A new exciting promotion came out today from American Express Canada. Until September 30, 2021, there’s a 30% bonus when you transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to hotel programs like Marriott Bonvoy™ or Hilton Honors™.
This is a great opportunity for those that have the American Express CobaltTM Card to transfer their Membership Rewards Select (MRS) points to Marriott Bonvoy for upcoming hotel stays.
A reminder that the Amex Cobalt card is one of the best Canadian credit cards on the market. You earn an incredible 5x MRS points on grocery, restaurant and and food delivery purchases. Plus, there’s currently an amazing offer of $120 cash back bonus when you sign up for the card!
30% Transfer Bonus to Marriott Bonvoy
Regularly, you can convert 1 Amex Cobalt MRS point into 1.2 Marriott Bonvoy points. But, during this 30% bonus promotion, 1 MRS point = 1.56 Marriott Bonvoy points! This is the best ever transfer bonus for converting Amex MRS points to Marriott points!!
Note that you need to transfer a minimum of 1,000 MRS points and afterwards in increments of 100 points. So, here’s some transfer examples:
- 1,000 MRS points = 1,560 Marriott Bonvoy points
- 15,000 MRS points = 23,400 Marriott Bonvoy points
- 30,000 MRS points = 46,800 Marriott Bonvoy points
- 50,000 MRS points = 78,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
Also, keep in mind that the points transfer could take up to 5 business days and is non-refundable.
Other Amex Membership Rewards cards are also eligible for this promotion.
So, what are some good uses for Bonvoy points?
Obviously, Bonvoy points can be redeemed for hotel nights at Marriott properties. But they can also be converted to over 40 different airline frequent flyer programs. Additionally, you can redeem your points for unique experiences and events with Marriott Bonvoy Moments.
Please refer to my previous article for more tips and strategies to use when redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points.
Use Marriott Bonvoy points for hotel stays
You can redeem Bonvoy points at 6,700 Marriott properties world wide based on their reward chart.
As a reminder, the Marriott Bonvoy reward chart is based on 8 categories with off-peak, standard and peak pricing.
Each Marriott hotel is assigned to a particular category. So, the number of points required for a free hotel night will vary depending on occupancy and the time of year.
Here is the Marriott Bonvoy hotel reward chart.
So, if you have any upcoming hotel stays, it could be cheaper to convert points instead of paying cash.
For example, the TownePlace Suites hotel in Petawawa, Ontario is a category 1 hotel (one of the few in Eastern Canada). Back in April 2021, it was only 5,000 or 7,500 points per night to stay at this hotel.
So with this 30% bonus transfer promotion, you could convert:
- 3,206 MRS points = 5,000 Bonvoy points
- 4,808 MRS points = 7,500 Marriott Bonvoy points
- 6,411 MRS points = 10,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
For the same time period, a stay at this hotel costs anywhere between $133 and $148 CAD per night! Therefore, it makes much more sense to convert your points for your stay rather than paying cash.
I stayed at this hotel in March so check out my updated review of the TownePlace Suites Petawawa 2021.
How to transfer Amex Cobalt points to Marriott Bonvoy
Here are the steps if you wish to convert your American Express CobaltTM Card points to Marriott Bonvoy points.
First, you first need to add your Marriott Bonvoy account details in your American Express account. Note that it could take up to 5 business days for your account details to be verified before you can initiate the transfer.
To link your accounts:
1) Log into your American Express account and select your Amex Cobalt card (if you have multiple Amex credit cards).
2) On the right side of the home screen, you should see your Membership Rewards balance. Click on “View and Redeem Points”.
If you don’t see this option, you can also reach Membership Rewards page by clicking on “Membership Rewards” under the Information tab at the top of page.
3) Next, click on “Frequent Traveler Participants” under the Travel tab.
4) Now you’ll see all of Amex’s hotel partners. Choose Marriott Bonvoy and click on “Transfer my points”.
5) Finally, enter your Marriott Bonvoy account number and your postal code. Note that your name and address must match between your Amex and Marriott Bonvoy accounts.
Click on Add Account to complete the process. Remember that it might take up to 5 days before your accounts are linked.
Once your Marriott Bonvoy account is linked to your Amex account, you can then proceed with the points transfer. Remember that the transfer usually takes 2 business days to complete but could be up to 5 business days.
Note: you’ll only see the regular 5:6 points transfer ratio. The additional 30% bonus points should appear in your Marriott Bonvoy account about 4-8 weeks after the end of the promotion.
Summary
American Express Canada is offering 30% bonus points when transferring your MRS points to hotel programs, like Marriott Bonvoy, until September 30, 2021. This is the best ever transfer bonus we’ve seen from Amex!
Thus, this limited time promotion is a great opportunity for current Amex Cobalt cardholders to transfer their MRS points to Marriott Bonvoy for upcoming hotel stays.
If you don’t have the Amex Cobalt card yet, consider signing up via Great Canadian Rebates to receive a $120 cash back bonus! Plus, learn how you could earn a welcome bonus of 50,000 points with the Amex Cobalt card!
Do you plan on converting your Amex Cobalt MRS points into Marriott Bonvoy? Let me know in the comments below.
Disclosure: American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information, please visit the American Express website.
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