United & Marriott promotion: Bonus points + miles when you stay and fly (select members only)

On the same day that they usually do this (1 July), United Airlines and Marriott Bonvoy have launched a new promotion in which select elite members of the Bonvoy and MileagePlus programs can earn bonus United Airlines Miles and bonus Marriott Bonvoy points when they fly with United and stay at Bonvoy properties around the world.

The promotion

This year, the promotion is a new one and it looks like it could be less rewarding (and less easy to earn the bonus points) than the “double your summer fun” deal we saw this time last year.

Here’s the deal for Bonvoy and United Airlines elites who have linked their accounts:

Earn 2,000 bonus points and 1,500 bonus miles every time you have a qualifying stay and flight from July 15 through September 30.

The key thing to note here is that the promotion is structured in such a way that you have to have at least one qualifying stay and one qualifying flight during the promotion period if you want to earn anything at all from this deal.

The flights and stays don’t have to be linked in any way (i.e you don’t have to fly with United and stay at a Marriott property on the same trip), but you need to make one eligible hotel stay per eligible flight taken to earn the 2,000 points + 1,500 miles (each time).

The easiest way to make this as clear as possible is with some examples:

• 1 flight taken during the promotion period and 1 stay made at some point in the promotion period will earn you 2,000 points + 1,500 miles.
• 2 flights taken during the promotion period and 1 stay made at some point in the promotion period will also earn you 2,000 points + 1,500 miles (you didn’t match a hotel stay with the second flight, so you don’t get any more point or miles).
• 2 flights taken during the promotion period and 2 stays made at some point in the promotion period will earn you 4,000 points + 3,000 miles.
• 2 flights taken during the promotion period + 3 stays made at some point in the promotion period will also only earn you 4,000 points + 3,000 miles (you didn’t match a flight with the third stay, so you don’t get any more points or miles).

The promotion that ran last year offered bonus points per flight taken irrespective of how many stays were made and, conversely, it offered bonus miles per stay regardless of how many flights were taken. That was a simpler and easier promotion in which to take part.

Related: How the Marriott Bonvoy & United Airlines partnership works and who can link their accounts

Key terms

• This Marriott Bonvoy and United MileagePlus Preferred Partnership Program Dual Currency Offer is open only to Eligible Participants. An “Eligible Participant” is a person aged 18 or older who has enrolled in the Marriott Bonvoy & United MileagePlus Preferred Partnership Program (link to more details) and has registered for the Promotion during the Promotion Registration Period.
• Members are required to register for this Promotion here to become an Eligible Participant.
• Registration for the Promotion is open between July 1, 2026, 12:00 a.m. EDT, and August 31, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT.
• All travel, including Eligible Flights and Eligible Stays must be booked and travel commenced by September 30, 2026.
• The Promotion Registration Period and the Promotion Travel Period are together the “Promotion Period.”
• Promotion Travel Period is defined as July 15, 2026, to September 30, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT. Travel must fall within the Promotion Travel Period.
• A “Qualified Booking” consists of:
  • “Eligible Flights”: (i) an Eligible Participant (ii) having an itinerary documented with a confirmation number, (iii) booked with money, (iv) completing a flight from such itinerary operated by United® or United Express®, and (v) travel that begins no later than September 30, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT.
  • Flights booked with miles or “money and miles” are not eligible for this Promotion.
• Eligible Participants will earn 2,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points for each unique Eligible Flight when they have an Eligible Stay.
• “Eligible Stays”: (i) a stay by an Eligible Participant, (ii) of at least one (1) night at hotel participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program, (iii) with the stay commencing (i.e., arrived at the hotel) no later than September 30, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT, and (iv) paid for with money.
  • Stays booked with points or “money and points” are not eligible for this Promotion.
• Eligible Participants will earn 1,500 United MileagePlus miles per Eligible Stay when they have an Eligible Flight.
• Eligible Participants who complete a “Qualified Booking” will earn 2,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points and 1,500 United MileagePlus miles.
• If an Eligible Participant has more Eligible Flights than Eligible Stays or more Eligible Stays than Eligible Flights, they will only earn miles and points for the same number of Eligible Flights and Eligible Stays.
• Example: An Eligible Participant has 4 Eligible Flights and 7 Eligible Stays; they will only earn 6,000 United MileagePlus miles and 8,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points, which reflect 4 Eligible Flights and 4 Eligible Stays. The additional 3 stays would not be awarded points as they must align with the number of flights.
• Members who select miles as their earning preference in their Marriott Bonvoy Account are not eligible for this Promotion and will not receive the bonus, even if the other terms and conditions of this offer have been met. An Eligible Participant must select Marriott Bonvoy Points as their earning preference.
• Members are eligible to participate in only one (1) Dual Currency campaign per calendar year. By enrolling in this Promotion, you understand and agree that you will not be eligible to enroll in any future Dual Currency campaigns with Marriott Bonvoy in 2026.

Link to the full terms and conditions which you should read carefully before proceeding

Thoughts

As we’ve seen with past promotions from Marriott and United, this is a win-win for eligible Bonvoy members and eligible MileagePlus elites because all the earnings from this promotion are just a bonus on top of any regular earnings that travelers would have accrued anyway when they stay with Marriott and fly with United.

The problem this year, however, is that you need to have at least one flight and one stay to lock in some miles and points – that hasn’t been the case in past promotions of this kind and that seems a little harsh.

Clearly, the bonuses on offer don’t represent a material rebate of any sort (we value 1,500 United miles at $18 and 2,000 Bonvoy points at $12) so there isn’t much here to encourage anyone to make any new bookings, but the bonuses will no doubt be welcomed by anyone who was already planning (or has already booked) at least one eligible stay and one eligible flight.

Also, make sure that you note that bookings that use MileagePlus miles or Marriott Bonvoy points in any way, will not qualify for this promotion – cash fares and cash stays only.

Before you register, keep in mind the that the terms of this offer clearly state that anyone registering for this promotion will be ineligible for any other similar promotions that may or may not be offered this calendar year.

With that in mind, I would advise not registering until just before you’re about to make a qualifying stay or book a qualifying flight as it would be a shame to disqualify yourself from any potential future earnings this year because you registered speculatively and then didn’t end up with any qualifying activity by 30 September 2026.

Bottom line

Through 30 September 2026, select MileagePlus elites can earn 750 bonus Bonvoy points for every qualifying Marriott stay and select Marriott Bonvoy elites can earn 500 bonus MileagePlus miles for every eligible United Airlines booking.

Eligible elites completing an eligible flight and an eligible stay during the promotion period will also receive a one-time bonus of 1,000 United MileagePlus miles and 1,500 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points.

Note: Not all stays made with Marriott and not all bookings made through United Airlines will qualify for this promotion so make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully before you set your expectations.