Marriott Rewards offers triple miles with any of 26 airlines for stays at any Marriott brand hotel February 1 – April 30, 2011. Triple miles begin with second stay during promotion period. Marriott Rewards members need to switch earning preference in online profile to miles in order to register for this promotion.

Marriott Rewards MegaMiles Promotion offer link.

Participating Airline Partners

• Air Berlin topbonus
• Air China
• Aeroplan (Air Canada)
• Aeromexico
• Air France / KLM
• Alaska Airlines
• Alitalia MilleMiglia
• All Nippon Airways
• Asiana Airlines
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• China Southern Airlines
• Continental Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Frontier Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Japan Airlines
• Jet Airways JetPrivilege®
• LAN
• Lufthansa
• Singapore Airlines
• TACA Airlines (As of February 1, 2011)
• United Airlines
• USAirways
• Varig
• Virgin Atlantic

 

Marriott Rewards Earn Rate for Miles

The base-level earn rate is 2 miles per $1 in hotel spend at Marriott, Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott and Autograph Collection hotel brands.  Only 1 mile per $1 earned for stays at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites.

Oddly inconsistent with Marriott Rewards is the lower earning rate of 1 mile per $1 hotel spend at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites. Hotel stays in these three brands earn full points credit at 10 points per $1, yet only 50% miles credit. Earning reduced miles for stays at Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites is consistent with 50% base points earn rate for these brands at just 5 points per $1.

Triple Miles Calculation

6 miles per dollar hotel spend at Marriott, Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott and Autograph Collection hotel brands.

3 miles per dollar hotel spend at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites.

 

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Any stay over $83 at an upper tier hotel earns more than 500 miles as a comparative data point to Hilton HHonors fixed rate of 500 miles per hotel stay for HHonors Points & Fixed Miles earners.  But HHonors members still earn points in addition to 500 miles.

Assume a 6 points/$1 Marriott stay at $800 and 4,800 miles earned, in lieu of 8,000 points. That seems like an equitable trade-off in miles.

But I would go for 10 points per dollar rather than triple miles on any stay at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites only earning 3 miles per dollar.

Marriott Rewards Excellent Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates for High Points Transfers

You can ultimately earn more miles by earning points instead of triple miles at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites during this MegaMiles promotion.

Marriott Rewards points at the 125,000 points level exchange into 50,000 miles. The 50,000 miles exchange rate is 10 points = 4 miles or the same as earning 4 miles for every dollar in hotel spend. The exchange rate available with a 70,000 or 125,000 points-to-miles transfer is better than 3 miles per dollar with this triple miles promotion.

Spend $1,000 at Courtyard and you earn 3,000 miles during this triple miles promotion.

Take 10,000 points instead.

You can exchange 10,000 points into 3,571 miles when making a 70,000 points to 25,000 miles exchange through Marriott Rewards.

10,000 points equals 4,000 miles at the 125,000 points to 50,000 miles exchange rate.

Brands offering 6 miles/$1 triple miles are a good mileage earning opportunity since this rate is higher than the points-to-miles exchange rate that maxes out at the equivalent of 4 miles/$1.

Marriott Rewards MegaBonus offers members a free night after two stays during this promotion period. Free nights may be the better offer for some members.

MegaMiles 2011 is a good triple miles offer for Marriott Rewards miles collectors, although members may want to actively adjust your online earning profile to get the better value for each hotel stay.

Related Post: Marriott Rewards MegaBonus Feb 1- April 30, 2011 (free night after two stays)

Wyndham Rewards Visa card is actually a high value card for people interested in airline miles, particularly SkyTeam Alliance, United and Continental flyers. All purchases earn 2 points per dollar and Wyndham hotel brands earn 5 points per dollar. Most other Visa hotel loyalty cards from Marriott, Hyatt, and Priority Club only earn 1 hotel point per dollar for general purchases and the points-to-miles transfer rates for hotel points is less than the Wyndham Rewards rate. 

Wyndham Rewards has a fixed points-to-miles exchange rate at 2.5 points = 1 mile. This is among the highest points-to-miles transfer rates of all hotel programs.

Comparison of Wyndham Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest points-to-miles transfer rates

Starwood’s American Express card earns 1 point per dollar for non-hotel spend and 1 point = 1 mile for most airline partners. SPG American Express is a popular card for airline miles, however, American Express is not accepted by many merchants and the SPG points-to-miles rate for United and Continental is a lower 2 points = 1 mile rate.

Wyndham Rewards is essentially giving 0.8 miles per dollar in credit card spend. This rate is 60% higher than the SPG American Express rate (0.5 miles per dollar) for United and Continental miles.

$4,000 in Wyndham Rewards Visa credit card spend earns 3,200 Continental or United miles for cardmembers. SPG American Express only earns 2,000 CO or UA miles with $4,000 in non-hotel spend.

SPG gives 1.25 miles per dollar for 1:1 airline partners points-to-miles transfers at the 20,000 points level. $20,000 in SPG American Express spend earns 25,000 miles. But transfer less than 20,000 points and the exchange rate is 1 point for 1 mile. 

Spend $20,000 on Wyndham Rewards Visa and your 40,000 points will convert into 16,000 miles with any of its 17 airline partners. You will earn 25% more miles with SPG 1:1 airline partners when exchanging fewer than 20,000 Starpoints for airlines partnering with both programs.

Airline Partners

SPG has 30 airline partners and many more international airline partners than Wyndham Rewards. Although, if your travel includes China, then Wyndham Rewards has more airline partners for this region with Air China, China Southern, China Eastern and Hainan Airlines.

Domestically SPG has opportunities with Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian. Wyndham Rewards has different U.S. domestic partners than SPG with Midwest and Spirit Airlines.

Bottom line for the Loyalty Traveler

Wyndham Rewards Visa is a good back-up credit card for miles with 17 airline partners, particularly for Skyteam members.

• Skyteam Airlines Aeromexico, China Southern, and Czech Airlines are Wyndham Rewards airline partners not available through Starwood Preferred Guest.
• Continental and United earn miles at a better rate with Wyndham Rewards Visa than SPG American Express.
• Midwest Airlines and Spirit are other airline partners not available through SPG.
• China Eastern and Hainan Airlines are Wyndham partners, but not SPG partner airlines.

