Several months ago, Marriott Bonvoy and Starbucks launched a partnership, essentially intended to cross-promote the two brands.
I wanted to recap the details of this partnership, and also note two new developments — it’s now possible to convert Marriott Bonvoy points into Starbucks Rewards Stars, and there’s also a new bonus for those who link their accounts (which is definitely worth taking advantage of).
In this post:
Details of the Marriott & Starbucks partnership
A partnership between Marriott Bonvoy and Starbucks Rewards provides some benefits to U.S. members who link their accounts. This offers the opportunity to earn bonus Marriott Bonvoy points and bonus Starbucks Rewards Stars, and also to convert Marriott Bonvoy points into Starbucks Rewards Stars.
Here are the main aspects of this partnership:
- Receive double Starbucks Rewards Stars during Marriott stays — members can earn double Starbucks Rewards Stars for qualifying transactions at participating Starbucks locations through the duration of their eligible stay at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
- Receive bonus Marriott Bonvoy points select weeks — throughout the year there are designated Marriott Bonvoy Weeks, whereby members can earn 100 Marriott Bonvoy points when they make three qualifying transactions at participating Starbucks locations
- Transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Starbucks Rewards Stars — the transfer ratio is 10:1, as you can receive 100 Starbucks Rewards Stars for every 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
If you haven’t yet registered for this partnership, there’s an incentive to do so right now. Through October 18, 2024, you can receive 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points if you link your Marriott Bonvoy and Starbucks Rewards accounts. Bonus points will post within four to six weeks, and there’s not even a purchase required, so that’s awesome.
How valuable is this partnership?
Any opportunity to earn bonus rewards is a good one, as far as I’m concerned (unless you’re really concerned about your data being shared between companies, for whatever reason). That being said, the value of this truly is marginal:
- During select weeks, you can earn 100 Marriott Bonvoy points when making three Starbucks transactions; I value Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, so with a bonus of ~33 Bonvoy points per transaction, that’s like a 23 cent return on select transactions
- You can always earn double Starbucks Rewards Stars when making Starbucks purchases at the same time you stay at a Marriott; I value Starbucks Stars at 4-5 cents each, so to me, that’s like an incremental 4-5% return on Starbucks spending when staying at a Marriott
- I don’t consider the ability to convert Marriott Bonvoy points into Starbucks Rewards Stars at a 10:1 ratio to be a great deal, given that I value the former at 0.7 cents each, and the latter at 4-5 cents each
If you frequently make purchases with Marriott and Starbucks, you might as well take advantage of this. I’d say the bigger opportunity here is being able to earn double Starbucks Stars, rather than being able to earn 100 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points every so often.
Probably the most value with this opportunity is the current 1,000 bonus points you can earn if you link your accounts, if you haven’t done so already.
Keep in mind that you should be able to stack this with the Delta SkyMiles and Starbucks Rewards partnership, which lets you earn bonus Delta SkyMiles for reloading your Starbucks balance. Again, the partnership isn’t amazing, or anything, but is better than nothing.
Bottom line
Marriott Bonvoy and Starbucks Rewards have a partnership. Those in the United States who link their accounts have some opportunities to earn bonus rewards. You can always earn double Starbucks Rewards Stars in conjunction with a Marriott stay, while over select weeks you can earn 100 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points when making three Starbucks transactions.
At the moment, you can earn 1,000 bonus points if you link your accounts, which is a good opportunity.
What do you make of the Marriott & Starbucks partnership?
I don't know why, can't connect
Hopefully this works better than Marriott/Uber fiasco...
Am I the only one curious as to that duffel bag?
Another minor benefit of the partnership is that earning Marriott points resets the 24-month activity clock for expiration. This may not be significant for many of your readers who may stay at one of their properties or put spend on a co-brand card anyway before the expiration clock runs out. But for those like myself who rarely stay with them and don't have a co-brand, and also have a Starbucks nearby, renewing the clock for...
Another minor benefit of the partnership is that earning Marriott points resets the 24-month activity clock for expiration. This may not be significant for many of your readers who may stay at one of their properties or put spend on a co-brand card anyway before the expiration clock runs out. But for those like myself who rarely stay with them and don't have a co-brand, and also have a Starbucks nearby, renewing the clock for what Marriott points you do have can be very useful.
This is helpful information. Thank you so much!