You can now convert PayRewards points to Marriott Bonvoy

PayRewards, the loyalty program of pay.com.au, is now even more flexible with the addition of Marriott Bonvoy into its growing stable of points transfer partners. The new tie-up adds a second hotel loyalty partner to PayRewards after the inclusion of Accor Live Limitless earlier this year. But Marriott Bonvoy is about more than hotel stays alone.

Marriott Bonvoy counts an extensive collection of its own frequent flyer transfer partners. In effect, points transferred to Marriot Bonvoy can be subsequently converted onwards to a whole host of frequent flyer partners. This includes many programs in which it can otherwise be difficult to earn a meaningful number of miles as an Australian traveller.

For instance, Marriott Bonvoy points can be converted into miles with United MileagePlus. They can also be turned into rewards with Air France/KLM Flying Blue, American Airlines AAdvantage, Delta SkyMiles, Emirates Skywards, HawaiianMiles and more.

Here’s a look at the new opportunities available to PayRewards members with Marriott Bonvoy among the partnership ranks.

Note, Point Hacks is affiliated with Pay.com.au.

Converting PayRewards Points to Marriott Bonvoy

Members of PayRewards can now convert points to Marriott Bonvoy at a 1.75:1 rate. That’s equivalent to 7 PayRewards Points equalling 4 points with Marriott Bonvoy. For instance, convert 120,000 PayRewards Points to Marriott Bonvoy and that’s equal to roughly 68,571 Marriott Bonvoy points. By comparison, here are your other options with the same starting balance of PayRewards Points:

• 48,000 points or miles with Qantas Business Rewards, Virgin Australia Business Flyer and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (2.5:1 conversion).
• 40,000 Avios with Qatar Airways Privilege Club (3:1 conversion).
• 30,000 points with Accor Live Limitless (4:1 conversion).

It’s worth pointing out that Marriott Bonvoy itself is a flexible points program. Balances of Marriott Bonvoy points can be converted onward to a long list of airlines, most often at a 3:1 rate. With most of its transfer partners, Marriott also serves up an extra 5,000 airline miles for every 60,000 Marriott points converted. A full list of eligible airlines can be found on Marriott’s website.

On a normal day and with a sample balance of 120,000 PayRewards Points, this means you could:

• Convert those 120,000 PayRewards Points into 68,571 Marriott Bonvoy points (1.75:1 conversion).
• Subsequently, convert those 68,571 Marriott Bonvoy points into 22,857 miles with most of Marriott’s partners.
• With most of Marriott’s airline partners, pocket a bonus of 5,000 airline miles on that same points transfer. This takes your haul to 27,857 airline miles.
• When all is said and done, those 120,000 PayRewards Points you started with can become 27,857 airline miles.

Clearly, if you’re looking to move your PayRewards Points to Qantas, Velocity, KrisFlyer or Qatar, it’s best to do so directly from PayRewards. But doing this ‘Marriott dance’ makes it possible for your points to reach frequent flyer programs like Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Emirates Skywards, HawaiianMiles and more.

Bonus offer on points transfers for PayRewards members

In effect, this means for every 7 PayRewards Points converted during the promotion period, you’d receive 6 Marriott Bonvoy points. To put it another way, with 120,000 PayRewards Points to convert, you’d get 102,856 Marriott points during this period. That’s compared to the usual 68,571 Marriott points when there’s no promotion running.

This makes it significantly more attractive to convert points to Marriott when seeking to get those into an onward frequent flyer program. For instance, converting from PayRewards to Marriott with a broader goal of getting those miles into programs like Emirates Skywards, United MileagePlus or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Speaking of United MileagePlus, there’s a further bonus to be had. This one is an ‘everyday’ offer – not a short-time deal. But when you have more Marriott Bonvoy points to begin with, it’s a cherry on top. Because Marriott and United are close partners, Marriott doubles the bonus in miles for every 60,000 Marriott points converted. This means 10,000 bonus United miles for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, as opposed to the usual 5,000-mile bonus.

Leveraging the PayRewards bonus to Marriott for United miles

Confused? Don’t be! We’ve done the hard work and crunched the numbers for you. All you need to do is settle back, relax, and enjoy flying on points.

Combining all the deals mentioned in the previous sections, here’s how the numbers shape up if you wanted to get a balance of 120,000 PayRewards Points across to United MileagePlus via Marriott Bonvoy.

• First, convert your 120,000 PayRewards Points into 68,571 Marriott Bonvoy points at the normal rate (1.75:1 conversion).
• Making that transfer by 15 September triggers the 50% transfer bonus. This improves your haul of Marriott Bonvoy points to 102,856 (that’s 68,571 points as normal, plus 50%).
• From there, convert your 102,856 Marriot Bonvoy points across to United MileagePlus at the usual 3:1 rate. This gives approximately 34,285 United miles.
• Because Marriott gives that bonus 10,000 United miles for every 60,000 Marriott points converted to United, this ascends your haul to 44,285 United miles.
• Thanks to the magic of Marriott and the transfer bonus offer from PayRewards, your starting balance of 120,000 PayRewards Points can become 44,285 United miles. Essentially, this is like converting your PayRewards Points to United miles at a 2.709:1 conversion rate, which isn’t to be sniffed at.

This style of transfer trick will be familiar to many highly engaged points collectors. It’s similar to the offer we’ve previously seen tabled by American Express Membership Rewards, which has similarly offered a 50% boost in the past.

Previous offer: This short-term transfer trick makes your Amex PR points more valuable

Other ways to maximise rewards with Marriott Bonvoy

Keen to earn even more rewards with Marriott Bonvoy beyond those you can transfer from PayRewards? Marriott Bonvoy is also a points transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards. Points convert from MR to Marriott Bonvoy at a 3:2 rate.

This means you can also indirectly earn points with Marriott Bonvoy on everyday spend from eligible American Express cards. For instance, via the American Express Platinum Business Card.

By holding the Amex Platinum Business Card, you can also opt-in for complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. By nature of the status, you can then earn 25% more Marriott Bonvoy points with every eligible hotel stay.

Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite members also receive priority late check-out (up to 2 pm, subject to availability) and space-available room upgrades. In-room hotel Wi-Fi is also gratis at the highest available speed, among a collection of other perks.

Of course, American Express cards can also be used to pay suppliers via pay.com.au. This provides the opportunity to double-dip, by Amex Membership Rewards points and PayRewards Points on the same transaction for maximum rewards.

With the exception of points transfers from CommBank Awards, Marriott Bonvoy points are otherwise quite difficult to earn from spending in Australia. They’re particularly valuable and flexible, unlocking many opportunities for great value rewards near and far.

Also read: PayRewards inks points transfer deal with Accor Live Limitless

Feature image courtesy Unsplash/Upgraded Points.

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