16 airline partners and Amtrak for Wyndham Rewards (Airlines in bold are not SPG airline partners)

8,000 points = 3,200 miles, unless stated otherwise

1. Aeromexico (8,000 points = 5,120 km)
2. Aeroplan – Air Canada
3. Air Berlin
4. Air China (8,000 points = 5,150 miles)  (1.55 points = 1 mile)
5. American
6. Amtrak
7. China Eastern (8,000 points = 5,150 miles)  (1.55 points = 1 mile)
8. China Southern (minimum transfer = 1,250 points for 500 miles)
9. Continental
10. Czech OK
11. Delta Skymiles
12. Hainan Airlines (8,000 points = 5,150 miles)  (1.55 points = 1 mile)
13. Midwest
14. Southwest (8,000 points = 2 credits)
15. Spirit
16. US Airways
17. United

30 airline partners and Amtrak for Starwood Preferred Guest (Airlines in bold are not Wyndham Rewards partners)

1. Air Berlin
2. Air Canada- Aeroplan
3. Air China
4. Air New Zealand
5. Alaska
6. ANA All Nippon Airways
7. Alitalia
8. American
9. Amtrak
10. Asiana
11. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
12. British Airways
13. Continental (2:1)
14. Delta
15. Emirates
16. Flying Blue-Air France/KLM
17. Hawaiian
18. Japan Airlines
19. Kingfisher Airlines
20. LanPass
21. Mexican Frecuenta
22. Miles & More – Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, LOT Polish, Brussels
23. Qater Airways
24. Saudi Arabian Airlines
25. Singapore Airlines (2:1)
26. Southwest Airlines
27. Thai Airways
28. US Airways
29. United (2:1)
30. Varig (2:1)
31. Virgin Atlantic

 

Related posts:

Loyalty Traveler Hotel Points-to-Miles exchange rate tables (9-27-10)

Loyalty Traveler compares hotel rewards credit card benefits (9-1-10)

The tables in this post compare the best hotel points-to-miles exchange rates for nine hotel loyalty programs:

1. Best Western Rewards
2. Choice Privileges
3. Carlson Goldpoints Plus
4. Hilton HHonors
5. Hyatt Gold Passport
6. InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club (IHG)
7. Marriott Rewards
8. Starwood Preferred Guest  (SPG)
9. Wyndham Rewards

Points-to-Miles exchange rates shown below include seven U.S. based airlines:

1. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
2. American Airlines AAdvantage
3. Continental Airlines OnePass
4. Delta/Northwest Skymiles
5. Southwest Airlines
6. United Mileage Plus
7. US Airways Dividend Miles

 

Columns are set to equivalent base spend across programs.

Earned points per dollar from hotel spend base points are used to align different programs in the tables below in each column:

• Best Western                                  10 points per dollar
• Carlson goldpoints plus               20 points per dollar
• Choice Privileges                            10 points per dollar
• Hilton HHonors                   *10 points per dollar (Points & Miles)
• Hyatt Gold Passport                         5 points per dollar
• IHG Priority Club                            10 points per dollar        
• Marriott Rewards                            10 points per dollar
• Starwood Preferred Guest             2 points per dollar
• Wyndham Rewards                        10 points per dollar

* Points & Miles base rate at 10 points per dollar is shown for Hilton HHonors since members will usually earn far more miles overall with a combination of points transfers and miles earned from hotel stays.  100,000 HHonors points = 15,000 American AAdvantage miles is the actual HHonors points-to-miles exchange rate.

However, the column for 100,000 points assumes 10 base points per dollar earned with Points & Miles preference, equivalent to $10,000 in base spend when comparing HHonors to other programs. The columns are not aligned correctly for HHonors  Points & Points earner getting 15 base points per dollar. In this case the 100,000 points column would actually be $6,667 in base spend. 100,000 points shown in table columns is equivalent to $10,000 in hotel spend for programs earning 10 base points per dollar. $10,000 in hotel spend with Hyatt earns 50,000 base points and 20,000 points in Starwood Preferred Guest or 200,000 points for Radisson stays in goldpoints plus.

Important Note: The exchange rates shown in the tables are adjusted for comparative purposes across programs and may not actually be set to eligible transfer increments for a specific program. For example, 20,000 Choice points is shown in the table as converting into 5 Southwest credits, but the actual eligible tranfer increment for Choice Priivileges points to Southwest Airlines is 6,000 points = 1.5 credits. So while 20,000 Choice points is equivalent to 5 Southwest credits, the actual Choice Privileges points transfer would have to be either 18,000 points for 4.5 credits or 24,000 points for 6.0 credits.

Yellow rows show hotel points to be exchanged.

White rows are miles exchange rate for hotel points and accurate for any individual program.

Columns are set to equivalent base spend across programs.

 

Limitations of these tables

Comparing hotel points-to-miles rates across hotel loyalty programs requires placement of different programs with different points earning systems on a similar scale.

Each hotel chain rewards members with a base rate for earning points per dollar spend and this is the scale used to compare points-to-miles exchange rates across programs. Base points earning rates range from Starwood Preferred Guest members earning 2 points per dollar at any brand to Goldpoints plus members earn 20 points per dollar at some hotel brands in some parts of the world. Most programs use 10 points per dollar.

The complexity of comparing exchange rates across hotel programs is due in part to the different rates of earning points across hotel brands even within the same hotel chain.

For example, Marriott Rewards members earn only 5 points per $1 for hotel spend in Marriott’s  Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites hotels. Members of the same Marriott Rewards program earn 10 points per $1 in hotel spend if all stays are in other Marriott brands like Courtyard, Marriott and Renaissance. The average base spend points earned for a Marriott Rewards member will be dependent on the proportion of lower earning hotel stays.

Hilton HHonors members earn 15 points per dollar with Points & Points at any Hilton Worldwide brand hotel. Some members earn 10 points per dollar and miles with each hotel stay by choosing to Double Dip for Points & Miles.

InterContinental Hotels Group  Priority Club members earn 10 points per dollar for hotel brands Holiday Inn, HI Express, Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo. Staybridge and Candlewood Suites stays earn 5 points per dollar. InterContinental Hotels earn 2,000 points per stay.

Carlson Hotels Goldpoints Plus has two tiers of hotels for earning points. Radisson brands earn 20 points per dollar or euro. The currency differences between the euro and dollar make earning rates lower for Americans staying in Europe.  The lower tier brands earning 15 points per dollar or euro are Country Inn & Suites and Park Inn.

Choice Privileges has 11 hotel brands with most brands earning 10 points per dollar, however extended stay brands Mainstay Suites and Suburban and economy brands EconoLodge and Rodeway Inn earn just 5 points per dollar.

Best Western, Hyatt, Starwood and Wyndham are the only four programs of the nine surveyed to give the same rate of points earned per dollar spend at all hotel brands in the loyalty program.

Comparing points-to-miles exchange rates across hotel programs is simplified by comparing only the highest earning per base spend rate per program.

For example the Marriott Rewards data in the tables assume members earn 10 points per dollar. However, the Marriott Rewards member who primarily stays at Residence Inn and regularly earns 5 base points per dollar will not be aligned correctly in the table columns with the Hilton member who always earns 15 points per dollar at any brand. The tables are based on the Marriott Rewards member earning 10 points per dollar and the HHonors member earning 10 points per dollar with Points & Miles earning preference.

Earned points per dollar are used to align different programs in the tables below:

• Best Western                                  10 points per dollar
• Carlson goldpoints plus               20 points per dollar
• Choice Privileges                            10 points per dollar
• Hilton HHonors                   10 points per dollar (Points & Miles)
• Hyatt Gold Passport                         5 points per dollar
• IHG Priority Club                            10 points per dollar        
• Marriott Rewards                            10 points per dollar
• Starwood Preferred Guest             2 points per dollar
• Wyndham Rewards                        10 points per dollar

Elite and Promotion Bonus Points

Finally, these tables do not account for the rate of earning points from promotions and elite status. Hyatt, IHG and SPG have a high proportion of points earned from promotions and elite status compared to base spend. These charts are only aligned on base spend at high earning hotel brands within each program and your hotel stay pattern may lead to a faster rate of earning in one program compared to another.

The goal of the frequent guest is to earn far more than base points from hotel spend. The objective of Loyalty Traveler blog is to explain how to exceed base points earning from your hotel spend.

