GoSh4rks

You're wrong. If you had read the FAQ then you wouldn't keep repeating the same incorrect information.

https://secure.unitedmileageplus.com...s.html?lang=en

#14

uxb

So what then is this:

Source: https://secure.unitedmileageplus.com...s.html?lang=en

GoSh4rks

So they reserve the right to change the offering. Pretty standard for these programs. That doesn't mean that it will actually change, nor does it mean that there is no re-up.

herokitty

With United's new mileage redemption policy taking effect tomorrow, I needed to top off my United account with 50k miles to do a New Zealand trip with a free stopover in Japan. The only way to get enough miles was to tap into my wife's SPG account. Since SPG to United straight conversion is horrendous, I wanted to take advantage of the Marriott 1:3 transfer. Effectively I needed 38k SPG points, converted to 114k Marriott points, in order to get 50k United miles.

I figured it might take a few days to shuffle points around, so last week I called Marriott to transfer 112k Marriott points from my wife's account to my Marriott account. There is a written rule that the transfer is limited to 50k points a year, but when I explained that I wanted a specific United redemption package, they were able to do the whole 112k. Over the phone, I was told this would take 3-5 business days. Fast forward to this Monday, I still don't have the United miles so I call again. They have no record of the transaction so I had to listen to all the rules about the 50k cap again, but eventually I got them to do the whole thing again. This time, I saw that 112k was deducted as a UA redemption. They said it would take 24 hours to show up in my United account, but up to 48 hours. That's fine, as long as it's before the October 6 United changes. However, at this point I'm skeptical that Marriott can actually follow through with what they tell me on the phone.

This morning, still no points. Phone call number 1: they put me on hold while they check on the status of the transfer. After the 20 minute hold, a person from United Mileage Plus picks up the phone without any knowledge of what I was going through. They transferred my call without telling me! United has no record of the transaction and tell me to wait 3-5 business days for the miles to show up. Phone call number 2: was told whoever told me transfers can be done in 24 hours was wrong, that no United transfers can be done in under 3 business days. About to give up but with my mind racing, I ask the rep to verify the UA account they have on file for me. Turns out they had flipped 2 numbers so my points were stuck in limbo! And every time I talked to a new Marriott rep, they asked for my UA account number and no one had caught it. As soon as they fixed the number on Marriott's end, I was able to log onto my United account and see the 50k miles!

So a data point for others:
Marriott points transfer to spouse's account do not seem capped at 50k if you're redeeming for a specific package

Marriott to United transfers can actually be done in minutes...if they're at fault and you press them enough. And if they tell you it can't be done, something is probably wrong but you're gonna have to find the broken link yourself.

I have no idea what happened with my first attempt a week ago that they have no record of. The points were never deducted from the Marriott account. It was like the rep was going through the motions to make me happy, leaving me screwed if I hadn't followed up.

hhoope01

Glad you were able to work out the transfer before today.

And yes, it is known here (and has been discussed in the Points Transfer, Travel Package and other threads) that when redeeming any award (not just a TP award) that when you don't have the necessary points, it is possible to bypass that 50K transfer limit.

But there is some fine print on that. Per Marriott rules, that 50K+ transfer workaround is supposed only be available once per year. I'm not sure if anyone has tested that to see if Marriott is actually enforcing the once a year rule or not. So just in case they are, make sure you use it for the transfer you really want/need it. Otherwise, you could be hurting if you want another transfer later in the year.

ZBigFam

I did the same thing but I just bought two travel packages and got an even better redemption rate for my SPG points. The points appeared in one business day and I had 14 nights at any cat 1-5 marriott.

azepine00

A rather depressing outcome under most cicumstances but ymmv of course..

herokitty

I also read about those instances on here, but I was surprised that it was never offered. I mentioned that once a year, I could transfer more and the rep had to speak with the manager. And he would only transfer the points as a direct redemption of the United package. I wasn't allowed to do it myself, which would've saved the hassle of the incorrect Mileage Plus account number.

transportprof

So how long does a "normal" <50,000 points transfer usually take from Marriott to United miles?

Milkman

I've done it twice and I'm quite sure the transaction was cleared after one or maximum 2 business days.

Happy

I could not find anywhere mentioned about the minimum amount to transfer.

SPG used to allow exact number of points to transfer between accounts. Though it has changed for non-elites.

Would like to know the minimum level or if there is even one.

Rowyourboat

25% bonus on hotel -> MP point conversions (up to 20k miles)

https://secure.unitedmileageplus.com...015/index.html

Posting of Promotional Miles: At the conclusion of the promotion, all miles earned by each member from Qualifying Activity will be multiplied by 25% (with exception of miles earned from Qualifying Activity with Club Carlson, which will instead be multiplied by 40%, and miles earned from Qualifying Activity with Choice Privileges, which will instead be multiplied by 50%, in each case without duplication of bonuses) to determine the eligible bonus up to a maximum of 20,000 Bonus Miles. Bonus Miles will be credited into the member's account on or before January 30, 2017.The maximum bonus miles that can be earned by a member under this promotion is 20,000. MileagePlus will not be responsible for technical problems with partner miles postings, or failures or delays in miles postings by hotel partners, that would render any points to miles converted as ineligible under this promotion.

This is pretty cool since Marriott already gives a 20% boost. So 112k marriott points = 62.5k UA miles

catharsis

Does anyone know whether this applies to travel packages? (albeit the cap of 20K could become an issue there)

alc

I would like to know the answer to this too.

From reading the link on the United page after I registered, it state the following about the travel package:

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...telandcar.aspx

So, my guess is that travel package is included as otherwise, why they even mentioned it in this page.

I had been waiting for these convert promo, so I might just try it and see what happen.

Duke5150

This offer is not combinable with other MileagePlus offers

Good question. What happens when you convert Marriott to MP?