How To Combine Marriott Bonvoy Points Between Accounts For Free

The major hotel loyalty programs all have different policies when it comes to combining points between accounts belonging to different members. For example, Hilton Honors lets you transfer points to any other member online, and you can transfer up to 500,000 points and receive up to two million points per account per calendar year. Meanwhile World of Hyatt lets you transfer points to any other member online as well, with the ability to give or receive up to 525,000 points per year. Marriott Bonvoy is the world’s largest loyalty program, so how does the program’s policy on combining points compare? Not very favorably, but it can still prove to be quite useful. I’d like to go over the details of how this feature of the program works. How many Marriott Bonvoy points can you combine?Who can you combine Marriott Bonvoy points with?How do you combine Marriott Bonvoy points?Combine Marriott Bonvoy points onlineCombine Marriott Bonvoy points by phoneWhy would you want to combine Marriott Bonvoy points?Combine Marriott Bonvoy points FAQsBottom line How many Marriott Bonvoy points can you combine? Marriott Bonvoy lets you combine points between accounts at no cost, with the following restrictions: You can transfer up to 100,000 points per calendar year You can receive up to 500,000 points per calendar year You can only combine points in 1,000 point increments You can make up to two transfers per calendar month, and up to six transfers per calendar year Marriott Bonvoy points sharing feature Who can you combine Marriott Bonvoy points with? There’s no need to be related to the person you’re sharing points with, or even to share the same address. Rather you can transfer your points to any member. The only limitation is how long accounts have to be active: With qualifying activity, you can combine points with someone after they’ve had an account for 30 days Without qualifying activity, you can combine points with someone after they’ve had an account for 90 days Qualifying activity includes any earning or redeeming of points, with the exception of gifting or transferring points, receiving points as a gift or transfer, or earning points through social media programs. Along those lines, it’s also worth pointing out that combining points with a member won’t count toward extending the expiration of your points, if that’s something you’re going for (Bonvoy points expire after 24 months of inactivity). Redeem Bonvoy points at St. Regis Maldives It’s possible to combine Marriott Bonvoy points between accounts either by phone or via an online tool, so let’s go over both of those options. Combine Marriott Bonvoy points online It’s possible to transfer points to another Marriott Bonvoy member at this link. The member looking to transfer their points (rather than the recipient) should log into their account at that link, and they’ll then be brought to the points transfer tool. On that page you’ll have to enter the recipient’s first and last name, Marriott Bonvoy number, and how many points you want to transfer (between 1,000 and 100,000). Marriott Bonvoy points combining tool You’ll then be asked to receive a verification code, either by email or text. Marriott Bonvoy points combining tool You’ll then receive confirmation that your request has been made. While the transfer tool suggests that it could take up to one hour for points to post, in reality they typically post instantly. Marriott Bonvoy points combining tool Combine Marriott Bonvoy points by phone If for whatever reason you don’t want to use the online tool to transfer points to another Marriott Bonvoy member, you can continue to do this by phone. Here’s how the process works: Contact member support at 801.468.4000 To get through to an agent, say “transfer points,” and then enter your Bonvoy number The person looking to transfer points should make the call; they’ll be asked to verify some information (like the phone number and email address on the account) You’ll also need the account number and name of the person you’re transferring points to, though don’t need any other info about their account Points should transfer instantly once the process is initiated Why would you want to combine Marriott Bonvoy points? Now that we’ve established that you can transfer points, perhaps the bigger question is why you would want to. There are some circumstances where combining points between Marriott Bonvoy accounts could make a lot of sense: If you want to book a free night award but don’t have enough points in a single account to book If you want to book an award for a friend or family member, then this is the easiest way to book a stay in their name If you plan to travel with a friend or spouse and they have elite status, so that you can transfer points to them and then you’d receive the perks associated with status for your stay Ford transfers 100,000 Bonvoy points to me every year. Why? Because he has a sizable Bonvoy points balance, I have the higher status with Marriott, and we usually travel together. There’s more value in having Bonvoy points in my account rather than his, so that we can take advantage of elite perks when redeeming points. Redeem Bonvoy points at Al Maha, Dubai Combine Marriott Bonvoy points FAQs Does it cost anything to combine Bonvoy points? No, Bonvoy points transfers between member accounts are free. How many Bonvoy points can you share with others? Marriott Bonvoy lets you share up to 100,000 points per year per member, in increments of 1,000 points. How many Bonvoy points can you receive from others? Marriott Bonvoy lets members receive up to 500,000 shared points per year per member, though only 100,000 points can come from each individual member. How often can you make Bonvoy points transfers? You can transfer Bonvoy points to others up to two times per calendar month, and up to six times per year. Do you have to be related to the person you transfer Bonvoy points to? No, there’s no requirement to be related to the person you transfer your Bonvoy points to. You just can’t be bartering your points. Does receiving or second Bonvoy points extend points expiration? No, points transfers don’t count as qualifying activity for the purposes of keeping your points from expiring. Bonvoy points expire after 24 months of inactivity. How old does a Bonvoy account have to be to share points? A recipient’s Bonvoy account must be at least 30 days old to receive points with qualifying activity. Without qualifying activity, it must be at least 90 days old. How do you transfer Bonvoy points online? The process of sharing Bonvoy points online is easy. Just go to the webpage for points transfers, log into your Bonvoy account, enter the recipient’s first name, last name, and Bonvoy number, choose how many points you want to transfer, and that’s it. Bottom line While Marriott Bonvoy isn’t the most generous when it comes to letting members combine points between accounts, this is still a functionality worth being aware of. There are plenty of circumstances where it could make sense to combine points, whether you’re looking to maximize elite benefits or book travel for others. The major catch is the restriction on how old the accounts have to be, plus the limit on how many points you can transfer, and how often you can transfer points. Have you ever transferred Marriott Bonvoy points? What was your experience like?