The reality of hotel loyalty programs is most frequent guests will earn 20,000 Starpoints or 50,000 Hyatt points or 100,000 Marriott points for far less than $10,000 in hotel spend. Elite bonus points, promotion bonus points and partner activity bonus points will reduce the cost of earning $10,000 worth of base points to a much lower spend level.

Qualitative Ranking of Best Hotel Loyalty Programs for Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates

5 Key

• Marriott
• Wyndham
• Goldpoints plus
• Choice (5-key program only for Southwest Airlines)

4 Key

• Hyatt
• Starwood Preferred Guest

3 Key

• Priority Club
• Best Western
• Choice (5-key program for Southwest Airlines)
• Hilton (3-key for American Airlines)

2 Key

• Hilton (most airline programs)
• SPG (Continental, United, Singapore)

Hotel Points-to-Miles Exchange  

Hotel programs vary in the airline partners, points-to-miles exchange rate, static or variable exchange system, minimum transfer level of points, allowable transfer increments and the base spend necessary to earn that level of points. 

Best Western Rewards 

• Static exchange rate 5 points = 1 mile
• Minimum transfer = 5,000 points
• 5000 points is equivalent to $500 base spend.
• Transfers allowed in 5,000 point increments. 

7 airline partners Best Western Rewards (9-25-10)

1. Aeroplan – Air Canada
2. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
3. American AAdvantage
4. Continental OnePass
5. Delta Skymiles,
6. Southwest Rapid Rewards
7. US Airways Dividend Miles 

 

Choice Privileges 

• Static exchange rate 5 points = 1 mile
• Minimum transfer = 5,000 points
• 5000 points is equivalent to $500 base spend
• Transfers allowed in 5,000 point increments. 

14 airline partners Choice Privileges (9-25-10)

1. Aeroplan – Air Canada
2. Air New Zealand
3. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
4. American AAdvantage
5. Continental OnePass
6. Czech Airlines OK Plus
7. Delta Skymiles,
8. Mexicana Go
9. Qantas Frequent Flyer
10. Southwest Rapid Rewards
11. Spirit Air
12. United Airlines Milege Plus
13. US Airways Dividend Miles
14. V Australia Velocity Rewards

 

Carlson Hotels Goldpoints Plus

• Variable exchange rate

                2000 points = 250 miles (8:1)

                50,000 points = 8,000 miles          (6.25:1)

                100,000 points = 18,000 miles      (5.55:1)

• Minimum transfer = 2,000 points
• 2000 points is equivalent to $100 base spend at Radisson in U.S.
• Goldpoints has the lowest minimum transfer of any hotel program relative to base spend earning rate.

19 airline partners for goldpoints plus

1. Aeromexico Club Premier
2. Aeroplan – Air Canada
3. Air Berlin
4. American AAdvantage
5. Air France/KLM Flying Blue
6. Asiana Bonus Club
7. British Airways Executive Club
8. Continental OnePass
9. Czech Airlines OK Plus
10. Delta Skymiles
11. Emirates Skywards
12. Etihad Frequent Flyer
13. Icelandair Saga Bonus
14. Jet Airways – Jet Privilege
15. Midwest Airlines   
16. Miles & More (Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, LOT Polish, Brussels Airlines)
17. SAS EuroBonus
18. United Airlines Milege Plus
19. US Airways Dividend Miles

 

Hilton HHonors

• Static Exchange Rate (10 points = 1 mile)

                                10,000 points = 1,000 miles          ( 10 points =  1 mile )

                American Airlines has 50% higher HHonors exchange rate

                                10,000 points = 1,500 miles          ( 6.67 points =  1 mile)

The higher HHonors exchange rate also applies to Hawaiian, Midwest, Gulf Air, Mexican, Qantas and South African Airways.

• Minimum transfer = 10,000 points    
• 10,000 points is equivalent to $667 base spend for Points & Points earner. $1,000 in base spend for Points & Miles earner.
• Transfers must be 10,000 points increments

40 airline partners for Hilton HHonors

**HHonors has most points-to-miles transfer airlines of any hotel program and HHonors even has more airlines eligible for Points & Miles earning during hotel stays. Unfortunately, the poor exchange rate makes most other programs a better value for points-to-miles exchange.

1. Aeromexico (25,000 points = 6,500 km)
2. Aeroplan (Air Canada)
3. Air Berlin
4. Air China
5. Air New Zealand  (10,000 points = 20 NZ points) [SPG 1,300 Starpoints = 20 points; IHG 10,000 = 25 NZ points]
6. Alaska Airlines
7. All Nippon Airways
8. American Airlines (10,000 points = 1,500 miles)
9. Amtrak
10. British Airways
11. Cathay Pacific Airways
12. Continental Airlines®
13. CSA Czech Airlines
14. Delta Air Lines®
15. Etihad  
16. Gulf Air (10,000 points = 1,500 miles)
17. Hawaiian Airlines® (10,000 points = 1,500 miles)
18. Icelandair
19. Japan Airlines
20. Jet Airways
21. JetBlue  (10,000 HHonors = 1,000 points)
22. LAN**(25,000 points = 6,500 kms)
23. Kingfisher Airlines
24. KLM/Air France (Flying Blue)**
25. Malaysia Airlines®
26. Mexicana Airlines (kms) (10,000 points = 1,500 miles)
27. Midwest (10,000 points = 1,500 miles)
28. Miles & More (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines)
29. Qantas Airways (10,000 points = 1,500 miles)
30. Qatar Airways
31. Saudi Arabian Airlines
32. Singapore Airlines
33. South African Airways (10,000 points = 1,500 miles)
34. Southwest Airlines® (10,000 points = 1 credit)
35. TACA
36. THAI Airways International
37. United Airlines®
38. US Airways®  (10,000 points = 850 miles)
39. Virgin America  (10,000 HHonors points = 2,500 Elevate points)
40. Virgin Atlantic Airways (10,000 points = 1,500 miles)

 

Hyatt Gold Passport

• Static Exchange Rate with 25% Bonus at 50,000 points increments.

                5,000 points = 2,000 miles             ( 2.5 points =  1 mile)

                50,000 points = 25,000 miles        ( 2 points = 1 mile)

• Minimum transfer = 5,000 points
• 5,000 points is equivalent to $1,000 base spend
• Transfers are allowed in 1,250 points increments

34 airline partners for Hyatt Gold Passport

Must sign in to Hyatt Gold Passport member account to see exchange partners

1. Aeromexico
2. Air Canada
3. Air China
4. Air France/KLM
5. Alaska
6. ANA
7. American
8. Amtrak
9. Asiana
10. British Airways
11. Cathay Pacific
12. China Airlines
13. China Eastern
14. Continental
15. Delta
16. Emirates
17. Etihad
18. Japan
19. Jey
20. Korean Air
21. LanChile
22. Lufthansa Miles & More
23. Mexicana
24. Midwest
25. Northwest
26. Qantas
27. Royal Brunei
28. Singapore
29. South African
30. Southwest
31. Thai
32. United
33. US Airways
34. Virgin Atlantic

 

IHG Priority Club

• Static Exchange Rate (10 points = 2 miles or 5 points = 1 mile)
• Minimum transfer = 10,000 points
• 10,000 points is equivalent to $1,000 base spend
• Transfers must be in 10,000 point increments

