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I just learned a new thing about Marriott Bonvoy reservations today. Did you know you can transfer an existing active Marriott reservation to another Marriott Bonvoy member’s account? This is helpful in a situation where another Marriott Bonvoy member is trying to earn additional elite night credits, bonus points, targeted promotions, etc., and you want to keep the rate on the active reservation the same as you booked it in case the rate now becomes more expensive or the room is no longer available for booking.
I was surprised this Marriott’s cool functionality is possible, and here are the details.
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| JW Marriott Minneapolis Mall of America |
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Transferring A Marriott Reservation To Another Marriott Bonvoy Member
Before we start, I want to clarify that this is not about adding a second guest name to perform the check-in on arrival day. This is about changing the reservation by completely transferring it from your Marriott Bonvoy account to another Marriott Bonvoy member’s account so that the reservation becomes their reservation under their name with their Marriott Bonvoy account number.
Why Transfering A Marriott Reservation To Another Marriott Bonvoy Member?
Good question. Obviously, another Marriott Bonvoy member could have booked the reservation under their own Marriott Bonvoy account, too; however, things have changed since the time you booked a room under your Marriott Bonvoy account, and now it makes more sense for the other Marriott Bonvoy member to have that reservation instead.
Here are some circumstances in that you may want to consider doing this:
- The room rate that was booked now becomes more expensive, and you want to keep the same inexpensive rate for the other Marriott Bonvoy member.
- The room type is no longer available, or the property sold out all available rooms.
- Another Marriott member is trying to earn elite night credits to reach the next elite status level.
- Another Marriott member’s account has a much better-targeted promotion to earn extra bonus points or a free night.
- Another Marriott member now has higher elite status than you to receive on-property elite benefits.
How to Transfer A Marriott Reservation to Another Marriott Bonvoy Member?
Transferring your Marriott reservation to another Marriott Bonvoy member is easier than I thought, but you cannot do it yourself. Here’s how to do it:
- Call Marriott Bonvoy Worldwide Telephone Reservations.
- Choose the option to change the reservation.
- When an agent gets on the line, let him/her know the reason for your calling.
- The agent will ask for your and another Marriott Bonvoy account number (so have those ready) and which future reservation you want to transfer.
- The agent reviews the reservation to see if it’s an eligible reservation to honor your request. If so, the agent will proceed to modify that reservation with the following process:
- First, you may receive an email about the reservation containing the Additional Guest name.
- Second, the agent had to place you on hold and reached out to their MyAssist Desk to move the reservation to another Marriott Bonvoy member’s account.
- Finally, the reservation appeared under the other Marriott Bonvoy member account’s My Trips section with their name and Marriott Bonvoy account number. Meanwhile, the reservation was also removed from the My Trips section within your Marriott Bonvoy account.
As you can see, requesting a competent Marriott Bonvoy agent to transfer your future Marriott reservation to another Marriott member is straightforward. You must call Marriott to help with that request, and don’t let the agent tell you that it’s impossible. In that case, simply hang up and call again until you get someone that can help you.
Can You Transfer Points Reservation To Another Marriott Bonvoy Member?
I asked the friendly Marriott agent about the award reservation policy regarding the transfer request because the points reservation also earns elite night credit for the other Marriott Bonvoy member. Unfortunately, she said that’s not an eligible reservation; therefore, transferring the points reservation to another Marriott Bonvoy member is impossible.
She stated that points reservation is a bit trickier because it ties to the points taken from my Marriott Bonvoy account. She suggested I transfer my Marriott Bonvoy points to another member’s account and use the points to book under that member’s account instead. Unfortunately, that would not work because the hotel that I was looking for no longer has award availability, and if there are any, it likely requires more points now.
The gist is that you can gift a reservation to family or friends using your Marriott Bonvoy points, but you cannot transfer an existing points reservation from your Marriott account to another Marriott member.
Let me know if your experience is different regarding this, as I did not go into much detail with the agent on award reservations.
You cannot add another person's name to your award night certificate reservation for them to use it instead. You have to be there in person yourself. Or so a Marriot phone agent told me last night.