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American Express Membership Rewards points are a valuable transferable rewards

Why I bought hotel points to save money on a flight

Have you ever found the perfect airline redemption but come up short on the required points and miles, even after transferring credit card points?

That was the situation I found myself in when trying to book an Emirates Skywards award recently, but I found a work-around that you might not expect.

I ended up purchasing hotel points to solve my problem. And, thanks to a promotion to buy points, doing so cost less than buying airline miles directly, allowing me to book the exact flights I wanted for a fraction of the cash price.

Here is how it worked and why it’s worth thinking outside the box the next time your mileage balance comes up short.

Sometimes, a healthy balance of transferable points isn’t enough

I had done the math. An Emirates Skywards award redemption would save me more than $1,000 compared to paying cash for the same flights. I could see availability, and I was ready to book this essential trip.

I transferred my entire Citi ThankYou Rewards points balance to the Emirates Skywards program at a less-than-ideal but still acceptable 5:4 transfer rate, but I still came up about 6,000 Skywards miles short.

My next instinct was to check my Chase Ultimate Rewards points. While I had a healthy balance of Chase points, because Chase is no longer a transfer partner of Emirates Skywards, I frustratingly couldn’t transfer any of them to cover this booking.

Rather than give up, I put on my thinking cap.

Consider buying points in the program you want to book through

Emirates directly sells Skywards miles at $30 per 1,000 miles. To cover a 6,000-mile shortfall, I would need to spend $180.

Given that I would save more than $1,000 by paying with miles instead of cash, spending less than $200 to purchase the remaining miles would still have been a decent way to save, but I wanted to find a way to lower the cash outlay.

Emirates A380 — BEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY

How a Marriott Bonvoy promotion proved the best way to save money

At the time, Marriott was running a promotion that offered a 40% bonus when purchasing Marriott Bonvoy points. Through it, I paid just $162.50 for 13,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, which became 18,200 points after the bonus was applied.

I then transferred those points to Emirates Skywards. Marriott Bonvoy points transfer to Emirates Skywards at a ratio of 3 Bonvoy points to 1 Skywards mile, meaning 18,000 of my Bonvoy points became exactly 6,000 Skywards miles, just enough to complete the booking.

They also transferred instantly, which was ideal for locking in my travel plans.

While this was only $17.50 cheaper than buying the amount of Skymiles needed directly from Emirates, I was determined to keep out-of-pocket costs as low as possible.

Remember, too, that this strategy also works for flights operated by Emirates’ partners. You can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Emirates for redemptions with more than a dozen airlines, including TAP Air Portugal, Gol Airlines, Korean Air and Copa Airlines.

Which hotel points transfer to airline miles?

Marriott Bonvoy points, whether purchased or earned from stays or through credit card spending, can be transferred to 38 airline programs, usually at a 3:1 rate, a neat way to collect harder-to-earn but valuable currencies like Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards points, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles and Virgin Australia Velocity points.

You’ll get 10,000 bonus airline miles for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer to the United MileagePlus program and 5,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points you transfer to most other airline transfer partners.

You can also transfer Hilton Honors points, IHG One Rewards points, Accor Live Limitless points, Radisson Rewards points and World of Hyatt points to various airline programs; however, the transfer rates are usually very poor compared with the 3:1 Marriott Bonvoy rate, so it’s best to focus on Marriott Bonvoy if you wish to transfer hotel points to frequent flyer programs.

Bottom line

Next time you come up a few thousand miles short for a redemption, whether it’s essential travel or a luxury dream vacation, don’t despair. You may be able to buy points and miles directly from the program you need to redeem through, which could make sense for a small top-up.

It’s always worth checking for any current bonus or discount offers on purchasing points and miles through other channels, like the Bonvoy-to-Emirates offer I found, to save money and ensure you get where you need to go for less.

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Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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