37 airline partners for Priority Club Rewards

1. Aeromexico
2. Air Berlin
3. Air Canada
4. Air China
5. Air New Zealand
6. Alaska
7. ANA
8. Alitalia
9. American
10. Asiana
11. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
12. British Airways
13. China Eastern
14. China Southern
15. Continental
16. Delta
17. El Al
18. Emirates
19. Flying Blue – Air France/KLM
20. GlobalPass
21. Gulf Air
22. Hainan
23. Japan Airlines
24. Jet
25. LanPass
26. Lufthansa Miles & More
27. Malaysia Airlines
28. Mexican Frecuenta
29. Saudi Arabian Airlines
30. Singapore Airlines
31. South African Airways
32. Southwest Airlines
33. TAP Air Portugal
34. Thai Airways
35. United
36. US Airways
37. Varig

 

Marriott Rewards

• Variable Exchange Rate (10 points = 2 miles, and up to 10 points = 4 miles)
• Hotel + Air Package Exchange Rate (10 points = 10 miles)

Higher Tier Airlines

Minimum Exchange Rate for 10,000 points = 2,000 miles

Published Exchange Increments for Marriott Rewards points-to-miles transfers

• 10,000 points = 2,000 miles (5 points = 1 mile)
• 20,000 points = 5,000 miles (4 points = 1 mile)
• 30,000 points = 10,000 miles (3 points = 1 mile)
• 70,000 points = 25,000 miles (2.8 points = 1 mile)
• 125,000 points = 50,000 miles (2.5 points = 1 mile)

Marriott Rewards points-to-miles exchange rate doubles at highest transfer increment of 125,000 points for 10 points = 4 miles compared to 10 points = 2 miles for a 10,000 points transfer.

Lower Tier Airline Rate

Minimum Exchange Rate for 10,000 points = 1,500 miles

• 10,000 points = 1,500 miles          (6.67 points = 1 mile)
• 20,000 points = 3,500 miles          (5.71 points = 1 mile)
• 30,000 points = 7,000 miles          (4.29 points = 1 mile)
• 70,000 points = 17,500 miles        (4.00 points = 1 mile)
• 125,000 points = 35,000 miles      (3.57 points = 1 mile)

Marriott Rewards points-to-miles exchange rate is 87% better at the 125,000 points transfer level compared to a 10,000 points transfer. So not quite double the exchange rate for these lower tier exchange rate airlines. Higher tier airlines give 100% more miles at 125,000 points transfer level.

29 airline partners for Marriott Rewards

Higher exchange rate Tier (10,000 points = 2,000 miles, up to 125,000 points = 50,000 miles)

1. Aeromexico
2. Aeroplan – Air Canada
3. Alaska
4. British Airways
5. Continental
6. Delta
7. Frontier
8. Hawaiian
9. Mexican
10. United
11. US Airways
12. Varig
13. Virgin Atlantic
14. Southwest (10,000 points = 2 credits; up to 125,000 points = 32 credits)

Lower exchange rate tier (10,000 points = 1,500 miles, up to 125,000 points = 35,000 miles)

1. Air Berlin
2. Air China
3. Air France
4. Alitalia
5. ANA
6. Cathay pacific
7. China Southern
8. Emirates
9. Japan Airlines
10. Jet Airways
11. LAN
12. Lufthansa Miles & More
13. Qantas
14. Singapore Airlines
15. TAP Air Portugal

 

Starwood Preferred Guest

Static Exchange Rate (1 point = 1 mile) with 25% Bonus for 20,000 points transfer

                5,000 points = 5,000 miles             ( 1 point = 1 mile )

                20,000 points = 25,000 miles        ( 1.25 points = 1 mile )

Continental, Singapore, United and Varig exchange rate is 2 points = 1 mile

5,000 points = 2,500 miles             ( 2 points = 1 mile)

                20,000 points = 12,500 miles        ( 1.6 points = 1 mile)

Southwest Airlines (1,500 points =  1 credit)

                1,500 Starpoints = 1 Southwest Rapid Rewards credit   

                20,000 points = 16.5 credits or

                21,000 points = 17.5 credits (21,000 points is slightly better rate)

• Minimum transfer = 2,500 points (equivalent to $1,250 base spend)
• SPG Gold elite members minimum transfer = 1,500 points (equivalent to $750 base spend)
• SPG Platinum elite members have no minimum transfer
• Any point increments allowed up to daily maximum 79,999 per transaction per program.

30 airline partners for Starwood Preferred Guest

1. Air Berlin
2. Air Canada- Aeroplan
3. Air China
4. Air New Zealand
5. Alaska
6. ANA All Nippon Airways
7. Alitalia
8. American
9. Asiana
10. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
11. British Airways
12. Continental
13. Delta
14. Emirates
15. Flying Blue-Air France/KLM
16. Hawaiian
17. Japan Airlines
18. Kingfisher Airlines
19. LanPass
20. Mexican Frecuenta
21. Miles & More – Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, LOT Polish, Brussels
22. Qater Airways
23. Saudi Arabian Airlines
24. Singapore Airlines
25. Southwest Airlines
26. Thai Airways
27. US Airways
28. United
29. Varig
30. Virgin Atlantic

 

Wyndham Rewards

• Static Exchange Rate (10 points = 4 miles or 2.5 points = 1 mile)
• 8,000 points = 3,200 miles             ( 2.5 points = 1 mile )
• 17,500 points = 7,000 miles          (2.5 points = 1 mile)
• 30,000 points = 12,000 miles       (2.5 points = 1 mile)
• Minimum transfer = 8,000 points (equivalent to $800 base spend)
• Points may be transferred in 8,000 or 17,500 or 32,000 points increments

17 airline partners for Wyndham Rewards

1. Aeromexico (8,000 points = 5,120 km)
2. Aeroplan – Air Canada
3. Air Berlin
4. Air China (8,000 points = 5,150 miles)  (1.55 points = 1 mile)
5. American
6. Amtrak
7. China Eastern (8,000 points = 5,150 miles)  (1.55 points = 1 mile)
8. China Southern (minimum transfer = 1,250 points for 500 miles)
9. Continental
10. Czech OK
11. Delta Skymiles
12. Hainan Airlines (8,000 points = 5,150 miles)  (1.55 points = 1 mile)
13. Midwest
14. Southwest (8,000 points = 2 credits)
15. Spirit
16. US Airways
17. United

Enroll as a new member by September 6 in Goldpoints Plus using promotion code GPX2010 and receive 1,000 bonus points. Carlson Hotels Goldpoints Plus loyalty program covers the 1,000+ hotels in Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn and Country Inn & Suites hotel brands. Goldpoints plus new member registration link.

This offer is only valid for new members without an existing account.

 

Goldpoints Plus has lowest minimum transfer for airline miles

Goldpoints plus is a useful program for small mileage transfers. 2,000 goldpoints exchange into 250 miles with a variety of programs.

