvoy points convert into 40 airlines at 3:1, with a 5,000 mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott points sent over.)

The rate is 3 Emirates Skywards miles to 2 Marriott Bonvoy points.

The minimum transfer is 3,000 Skywards miles.

This isn’t great – we’d normally value an airline mile at 1p and a Bonvoy point at 0.5p, so you are losing 2/3rd of their value.

However …. Emirates Skywards miles have tough expiry policies. There is a three year hard expiry unless you have Skywards Platinum status. By ‘hard’ expiry, I mean that – irrespective of your activity in the interim – your miles still expire.

As it happens, the other ‘easy’ route to dump expiring Emirates miles – converting them to Heathrow Rewards credit – was recently closed. It offered similar value to this deal, getting you 0.33p per mile.

Converting small amounts of expiring Emirates Skywards miles to Marriott Bonvoy points is now the best way to use them.

You can convert via this page of the Emirates website.

Marriott launches its 37th brand – ‘Series’

Marriott has launched its 37th brand – because 36 clearly wasn’t enough – called ‘Series’.

I can best describe it as ‘a low rent Global Hotel Alliance’.

The idea is that existing chains of two-ish star hotels can join Marriott en-masse. The press release uses phrases such as ‘basics done well’, ‘clean, comfortable rooms’ and ‘a simple and approachable experience for travelers with a focus on fundamentals and well-executed basics’ – think ‘ibis Budget’ territory.

(There’s good news though. The brand guidelines insist on ‘private in-room guest bathroom, no shared bath facilities’.)

The first chain to sign up is called Fern. Operating in India, Fern consists of six sub-brands with over 80 hotels, of which three (The Fern, The Fern Residency, The Fern Habitat) will join Marriott. Fern will not become an official Marriott brand – Marriott will not be franchising it elsewhere – but the existing Fern properties will become bookable via Marriott.

Series will have ‘industry leading affiliation cost structures’. This presumably means that it will earn reduced Marriott Bonvoy points (probably 5 per $1) and potentially only 0.5 elite nights per night stayed.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 70,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

---

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (July 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 15th July 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is TRIPLED to 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This would convert into 25,000 Avios or into 40 other airline schemes. It would also get you at least £300 of Marriott hotel stays based on our 0.5p per point low-end valuation. Other T&C apply and remain unchanged. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

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 The Platinum Card from American Express in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

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

and for small business owners:

• The American Express Business Gold Card (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• The American Express Business Platinum Card (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.