United are offering a 30% bonus when you convert hotel points into United MileagePlus miles until 30 November 2019, up to a limit of 25,000 bonus miles.
This offer was on at the same time last year.
Converting hotel points into airline miles is usually poor value. You’re generally better off maintaining your points balance to redeem on free nights, especially if these points have been earned the hard way through frequent stays.
However if you have a massive horde of hotel points that you don’t otherwise plan to use on future stays, this offer could be your chance to earn some extra miles above those that you would usually receive from any transfer.
You can even get some extra value out of your American Express Membership Rewards points on this offer.
How to Register
Registration is required for this promotion, which you can do here.
Conversion Table
The table below shows the different hotel partner transfer programs, and how many bonus miles would be received at the minimum conversion rates:
| Partner | Conversion Rate (Points : Miles) | Minimum Points needed to Convert | Bonus Miles on Minimum Conversion | Total Miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World of Hyatt | 2.5:1 A transfer of 50,000 points will give you 5,000 bonus miles, for a total of 32,500 miles under this promotion. | 5,000 | 600 | 2,600 |
| Marriott Rewards | 3:1.1 A transfer of 60,000 points will give you 5,000 bonus miles, for a total of 35,100 miles under this promotion. | 3,000 | 330 | 1,430 |
| Hilton Honors | 10:1 | 10,000 | 300 | 1,300 |
| IHG Rewards Club | 5:1 | 10,000 | 600 | 2,600 |
| Radisson Rewards | 10:1 50% bonus miles until 26 November | 2,000 | 60 90 until 26 November | 260 390 until 26 November |
| Choice Privileges | 5:1 | 5,000 | 300 | 1,300 |
| Shangri-La Golden Circle | 1:1 | 2,500 | 750 | 3,250 |
| Wyndham Rewards | 5:1 | 6,000 | 360 | 1,560 |
| Le Club AccorHotels | 2:1 | 2,000 | 300 | 2,300 |
Bonus miles should post to your account by 20 January 2020 (but usually much earlier).
Getting the 30% bonus miles out of Amex Membership Rewards points
Those with an American Express Platinum Charge or Platinum Edge can convert their Membership Rewards Points (MRP) to United Mileage Plus miles using Marriott Bonvoy.
Membership Rewards points convert to Marriott Bonvoy points at a 3:2 ratio. These then convert into United miles at a 3:1.1 ratio.
Here is an example of how such a transfer would work out:
- 100,000 MRP will convert to 66,000 Marriott Bonvoy points (3:2 ratio).
- 66,000 Marriott Bonvoy points will convert to 29,200 United MileagePlus miles (3:1.1 + 5,000 bonus points)
- With the 30% bonus, you will receive 37,960 miles.
This effectively gives you a ratio of ~2.63 MRP : 1 United Mileage Plus mile – worse than the standard direct transfer rates to the likes of Velocity and KrisFlyer (2:1).
Amex warn that transfers of MRP to Marriott Bonvoy can take up to 14 working days. Generally, it is quicker, but to be safe, this means you’d be wanting to take advantage of this conversion method sooner rather than later, if you want to use in conjunction with United’s 30% bonus miles promotion.
Summing up
If you have a stack of hotel points and prefer free flights over free nights, or you were already planning to make a transfer, then this offer could be of some value.
You could also take advantage of the current offer to boost the power of your Amex Membership Rewards points, though you would be better off transferring those points to other transfer partners such as Velocity or KrisFlyer.
Remember, point devaluations can be introduced with or without notice, so you should only convert your hotel reward points to a specific frequent flyer program like United MileagePlus if you have a specific redemption in mind.
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