Goldpoints plus has the lowest minimum transfer rate for points-to-miles exchanges for a general member among the major programs (SPG Platinum members have no minimum transfer level):

• Hilton = 10,000 point block = 1,000 miles (1,500 AA miles)
• Marriott = 10,000 points minimum = 2,000 miles
• Priority Club = 10,000 point block = 2,000 miles
• Wyndham Rewards = 8,000 points minimum = 3,200 miles
• Hyatt = 5,000 points block = 2,000 miles
• Best Western = 5,000 points block = 1,000 miles
• Choice Privileges = 5,000 points block= 1,000 miles
• SPG = 2,500 points minimum transfer (non-elite members) = 2,500 miles
• Goldpoints Plus = 2,000 points = 250 miles

Goldpoints plus may not look like a great exchange at the 2,000 points rate compared to other programs. Keep in mind that you earn 20 points per US$1/1€ for Radisson hotel stays and 15 points per US$ for Country Inn & Suites. The points-to-miles exchange rate is variable and improves greatly with higher transfer levels.

At the 100,000 points = 18,000 miles rate, you will find Goldpoints Plus is consistently the best exchange rate among hotel loyalty programs with only Marriott Rewards offering a better exchange rate at its high transfer level of 125,000 points for 50,000 miles.

Here is a Loyalty Traveler post showing exchange rates for different hotel programs for U.S. airlines at various transfer levels.

Goldpoints plus also awards 1,000 bonus points for an online reservation.  After one stay in a Carlson Hotel booked online, you will have enough points for a points-to-miles transfer. This is a convenient way to keep airline frequent flier accounts active without flying.

Related links: Click on the categories link for Goldpoints Plus on the left side of Loyalty traveler blog and you will find a dozen or so articles on Goldpoints plus promotions and Carlson Hotels. This program slashed award night cost this past year, offered some high value bonuses and probably has made more program changes for the better than any other hotel loyalty program in 2010.

Goldpoints Plus is a good program for new members to check out. Perhaps you will find yourself checking in more frequently at Carlson Hotels.

Earn 1,500 bonus Air Canada Aeroplan miles when converting hotel points from nine hotel loyalty programs for at least 10,000 miles. This offer is available through September 20, 2010. This bonus may be earned once for each hotel partner program.

Aeroplan Promotion link.

Here is the number of points necessary to convert into 10,000 Aeroplan miles from each hotel program.

Minimum Points Transfer for 10,000 Aeroplan Miles 

Best Western Rewards: 50,000 points = 10,000 miles

Choice Privileges: 50,000 points = 10,000 miles

Carlson goldpoints plus: 66,000 points = 10,000 miles (100,000 points = 18,000 miles)

Hilton HHonors: 100,000 points = 10,000 miles

Hyatt Gold Passport: 25,000 points = 10,000 miles (50,000 points = 25,000 miles)

IHG Priority Club Rewards: 50,000 points = 10,000 miles

Marriott Rewards: 30,000 points = 10,000 miles (125,000 points = 50,000 miles)

Starwood Preferred Guest: 10,000 points = 10,000 miles (20,000 points = 25,000 miles)

Wyndham Rewards: 25,500 points = 10,200 miles

1,500 bonus Aeroplan miles will be added to your account when you convert enough hotel points to earn 10,000 Aeroplan miles.

In general, your best value in hotel points-to-miles exchanges are with Carlson goldpoints plus, Marriott Rewards, and Wyndham Rewards. SPG and Hyatt are good at the optimal level when 25% bonus miles are added to the exchange, although I consider the hotel points to have greater value for hotels than airline miles.  

Carlson Goldpoints Plus, Hyatt Gold Passport, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) are hotel programs with a better exchange rate at an optimal level. The optimal level for the best points-to-miles exchange rate is shown in parentheses for these programs. The other hotel programs use a static exchange rate with no bonus offers or different exchange rate level. 

Hotel loyalty program points-to-miles links:

Best Western International® – Best Western Rewards™ 

Carlson(SM) Hotels Worldwide – Goldpoints Plus(SM) (requires user log-in to see points-to-miles charts)  

Choice Hotels International® – Privileges Choice Privileges® 

Hilton Worldwide® – Hilton HHonors®

Hyatt Hotels & Resorts® – Hyatt Gold Passport™

InterContinental® Hotels Group – Priority Club® Rewards 

Marriott® International – Marriott Rewards®  

Starwood Hotels & Resorts – Starwood Preferred Guest®  

Wyndham® Worldwide – Wyndham Rewards®

Loyalty Traveler related posts:

Hotel Points-to-Miles Conversion Tables for 9 Hotel Programs and 7 U.S. Airlines (March 30, 2010)

Hotel Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates for AA, AS, CO, DL, UA, US, WN (March 28, 2010)

[July 1, 2010 update: Marriott Rewards and American Airlines AAdvantage ended their relationship as of June 30, 2010. Marriott Rewards members can no longer earn AAdvantage miles through the program.]

After giving the points-to-miles exchange some more thought since my post on Sunday, I have created simplified points-to-miles conversion tables. Here are tables showing hotel points to airline miles conversions for nine major hotel loyalty programs including Best Western Rewards, Carlson goldpoints plus, Choice Privileges, Hilton HHonors, Hyatt Gold Passport, InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards, Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, and Wyndham Rewards.

In my prior post on this topic I made elite status rate adjustments and correlated points earned to hotel spend levels. I tossed all that for these tables due to the highly variable rates of earning hotel points dependent on elite status, promotions, credit card activity, and partner activity.

For example, the Hilton HHonors blue member earning Points & Miles at 10 points per $1 compared to the Diamond member with a Surpass card earning Points & Points for 29 points per $1 in hotel spend makes it difficult to correlate points earned to hotel spend across a single program, let alone nine programs.

The tables below are only adjusted for Carlson goldpoints, Hyatt Gold Passport, and Starwood Preferred Guest to compensate for variations in base points and provide a similar points comparison to the 10 points per $1 of other programs. The tables use comparable point level column headers allowing a comparison of points-to-miles exchange across programs. The rate a member earns points is not factored into these tables.

The table for Hilton HHonors reveals the poor points-to-miles exchange rate of this program. In hotel travel the HHonors member would earn far more points with Points & Miles earning, but that is really a separate process to the points-to-miles exchange conversion comparison.

Hotel Loyalty Program Ranking for Points-to-Miles Exchange

Marriott Rewards, Carlson goldpoints plus, and Wyndham Rewards are the five star programs for points- to-miles exchanges. Choice is 5-star for Southwest Airlines exchange.

Hyatt Gold Passport and Starwood Preferred Guest (AA, AS, DL, US) are four star programs.

Best Western Rewards, IHG Priority Club Rewards, and Choice Privileges are three star programs.

Hilton HHonors and Starwood Preferred Guest (CO, UA) are two star programs.

 

Update 3-30-10: These tables have some useful comparative qualities, but I simplified the tables in this subsequent post to make them more useful. Rather than showing points-to-miles exchanges by airline as shown here, this post from March 30 shows the tables organized by hotel loyalty program and different levels of points.

After reflecting a few days on these tables I think most readers will find the tables in the subsequent post more useful for hotel points-to-miles exchange comparisons.

[Original post content below]

Hotel loyalty points can be exchanged into airline miles with most major hotel programs. Earning miles rather than points for hotel stays is sometimes the better option for maximizing miles. This is particularly true for Hilton HHonors or Starwood Preferred Guest if desiring Continental or United miles where points-to-miles exchanges give far fewer miles than choosing to earn miles for hotel stays.

Some programs like Marriott Rewards and goldpoints plus favor earning hotel points and then exchanging for miles through a hotel points-to-miles exchange through the hotel loyalty program.

