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Most airline miles charge exorbitant fees to transfer miles from one person’s account to another’s. For instance, United is currently charging $82.50 to transfer 5,000 miles from one account to another, which is more than the 5,000 United miles are even worth!

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However, SPG Starpoints can be freely transferred from one SPG account to another as long as both accounts have had the same address on file for 30 days. You would want to transfer points between SPG accounts for at least five reasons:

  1. Because you can now transfer SPG points to Marriott points at a 1:3 ratio (or Marriott to SPG at 3:1.) With transfers between SPG accounts, you can get all of your family’s SPG and Marriott points into the same SPG or Marriott account. Just transfer everyone’s Marriott points to their SPG accounts; transfer everyone’s SPG points into your SPG account; then leave the SPG points there or transfer all of them to your Marriott account.
  2. Because the name on the SPG account and airline miles account must match when transferring SPG points to miles. So if I want my brother to get Alaska Airlines miles, I need to transfer my SPG points to him and have him transfer them to Alaska miles because I can’t transfer directly to his Alaska account.
  3. To maximize transfer bonuses. SPG offers 5,000 bonus miles for every 20,000 points transferred to 1:1 transfer partners. So my 10,000 SPG points and your 10,000 SPG points could transfer to 10,000 Alaska miles in my account and 10,000 in yours or could be combined to 20,000 SPG points to transfer to 25,000 Alaska miles in either account.
  4. To maximize elite status. If you and I will be splitting an SPG hotel on a free night award and you have Platinum Status and we each want to pay our half of the award, I could transfer half the points for the free nights to your account, and you could book from there to lock in your Platinum benefits.
  5. To top off an account for an award. Are you a little short of an award (whether Free Nights, Nights & Flights, or an airline transfer)? I could send you the necessary points for free.

Transfer Process

There are only two steps.

First, align the physical addresses on the two relevant SPG accounts and wait 30 days.

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This only takes a few clicks. Sign into your SPG account and click My Profile.Screen Shot 2016-06-14 at 11.35.34 PM Then click Edit in the Contact Information box.Screen Shot 2016-06-14 at 11.35.57 PM

Second, fill out the household transfer form at spg.com. You must transfer in increments of 1,000 points.

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The transfer is not instant. The points should show up in their new account in a few days.

Bottom Line

SPG allows free transfers of Starpoints between accounts that have shared an address for at least 30 days. Thanks, Starwood, for the customer friendly policy!

SPG and Marriott allow free transfers back and forth between your SPG account and your Marriott account. These two policies combined mean that you can get all of your family’s Marriott or SPG points into a single Marriott or SPG account of your choosing. This can be 26.

There are also several other reason to take advantage of free SPG transfers whether you use SPG points primarily for hotel stays or to transfer to airline miles.

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.

With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!


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