All it takes is transferring SPG points to Air Canada before April 18.
Back in November, I wrote a report about How (and Why) I Just Got 152,000 United Miles—plus Seven Nights at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park—for 180,000 Starwood Points. The keynote: the Starwood Starpoints-to-Marriot Rewards opportunity netted nine cents in value per Starpoint. (Only other requirement: You have to like luxury hotels.)
Had I had a crystal ball, I wouldn't have bothered with the United deal, because now Marriott has a promotion that offers a 30% bonus when transferring Marriott points to Air Canada miles, which I generally prefer over United miles.
The bonus works like this:
- 20% more miles when converting hotel points into 2,500 to 99,999 miles
- 25% more miles when converting hotel points into 100,000 to 199,999 miles
- 30% more miles when converting hotel points into 200,000+ miles.
With the Air Canada transfer bonus, you can get seven nights at top-tier Ritz-Carltons, as I did at the Central Park property. It is worth $5,600+ and 150,000 Air Canada miles (2,000 miles less than the United deal back in November).
The Math: Transfer 180,000 Starpoints—otherwise equal to 225,000 Starwood partner airline miles with the bonus—and get 540,000 Marriott Rewards points. You can redeem them for 150,000 Air Canada miles (120,000 plus a 25% bonus based on the current transfer deal), plus you get a tier-four or -five hotel (the top level) free for seven nights.
Why Would I Take Air Canada Miles Over United?
Let me count the reasons.
One, United usually doesn’t have great mileage availability, so you’re stuck using its partners. Worse: United jacks up the mileage rate when you do resort to partners. It funnels you into a high-cost ticket. So Air Canada is often a good option because of the mileage rate, which on many routes is much lower than United's, especially with First Class awards with partners, what I care about most.
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Refer back to my November report showing seven ways till Sunday how good this opportunity can be.
All it takes is transferring SPG points to Air Canada before April 18.
Back in November, I wrote a report about How (and Why) I Just Got 152,000 United Miles—plus Seven Nights at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park—for 180,000 Starwood Points. The keynote: the Starwood Starpoints-to-Marriot Rewards opportunity netted nine cents in value per Starpoint. (Only other requirement: You have to like luxury hotels.)
Had I had a crystal ball, I wouldn't have bothered with the United deal, because now Marriott has a promotion that offers a 30% bonus when transferring Marriott points to Air Canada miles, which I generally prefer over United miles.
The bonus works like this:
- 20% more miles when converting hotel points into 2,500 to 99,999 miles
- 25% more miles when converting hotel points into 100,000 to 199,999 miles
- 30% more miles when converting hotel points into 200,000+ miles.
With the Air Canada transfer bonus, you can get seven nights at top-tier Ritz-Carltons, as I did at the Central Park property. It is worth $5,600+ and 150,000 Air Canada miles (2,000 miles less than the United...