Programs like Carlson goldpoints plus, Hyatt Gold Passport, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest offer a better rate of exchange when higher quantities of points are transferred to airline miles.

• Carlson goldpoints plus = 100,000 points (best exchange rate)
• Hyatt Gold Passport = 50,000 points (25% miles bonus)
• Marriott Rewards = 125,000 points (best exchange rate)
• Starwood Preferred Guest = 20,000 points (25% miles bonus)

Numerous tables are necessary to see the best mileage earning hotel programs for each airline due to points-to-miles exchange rates that are not static as with the four programs listed in the bullets. Airlines favor different programs for the best exchange rate.

Elite status does not actually affect the points-to-miles exchange rate. The rationale for showing higher miles exchange rates for elite members is based on higher earning rates for points due to elite bonus points. The elite member earns 10% to 50% more points per $1 in hotel spend than a non-elite loyalty member. The elite member will have proportionately more points available for points-to-miles exchanges.

The tables below are adjusted to show the points-to-miles exchange rate for nine hotel loyalty programs using base and elite bonus points determined by a set level of hotel spend at $3,000 or $13,000.

The comparisons are based on hotel points-to-miles program rates. These tables do not consider earning miles instead of points for hotel stays with the exception of Hilton HHonors. If maximizing miles is your objective rather than accumulating hotel loyalty points, then some programs will allow you to accumulate more miles by choosing miles rather than hotel points for your stays. Numerous hotel stays at 500 miles per stay can quickly add up to earn frequent flier miles at a better rate than using points-to-miles exchanges.

The poor exchange rate of Hilton HHonors for points-to-miles exchanges results in Hilton having a low miles exchange compared to other hotel loyalty program points-to-miles exchange rates. Many mileage partners with Hilton HHonors exchange at a rate of 10,000 points = 1,000 miles. HHonors Points & Points earning preference will take as much as $667 in hotel spend to earn 10,000 points. The HHonors member staying twice on one-night hotel stays could earn 1,000 miles for under $200 in many instances.

For Hilton HHonors, members choosing the “double dip” Points & Variable Miles preference earn miles at the rate of 1 mile per US$1 hotel spend. HHonors miles in the tables below were calculated using the $1 = 1 mile earning preference. $3,000 in hotel spend earns 30,000 base points and 3,000 miles  This earning preference is predictable and shows Hilton HHonors to be comparable to most other loyalty programs.

Important Note: Mileage in tables below is shown for comparative purposes between different hotel programs. The miles exchange rates are shown without regard to what is actually an allowable exchange within a particular program.

For example, Wyndham Rewards points-to-miles exchanges must be made in 8,000; 17,500; or 30,000 point blocks. There are variations between the programs on allowable blocks of points for points-to-miles transfers; Hilton HHonors points-to-miles exchanges are made in 10,000 point blocks; Best Western is 5,000 point blocks; Southwest credits are earned in 0.5 credit increments.

The tables shown are for program points-to-miles exchange rate comparison purposes only.  The actual exchange rate may vary slightly from what is shown in the tables depending on the transfer requirements of the individual hotel loyalty programs. As explained above, you can’t make a 30,000 point Wyndham Rewards transfer for 12,000 miles. You would need to exchange 32,000 points for 12,800 miles. The tables are set up to be compared in columns.

Miles shown are calculated using the points-to-miles exchange rates closest to the total base points earned at the level of spend shown. Additional miles earned from points-to-miles exchange of elite bonus points in successive columns. (10,20,30) shows the elite bonus percentage for the program.

 

Marriott Rewards, Carlson goldpoints plus, and Wyndham Rewards look good for miles. Choice Privileges is a great choice for Southwest credits.

American Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $3,000 Hotel Spend

American Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $13,000 Hotel Spend

Alaska Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $3,000 Hotel Spend

Alaska Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $13,000 Hotel Spend

Continental Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $3,000 Hotel Spend

Continental Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $13,000 Hotel Spend

Delta Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $3,000 Hotel Spend

Delta Airlines hotel points-to-miles exchange based on $3,000 hotel spend

Delta Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $13,000 Hotel Spend  

Southwest Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $3,000 Hotel Spend

Southwest Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $13,000 Hotel Spend

United Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $3,000 Hotel Spend

United Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $13,000 Hotel Spend

US Airways Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $3,000 Hotel Spend

US Airways Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates based on $13,000 Hotel Spend

Update August 4, 2011: Singapore Airlines changed to 1:1 points-to-miles exchange since this article was written. Looking back over my notes it appears that SPG changed the wording of their Airline Direct Deposit since March 2010 when the page read like this:

1. Base members of Starwood Preferred Guest who have opted to earn miles for stays will earn 2 miles for each eligible U.S. dollar with most airlines. Elite (Gold and Platinum) members of Starwood Preferred Guest who have opted to earn miles for stays will earn 3 miles for each eligible U.S. dollar with most airlines. Exceptions are as follows:
• Air New Zealand AirPoints:
• All members earn a flat 20 AirPoints per stay for hotels outside of Australia and New Zealand.
• All members earn a flat 40 AirPoints per stay for hotels within Australia and New Zealand.
• El Al Israel: All members earn a flat 12 El Al Points per stay.
• Iberia Plus: Base members earn 1 Iberia Plus point for every eligible $5 US spent. Elite members earn 1.5 Iberia Plus points for every eligible $5 US spent.
• LANPass: Base members earn 3.2 kilometers for every eligible $1 US spent. Elite members earn 4.8 kilometros for every eligible $1 US spent.

There was no exception for other airlines at the time this post was written. August 2011 there are different rules clearly explaining Starpoints conversion. United/Continental are a 2:1 transfer partner for SPG points-to-miles exchanges where 20,000 point transfers offer a 25% bonus. United/Continental remain a 1:1 partner for Airline Direct Deposit while Varig changed to 2:1 transfer partner through Airline Direct Deposit.

CONVERSION EXAMPLES

1:1 example

A Preferred (base) member who has an eligible spend of $420 at a participating Starwood hotel will earn 840 Starpoints, which are then automatically converted (at a 1:1 ratio) to 840 airline miles. A Gold or Platinum member will earn 1,260 Starpoints, which then convert to 1,260 airline miles.

2:1 example

A Preferred (base) member who has an eligible spend of $420 at a participating Starwood hotel will earn 840 Starpoints, which are then automatically converted (at a 2:1 ratio) to 420 airline miles. A Gold or Platinum member will earn 1,260 Starpoints, which then convert to 630 airline miles.

10:1 example

A Preferred (base) member who has an eligible spend of $420 at a participating Starwood hotel will earn 840 Starpoints, which are then automatically converted (at a 10:1 ratio) to 84 airline miles. A Gold or Platinum member will earn 1,260 Starpoints, which then convert to 126 airline miles.

https://www.spgpromos.com/moremiles/airlines.cfm?language=en_US&EM=VTY_MoreMiles_enUS

United, Continental, Varig, and Singapore Airlines earn more miles in your account through Starwood Preferred Guest Airline Direct Deposit than Starpoints-to-miles transfers. This is true even considering the 25% bonus miles for 20,000 point transfers to airline miles.

SPG.com/moremiles is the website for airline direct deposit registration of your SPG account.

