Transfer Chase Points To Marriott With 50% Bonus

Chase Ultimate Rewards has just launched its latest transfer bonus, though this isn’t a promotion I’d necessarily recommend taking advantage of.

Chase offering 50% bonus on Marriott Bonvoy transfers

Chase is offering a 50% bonus when you transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy between March 1 and May 15, 2023.

The bonus isn’t hard-coded into the transfer ratio, meaning that when you transfer Ultimate Rewards points you won’t see the bonus on the transfer page. Rather the bonus will be deposited by Marriott Bonvoy once your transfer is complete.

We’ve seen three similar transfer bonuses in the past year or so, ranging from a bonus of 40-50%. So this is in line with the best transfer bonuses we see between the two programs.

Why this promotion (probably) isn’t worth it

A 50% transfer bonus sounds like it could be valuable, though this isn’t a deal I’d recommend taking advantage of. Why? I value Marriott Bonvoy points at ~0.7 cents each, while I value Chase Ultimate Rewards points at ~1.7 cents each. Even when you’re getting 1.5 Marriott Bonvoy points per Ultimate Rewards point, you’re still only getting ~1.05 cents of value per Ultimate Rewards point, by my valuation.

At a minimum, you can redeem Ultimate Rewards points for 1.25-1.5 cents each toward a travel purchase through the Chase Travel Portal. Personally I value World of Hyatt points at more than twice as much as Marriott Bonvoy points, yet Chase Ultimate Rewards points ordinarily transfer to both currencies at a 1:1 ratio.

Now, in fairness, there are situations where you could get value with this transfer, in terms of the hotel stay being worth more than the value of the points transferred. However, there are probably more efficient ways to acquire those points:

• Marriott Bonvoy often sells points at a discount, and acquiring them that way is a better value, in my opinion
• Marriott has co-branded credit cards that could be better options for earning Bonvoy points

Keep in mind that nowadays Marriott Bonvoy has dynamic award pricing, so there’s no maximum for the number of points hotels can charge for award stays. Nonetheless there are still good uses of Marriott Bonvoy points.

Bottom line

Through May 15, 2023, you can receive a 50% bonus when you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy. While it’s good to see Chase offer another transfer bonus, this isn’t one to get too excited about.

Personally I don’t think this offer is worth it. Marriott Bonvoy isn’t an efficient Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner, and I’d argue that applies even with a 50% bonus. I’d give this offer a “pass,” but I’m sure some will find this to be worthwhile.

What’s your take on this Chase transfer bonus to Marriott?