After waiting three years since the last Amex-Marriott transfer promotion, the offer has returned. While the bonus has been reduced from the previous 50% to 30%, it remains a valuable opportunity for those who collect American Express Membership Rewards (MR) points and use Marriott Bonvoy.
Below are the key details of the promotion.
Offer Details
| Offer | Get 30% extra points on transferring Amex MR Points to Marriott Bonvoy. |
| Minimum points to transfer | 100 |
| Maximum points to transfer | 900,000 |
| Offer period | 1st Sep – 31st Oct 2022 |
| Fulfillment | Within 12 weeks from offer end date |
The promotion is straightforward: transfer MR points to Marriott Bonvoy during the offer window and receive an additional 30% bonus. For Marriott loyalists, this effectively increases the value of your Amex points when redeemed with Marriott.
Although smaller than the previous 50% bonus, this is still one of the better opportunities to convert Amex points to Marriott rewards.
Note: During the COVID period, Amex offered larger transfer bonuses (40–60%) in markets such as the UK, Canada, Australia and the US, but similar large bonuses were not offered in India.
Should you transfer?
Even with this 30% transfer bonus, the effective Marriott Bonvoy points earned per spend can vary by card. For example, the Amex Platinum in India yields fewer Bonvoy points for the same spending compared with some competitor cards. For a 100,000 INR spend, Amex Platinum returns fewer Bonvoy points than the Axis Magnus under the same conditions.
This makes the offer useful but not an automatic home run. Still, transferring MR points to Marriott is one of the better ways to extract value from Amex points in India, and it often outperforms other transfer or redemption options like hotel-specific collections.
Keep in mind that Marriott’s redemption system was scheduled for change in early 2023. If Marriott shifts to dynamic pricing tied to inventory and revenue, award costs at busy properties could rise. If you have near-term travel plans and want to lock in current award rates, transferring and redeeming within the next six months could be a sensible choice.
In my experience, I transferred 10,000 MR points and the regular points plus the 30% bonus posted to my Marriott Bonvoy account immediately. The quick crediting is a helpful convenience.
Bottomline
Competition in India’s premium card space is intensifying. Axis Bank has enabled points transfer from certain credit cards to partners such as Marriott Bonvoy, ITC and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. That expansion of transfer options reduces some of American Express’s unique advantages.
American Express India faces increased pressure from competing premium products. For many customers, rival cards like Axis Magnus may now deliver equal or better rewards for everyday spends, making it harder for Amex to justify its premium positioning unless it enhances benefits or partnerships.
It would benefit Amex to strengthen its premium card propositions and exclusive partnerships. The existing tie-up between Amex and certain hotel brands remains useful, but ongoing enhancements will be important to retain high-value cardholders.
Interestingly, Marriott is broadening transfer routes by enabling transfers via Axis while Amex is running its own offer concurrently. That alignment raises the question of whether Marriott-branded credit cards or new co-branded products could be introduced in India in the future.
What are your thoughts on the Amex to Marriott Bonvoy transfer offer? If you’ve used it, consider sharing your experience.