How Airline Direct Deposit with SPG works

The SPG member earns points for hotel spend at the same 2 base points per USD$1 when using Airline Direct Deposit and SPG elite members earn 3 points per $1.

Points earned are transferred directly to airline miles for the frequent flier partner you select. There are some advantages of airline direct deposit and some disadvantages.

Advantages of Airline Direct Deposit

1. Minimum transfer requirement does not apply for airline direct deposit. When earning points and then transferring points-to-miles, SPG Gold members must transfer a minimum 1,500 Starpoints for airline miles. SPG members without elite status must transfer a minimum of 2,500 points to miles. Platinum members do not have a minimum transfer requirement for points-to-miles transfers, so this is not relevant to top elites.

SPG Airline Direct Deposit will allow the $200 hotel stay to transfer directly from Starpoints into 400 or 600 miles in your frequent flier account depending on your elite level.

2. Update August 4, 2011 – I revisited this topic today and realize this information is not accurate in explaining SPG Airline Direct Deposit. Singapore Airlines changed to 1:1 airline exchange partner with SPG over past year. Continental, United, Singapore, and Varig Airlines have a points-to-miles transfer ratio of 2 points = 1 mile. Transfer 10,000 Starpoints into these programs and you only receive 5,000 frequent flier miles.

Airline Direct Deposit with SPG means a $200 hotel stay will earn Starpoints normally (400 points or 600 points for SPG elite) and those points will be converted to miles based on the 1:1 conversion formula when enrolled in Airline Direct Deposit. $200 hotel stay earns 400 miles (elites=600 miles) with Continental/United Mileage Plus.

Airline Direct Deposit is a way around this restriction to earn 1 mile for every point earned from your hotel stays. You can double, or nearly double, your miles in these frequent flier programs with airline direct deposit.

20,000 Starpoints earned will result in 20,000 miles through airline direct deposit rather than settling for 12,500 Continental OnePass or United Mileage Plus miles with a 20,000 points-to-miles transfer.

 

3. Air New Zealand  Airpoints can be earned at the rate of 20 Airpoints per hotel stay or 40 Airpoints per hotel stay in Australia and New Zealand with airline direct deposit. This can be much more lucrative than points-to-miles transfers where 65 Starpoints = 1 Airpoint.

A $130 hotel stay will earn 260 Starpoints for a non-elite or 390 Starpoints for an elite member. The points-to-miles transfer at 65:1 will result in a non-elite member needing to spend about $1,300 to reach the minimum transfer requirement of 2,500 starpoints and the member will receive 40 Air New Zealand Airpoints.

Assume you have 10 hotel stays for $1,300. You will earn a minimum of 200 Airpoints with Airline Direct Deposit compared to just 40 Airpoints through points-to-miles transfers (60 Airpoints if SPG elite).

If your hotel stays are in Australia and New Zealand you can earn 400 Airpoints from ten Starwood hotel stays. An SPG Platinum member would need to spend around $6,700 to earn 20,000 Starpoints and a points-to-miles transfer would then result in 384 Air New Zealand Airpoints.

Will you spend $6,700+ for 10 or 20 hotel stays? Airline direct deposit is the way to go for Air New Zealand Airpoints.

4. El Al and Iberia Airlines do not participate in points-to-miles transfers, but you can earn frequent flier credit in these two programs through SPG airline direct deposit.

El Al members earn 12 El Al points per hotel stay.

Iberia members earn 1 Iberia Plus points per USD$5 or 1.5 points per $5 if SPG elite. Iberia is a 10:1 airline partner meaning 1,000 Starpoints converts to 100 airline miles.

Disadvantages of SPG Airline Direct Deposit

1. The versatility to transfer Starpoints into a variety of frequent flier accounts is limited. Personally, as a Platinum member, I can transfer my Starpoints into any of the 28 airline programs participating in points-to-miles transfers. Airline direct deposit means all your Starpoints are transferred into the one airline program you designate.

You can really work the SPG program and change your airline preference between hotel stays or even move back and forth between earning points and airline direct deposit, but that can be a hassle.

2. One of the main disadvantages of airline direct deposit is losing the 25% bonus in miles for 20,000 Starpoint transfers in the points-to-miles transfer program.

Airline Direct Deposit means 20,000 points will convert to 20,000 miles. This is great if you are earning in CO, UA, or SQ. You get an extra 7,500 miles for every 20,000 points earned compared to just 12,500 miles through a points-to-miles transfer.

But if using airline direct deposit for a 1:1 airline transfer partner, then your points are transferred as they are earned and you do not get the advantage of the 25% bonus for transfers of 20,000 Starpoints to miles. 

Loyalty Traveler advice:

Airline Direct Deposit is an advantage over earning Starpoints primarily if you want United, Continental, Singapore, Air New Zealand, Varig, El Al, or Iberia frequent flier credit. You are probably better off sticking with Starpoints if your miles preference is one of the 1:1 airline transfer partners.

Personally, I save all my SPG Starpoints for hotel travel. I don’t rack up Starpoints with credit card spending so my hotel stays are my source of limited points. I get good value on the order of $30 to $50 per 1,000 points by using them selectively for Cash & Points awards and hotels charging extraordinarily high rates during my stays.

People have different needs and Starpoints can be even higher value if used for a premium frequent flier award.

I’ve only transferred Starpoints in 20,000 point blocks once to airline miles, years ago, and the miles put me in reach of a 150,000 British Airways First Class award ticket. Considering the retail cost of the British Airways First Class ticket was $26,000, my Starpoints had an award value around $216 per 1,000 points. That is value difficult to beat with a free hotel stay.

Many people prefer airline miles over hotel points. I understand the value equation when your air miles are used for Business and First Class travel, but I have a hard time seeing the value in exchanging 20,000 Starpoints for 25,000 miles to redeem a domestic economy class airline ticket.

When grandma wants to see her grandkids for the summer vacation, a handful of airline tickets may have more benefit than a week in a luxury hotel room. Travelers have different needs.

Hotel points to miles exchanges allow a hotel loyalty program member to convert hotel points into frequent flier miles.  Major hotel loyalty programs including Hilton HHonors, Hyatt Gold Passport, InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest offer this option for points-to-miles conversion. In general, you can only transfer hotel points to a frequent flyer account where both accounts are in your same name. You cannot move your points into another person’s frequent flyer account.

Marriott Rewards offers the best exchange ratio for points-to-miles conversion across a broad spectrum of airlines when compared to other hotel loyalty programs, particularly with its Hotel + Air packages where the hotel points-to-miles ratio is an even 1:1 conversion.  Hyatt Gold Passport shows the next best overall points-to-miles exchange program.

Exchange rates differ between hotel loyalty programs for points-to-miles exchanges, although, as seen in the tables there is a cluster of similar exchange rates for Hyatt, IHG, and Starwood. The conversion rates for Hyatt and Starwood remain remarkably close, even up to both programs offering 25% bonus miles when converting large blocks of points-to-miles.

Hotel-points-to-airline-miles is one-way exchange route.

Hotel-points-to-airline-miles is a one-way exchange route. Conversions are not allowed in the reverse direction from airline-miles-to-hotel-points.

Hilton HHonors has the competitive edge of the five hotel loyalty programs compared in these tables in being the only hotel loyalty program to offer a conversion of airline-miles-to-hotel-points with a relatively good rate of exchange for several airline partners; American Airlines being the most prominent transfer partner among the major US airlines.

