Marriott & United Dual Currency offer, earn bonus points and miles

First, a quick heads-up, and thanks to reader @William for the tip. Check your inboxes, as some members have received a targeted offer: if you’re selected, simply link your Marriott Bonvoy and Emirates Skywards accounts by 20 July to receive a bonus of 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.

Marriott and United have had a long-standing partnership for years, with reciprocal elite benefits for top-tier members. For example, Marriott Titanium Elite members, a surprisingly large group these days, can receive complimentary United MileagePlus Premier Silver status.

Another feature of the partnership is the occasional Dual Currency promotion, which awards bonus points and miles for both hotel stays and flights. Right on schedule, this year’s promotion has returned almost exactly one year after the last edition.

The promotion is called Dual Currency and is available to members enrolled in Marriott Bonvoy and United’s RewardsPlus programme. To be eligible, you must hold one of the following statuses:

• Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite or Ambassador Elite
• United MileagePlus Premier Gold, Premier Platinum, or Premier 1K

This year’s promotion has changed quite a bit from previous editions.

If you haven’t already, you’ll first need to link your Marriott Bonvoy and United MileagePlus accounts. Then:

• Promotion period: 15 July – 30 September
• Earn 1,500 United MileagePlus miles and 2,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for each qualifying booking
• One qualifying booking consists of one qualifying hotel stay plus one qualifying flight booking

Both the hotel stay and the flight must be paid bookings. Award stays and award tickets do not qualify. It’s also not entirely clear whether the flight requirement is measured by booking reference or by individual flight segments.

One important point: there’s no need to change your earning preference. The bonus miles and points will post automatically. In fact, if you’ve switched your Marriott earning preference to United miles instead of Bonvoy points, you won’t trigger the promotion at all.

While the rewards are considerably more generous than before, the requirement to complete both a hotel stay and a flight makes this year’s promotion much harder to maximise. After all, booking a flight is generally less frequent than booking a hotel, especially for us who don’t live in the States.