Marriott-MGM Points Transfers Are Now Available

Earlier this year, MGM finally joined the Marriott Bonvoy family after leaving the World of Hyatt. However, the rollout has been far from smooth, and some features weren’t available at the official cutover date. However, Marriott-MGM points transfers are now available. Whether you want to do it or not is another question altogether.

I’ve got to be honest, MGM’s integration into Marriott has been an endless parade of disappointments. Members of both programs enjoy fewer reciprocal benefits than when MGM partnered with Hyatt, though this is likely by design. For example, Marriott Bonvoy elite members receive fewer or adjusted benefits at MGM properties. And while MGM Rewards elite members can request a status match into Marriott Bonvoy this year, Marriott Bonvoy members can’t do the same for MGM Rewards. 

Look, I get why that last bit happened. A lot of people, myself included, used the ability to status match annually back and forth as a way of easily maintaining status in both programs. Only, you know, I didn’t go around blabbing about it as many other bloggers did. The saving grace, then, was the ability to transfer points between the two programs. However, Marriott-MGM points transfers are now available, and this, too, is a disappointment. 

Marriott-MGM Points Transfers Are Now Available

Provided that their accounts are linked, Marriott-MGM points transfers are now available to all members. However, there are several caveats to be aware of:

• Transfer Ratio: unfortunately, points transfer at a ratio of 10:8, regardless of which program you’re transferring from and to. For example, 10 Marriott Bonvoy points nets you 8 MGM Rewards points, while 10 MGM Rewards points would net you 8 Marriott Bonvoy points.
• Minimum Transfer Amount: you must transfer a minimum of 1,000 points per request. 
• Maximum Transfer Amount: members may transfer up to 30,000 points per year. The language for this is a bit vague, but I translate the limit as being aggregate for both programs “…in a calendar year, cannot convert more than 30,000 MGM Rewards Points to Bonvoy Points or convert more than 30,000 Bonvoy Points to MGM Rewards Points.”

Thanks to the limit, transfer 30,000 points will equal out to 24,000 points. And, honestly, what the hell are you going to do with 24,000 points? Sure, you might be able to redeem them for a night at a lower tier Marriott property. Ditto to MGM Rewards, though, there, you can redeem points for food, entertainment, and more. In fact, MGM Rewards is basically a cash back program, in which each MGM Rewards point is worth $0.01 when redeeming, and you earn them at a rate of 1% when making non-gaming purchases. 

That brings me to my next point. Even though Marriott-MGM points transfer are now available, it doesn’t mean you should. Why? Well, if you’re transferring your MGM Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy, you take a 20% hit just for the transfer. However, Marriott Bonvoy points are generally valued at $0.80 each, which dilutes the value of your points even further. This makes transferring a hard no-go for me, except for if you have MGM Rewards points that close to expiring and you can’t make use of. 

Transferring points from Marriott Bonvoy to MGM Rewards is less painful, but I still probably wouldn’t do so. MGM Rewards have an extremely short validity window – 6 months for base Sapphire members. So, if you transfer points into the program, you ought to have an immediate, defined redemption identified. 

Final Thoughts

Marriott-MGM points transfers are now available, six months after the overall partnership went live. And, while I know this has been something some in the community have been looking forward to, it’s yet another disappointment. The conversion limit is so low, and the ratios just aren’t good. Alas, I’ve distanced myself from Marriott Bonvoy anyway, as they seem to be trying to achieve Hilton levels of member value and don’t actually honor any elite member benefits anymore.