The international airline tables I have put together for hotel-points-to-airline-miles conversion shows a higher degree of variability than the domestic airlines. Some prominent international airlines do not partner with one or more of the hotel programs. Several international airlines available for points-to-miles conversion with one of more of the major hotel loyalty programs have not been included in the tables for this post.

I have included an explanation regarding Hilton HHonors at the end of this post to address the Points & Miles feature of the HHonors program. The tables below show HHonors at or near the bottom for the poorest exchange ratio in points-to-miles transfers with nearly every airline. Hilton HHonors members have the ability to earn miles through hotel stays in addition to points in real hotel travel, but the strict conversion of points-to-miles is not a favorable rate when compared to the other major hotel loyalty programs.

My Loyalty Traveler advice for Hilton HHonors members is earn your miles from hotel stays and save your HHonors points for better value opportunities.

Hotel Loyalty Program Points-to-Miles Links

Hyatt Gold Passport – Airline Partners. Lufthansa is a Hyatt airline partner for earning miles, however, the Terms & Conditions for Hyatt Gold Passport Points-to-Miles Terms and Conditions specifically excludes Lufthansa and airline partners in Miles & More from points-to-miles participation.

Hilton HHonors – Points for Miles

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club – Points to Miles

Marriott Rewards – Air Mileage Rewards

Starwood Preferred Guest – Transfer Starpoints to Miles

The Loyalty Traveler tables shown are informational only and before conducting a transfer between programs you should contact the programs directly for the most up-to-date guidelines and restrictions, as information is subject to change at any time. 

A great resource for checking conversion rates between more than 70 hotel, airline, credit card and other loyalty programs is through Randy Petersen’s WebFlyer Mileage Converter. I haven’t checked all my tables through the Mileage Converter, but the dozen or so I checked matched up. That is good news for both of us since the results were independently derived. The tables I have made are good for comparative data across hotel chains. The Mileage Converter is better for accurate conversions between any two loyalty programs and also provides the user with several options for points and miles exchange conversion routes.

Domestic Airline Conversion tables are in Part 1 for Alaska, American, Continental, Delta/Northwest Skymiles, Southwest, United Airlines, and US Airways.

International Airlines Hotel-Points-to-Frequent-Flier-Miles Conversion Tables

• Aeromexico

• Air Canada Aeroplan

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue

• Air New Zealand Airpoints

• ANA – All Nippon Airways Mileage Club

• British Airways Executive Club

• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

• Emirates Skywards

• LAN Airlines LanPass

• Miles & More (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, LOT Polish)

• Qantas Airways

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

• South Africa Airways Voyager

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

Air Canada Aeroplan

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

 

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

 

Air New Zealand Airpoints

1. Starwood Preferred Guest

2. IHG Priority Club

3. Hilton HHonors

4. Hyatt Gold Passport and Marriott Rewards are not Air New Zealand points-to-miles airline partners

 

ANA – Al Nippon Airways Mileage Club

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

 

British Airways Executive Club

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

 

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

 

 

 

 

 

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors

 

Emirates Skywards

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport; Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors (Emirates is not an HHonors airline partner)

1. Starwood Preferred Guest
2. Hyatt Gold passport
3. Marriott Rewards
4. Hilton HHonors
5. IHG Priority Club

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Starwood Preferred Guest
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Hilton HHonors
5. Hyatt Gold Passport (Miles & More is  hotel stay earning partner, but does not participate in points-to-miles)

1. Hyatt Gold Passport
2. Marriott Rewards
3. Hilton HHonors
4. IHG Priority Club and Starwood Preferred Guest are not partners with Qantas.

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport
3. IHG Priority Club
4. Starwood Preferred Guest
5. Hilton HHonors

1. Hyatt Gold Passport
2. IHG Priority Club
3. Hilton HHonors
4. Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest do not partner with South African Airways

1. Marriott Rewards
2. Hyatt Gold Passport
3. Starwood Preferred Guest
4. Hilton HHonors
5. IHG Priority Club does not partner with Virgin Atlantic

The Hilton Conversion Issue in the Loyalty Traveler tables for HHonors members.

Hilton HHonors is problematic in these tables due to the different earning mechanism with HHonors hotel stays. Hilton HHonors has “Double Dip”, their registered term for the member option to earn both hotel points and miles during a single hotel stay.

Hyatt Gold Passport, IHG Priority Club, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) all allow a member to earn miles with hotel stays, however, the member earns airline miles or hotel points. As a general rule a member in programs besides Hilton HHonors cannot earn both miles and points from a hotel stay. Both Hyatt Gold Passport (promotion still ongoing through Jan 31) and Starwood Preferred Guest (ended July 31) had promotional exceptions in 2009 where members earned both airline miles and points, but Hilton HHonors is the only chain offering both miles and points as a standard earning option.

Hilton HHonors ranks at the bottom in nearly all the hotel-points-to-airline-miles conversion tables.  The tables are designed to be an objective look at conversion rates. Hilton HHonors may be a good hotel loyalty program members wanting to earn miles with hotel stays, but has a poor hotel-points-to-airline-miles conversion program for its members.

In real travel a Hilton HHonors member has the ability to earn thousands of airline miles while also earning HHonors points.

1.       The tables do not reflect the added earning potential for a Hilton HHonors member earning 500 miles per hotel stay or 1 mile per $1 in hotel spending.

 

2.       The hotel point levels used in the tables show Hilton, IHG, and Marriott at 10,000 points while Hyatt is 5,000 points and Starwood 2,000 points as the basis for equivalent quantities of points used for miles conversion comparisons. I could have increased Hilton HHonors by 50% to 15,000 which accounts for Points and Points earning preference with HHonors. Rather than playing with the variables I opted to present Hilton HHonors in a strictly objective conversion table without factoring in the potential for added miles from hotel stays.

 

3.       For example: Hilton HHonors points-to-miles conversion for 130,000 points with Air France = 13,000 miles. This is less than 50% of the miles for any of the other four hotel loyalty programs.

 

But consider if the Hilton member spent $13,000 to earn 130,000 points during 40 hotel stays in 2009. This HHonors member with 40 stays and an earning preference of Points & Fixed Miles could have earned 500 Flying Blue miles per stay. The member could have earned 20,000 Flying Blue miles from hotel stays, In addition to 13,000 miles from points.

 

33,000 miles places Hilton HHonors right back in the pack when it comes to miles earned.

 

4.       For example: The Hilton HHonors member could have sprung for a four week honeymoon divided between two Hilton resorts and spent $13,000. Earning Points & Fixed miles would only earn 1,000 miles from two Hilton stays. The member with an earning preference of Points & Variable Miles (1 mile per $1) would earn 13,000 miles.

 

5.       For example: HHonors member could have chosen Points & Points and earned 195,000 points and no miles. (I’m ignoring elite points as these are just more variables to complicate the issue.)

 

Unfortunately, all this is conjecture and highly variable, dependent on the member’s hotel stay pattern and earning preference.  Therefore, the tables do not necessarily reflect the earning potential of miles with the Hilton HHonors program for a frequent guest of Hilton.

 

The tables do accurately show the conversion rates for HHonors points-to-miles conversions on a scale aligned with the four other hotel loyalty programs.