Marriott International and United Airlines have been partners for a while. Together they pioneered the Miles+Stays Marriott Rewards redemption, which until the Marriott-SPG merger, was one of the best ways to burn your Marriott Rewards points. There is a new Marriott United bonus promotion where you can earn extra MileagePlus miles on booking Marriott Stays.

To participate in this promotion, you have to fly United Airlines. If you have already booked your flights, head over to the promotion page and log into your United MileagePlus account. There you’ll see your upcoming flights. Select ‘Book Hotel’ from the flight details section. You’ll then be redirected to Marriott.com where you complete the booking. After your trip, you get 500 bonus miles. This is in addition to the Marriott Rewards points that you usually earn.

If you were planning to stay at a former Starwood property, tough luck. None of the Starwood brands is eligible for the bonus. Even a few Marriott properties like the Riyadh Marriott Hotel have been kept aside. What is even more puzzling is that most of Marriott’s prized corporate travellers won’t benefit much either. This is because rooms booked under negotiated rates (which is what most corporates get) are ineligible.  You can read the rest of the terms and conditions of this promotion here.

Bottomline

This new United MileagePlan promotion looks like it is targeted towards a select group of people. By not including specially negotiated rates, a sizable chunk of Marriott loyalists would not earn bonus miles on stays. What irks me is that Starwood hotels are not eligible for this promotion, even after August’s merger. If you are still looking at a double-dip opportunity, look at the American Airlines – Hyatt one, which is way more liberal.

What do you think of this new United Airlines and Marriott promotion?