Transfer bonuses are often seen from Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou points, and Capital One rewards. However, we rarely see a bonus from Chase Ultimate Rewards, the major currency that can be transferred. Chase currently offers a 50% bonus on Marriott Rewards transfers. It is not a good deal in most cases, but it might be worth considering if you are just looking to add funds to your account to redeem a valuable item.The DealChase Ultimate Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy offer a 50% bonus transfer bonus when you transfer points from Ultimate Rewards to Marriott before 8/31/21.Key TermsTransfers valid from 7/1/21 through 8/31/21After transfer, the bonus will show up on the Marriott side (you won't see it on your transfer page).Quick ThoughtsYou won't get enough value from Marriott points to justify transferring to Chase, even with a 50% bonus.This is not to say that this isn't possible at times, but it isn't very common. Last night, I booked a last-minute 4th of July reservation using Marriott points. (For the record, I used a 35K night certificate).Is it possible to get good value for your Marriott 35K night certificate? pic.twitter.com/12HZgvrJ8t Nick Reyes, @NickatFM July 3, 2021To book the room, transfer 20K Chase points into Marriott. This will save you some points over using Chase Ultimate Rewards.Even though the studio looks cheaper, it actually earns more than 22,000 Ultimate Reward points if you pay through the Chase portal using a Sapphire Reserve card.You would therefore save points if your transfer to Marriott was made in this specific case and you took advantage of the promotion.It is not common to get Marriott points for that amount of value. However, the same hotel was on sale tonight for 30K, or $485 with tax. This isn't impossible during high demand periods. Another problem is that Marriott sells points at a fraction of the cost of Chase points. This means it would be cheaper to redeem Chase points through the grocery store and purchase points during a sale, if you don't need them immediately for a redemption such as this.Marriott points are often on sale at 0.875c per Point. You could buy 1.71 Marriott Points per Chase point you redeemed if you used Chase Pay Yourself Back. If you use 20K Chase points to pay $300 for groceries, and then spend $300 to purchase Marriott points at 0.875c per, you will have more than 34,000 Marriott point (compared to 30K with the transfer bonus). This means that I would not transfer speculatively using this bonus. If you are interested in speculating with Marriott points, it is better to speculate on them when they are on sale. To be clear, I do not recommend that you speculate on Marriott points. I would not transfer or buy Marriott points without a plan. My point is that the transfer bonus isn't the best way of acquiring Marriott points.If you are only a few thousand points short of redemption and have the need to redeem immediately, this is better than paying full price. It may even be cheaper than paying a cash rate. Even though it's not ideal, this bonus can be useful.
