You can now transfer points between Marriott and MGM Rewards

Marriott Bonvoy and MGM Rewards announced today that members can now transfer points between the two programs, though only up to 30,000 points per year and at less than a 1:1 ratio. I see this being most useful for those without MGM status who make a trip to an MGM property only once in a while (like once a year) or perhaps those who earn points through the sportsbook app but don’t intend to travel to an MGM property. MGM Rewards points expire quickly for those without elite status, so this opens a pathway to use them before you lose them.

Quick Thoughts

The partnership between Marriott and MGM debuted last fall and when it did, we expected that it would eventually be possible to transfer points between the two programs. It’s nice to see this finally implemented.

That said, this probably won’t be hugely useful even to those who are interested in it for a couple of reasons.

First, the transfer ratio isn’t good. In either direction, points transfer 10:8. That is to say that for every 10 Marriott points you convert, you’ll get 8 MGM Rewards points or for every 10 MGM Rewards points you convert, you’ll get 8 Marriott points. Think of this like exchanging currency at an airport currency exchange desk: you’re losing every time.

MGM Rewards points have a fixed value of $0.01 per point at best when being used to cover folio charges or via express comps with some on-property vendors like quick-service food. This means that when you convert 10 Marriott points to 8 MGM Rewards points, you’re getting 0.8c per Marriott point. That’s actually slightly ahead of our Reasonable Redemption Value for Marriott points, but I’d rather hold my Marriott points for a higher value use down the road. That said, if you’re making a trip to Vegas and you’re flush with Marriott points, perhaps you’d be happy to convert some points to cover a massage or nice meal at 0.8c per Marriott point.

On the other side, folks with MGM Rewards points who aren’t planning regular trips to MGM destinations might find this conversion interesting because of the opportunity to potentially get more value (and far broader use) out of Marriott Bonvoy points. Rather than being limited to using them at casino locations, transferring MGM Rewards to Marriott would mean being able to redeem for a stay just about anywhere in the world given Marriott’s footprint and to get far more than 1cpp in some cases.

Unfortunately, the annual limit of 30,000 points transferred really limits the utility here on both sides. Without that limit, perhaps some big spenders would find the MGM Mastercard of greater interest since that card earns 2x points and tier credits at gas stations and grocery stores. If you’re a big enough spender to spend your way to high-level status with MGM, having an outlet to get more than 1c per point and/or use your accumulated points for stays far and wide via Marriott could certainly be of interest. And if you’re on the Marriott side looking to transfer points to MGM to cover charges during your trip to Vegas (or whichever MGM property strikes your fancy), you’re only going to be able to cover $240 worth of charges this way, which won’t get you all that far these days in Vegas.

While Ben at One Mile at a Time notes that conversions from MGM to Marriott only make sense for MGM members who know they’ll get better than 1.25c per point via Marriott, I have a different take. I actually think this partnership looks best for those without MGM status who make a single trip to Las Vegas or earn a bunch of MGM points through their sports betting app with no intention to take a trip to an MGM property. The reason I specify “with no status” is because MGM has an awful expiration policy for those at the “Sapphire” (no status) level:

A member’s accumulated MGM Rewards Points may be subject to forfeiture at the Sapphire Tier Status if the member’s MGM Rewards account does not reflect any activity (which means earning SLOT DOLLARS® or Tier Credits) for a period of six (6) months. For members at Tier Status of Pearl and above, a member’s accumulated MGM Rewards Points are not subject to forfeiture as long as the member remains at that Tier. MGM Rewards Points may be subject to forfeiture due to account inactivity once a member does not retain a Tier Status of Pearl and above.

In the days when Hyatt elite status got you MGM Gold status, this was likely to be a non-issue for MGM members, but since the end of that partnership I imagine that many of us have seen our status drop to Sapphire. If you’re in that boat, if you fail to earn points or tier credits for just six months, you forfeit all of your points. I think that’s absolutely nuts. Someone who makes a big annual trip to Las Vegas might earn thousands of points but would lose all of those points before the next trip if they don’t make a second annual trip or earn points in some other way. I like this new transfer option for someone like that to be able to move points earned from a big trip to Marriott and not need to worry about earning additional points within 6 months to keep them alive.

For what it’s worth, I easily found the button to initiate a transfer within my MGM account. I didn’t immediately see the same within my Marriott account, but I doubt I’d consider a transfer in that direction anyway.

Bottom line

You can now convert points between Marriott and MGM at a ratio of 10:8 in either direction, with a minimum transfer of 1,000 points and maximum of 30,000 points converted per year. This generally isn’t a very good deal in either direction, though it could be useful for avoiding MGM’s awful 6-month expiration policy for members without elite status.

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