American Express is sweetening Membership Rewards transfers to Marriott Bonvoy for the rest of the fall. Eligible accounts get a 35% bonus through December 10, 2026, so 1,000 Membership Rewards points become 1,350 Marriott Bonvoy points.
The standard transfer rate is 1:1. With the bonus, every block of 1,000 Amex points lands as 1,350 Bonvoy points. Transfers still move in increments of 1,000 Membership Rewards points. Amex says transfers can take up to 48 hours, though many recent moves post much faster. Once the points leave Membership Rewards, the transfer is final and Bonvoy rules apply.
Confirm the offer in your own Amex Membership Rewards transfer catalog before you move anything. Transfer bonuses are sometimes targeted, and the button only appears when your account is eligible.
What the numbers look like
A few worked examples at the bonus rate:
- 10,000 Amex points become 13,500 Bonvoy points.
- 40,000 Amex points become 54,000 Bonvoy points.
- 80,000 Amex points become 108,000 Bonvoy points.
To reverse the math, divide the Bonvoy points you need by 1.35. If you are 27,000 Bonvoy points short of a stay, you need 20,000 Amex points during the bonus instead of 27,000 at the normal rate. That is a savings of 7,000 Membership Rewards points on that top-off.
Marriott's fifth-night benefit still matters here. On a stay of five or more consecutive Standard or PointSavers award nights on one reservation, Marriott waives the lowest-priced night. A 35% transfer bonus can be the difference between covering that whole stay from Amex and leaving a cash gap.
When it makes sense, and when it does not
Most of the time, Membership Rewards are worth more as airline miles than as hotel points. Our Membership Rewards estimate is 2.1 cents each. Even after a 35% boost, you need a Marriott redemption above about 1.55 cents per Bonvoy point to match that Amex baseline on paper. Many paid hotel rates do not clear that bar.
The bonus is strongest as a top-off. If you already hold most of a Marriott award and only need a few thousand points, paying those last points from Amex at a 35% premium can be cleaner than buying Bonvoy points or changing hotels. It can also help if you are stacking toward a five-night award where the free night is the real prize.
It is a weak reason to empty a Membership Rewards balance into Bonvoy with no stay booked. Marriott award prices move, and points parked in Bonvoy are harder to turn back into airline awards at a good rate. Price the exact hotel nights first, then transfer only what that reservation needs, rounded up to the next 1,000-point step.
Other ways to add Bonvoy points
Marriott is also selling points with a 55% purchase bonus through November 23, which we covered separately, and its fall stay promotion pays 1,500 to 4,500 bonus points per qualifying stay through November 22. Those paths do not use Membership Rewards. Compare the cash cost of buying points, the value of staying for a stay bonus, and this Amex transfer before you choose.
My take
I would treat this as a top-off tool, not a strategy. Thirty-five percent is a solid hotel transfer bonus by Amex standards, but Membership Rewards usually earn more as flights. Book the Marriott stay, count the shortfall, and move the smallest block that covers it.