A lot has been happening in the Travel Loyalty Program space in the past few months in India. Now, we have an exciting partnership. The Marriott Flipkart Partnership, unveiled this week, is a great way to get many Indians familiar with Loyalty Program Space. Here is how this works.
Marriott Bonvoy Flipkart SuperCoins Partnership Explained
If you are new to the loyalty program space, a member of Marriott Bonvoy, or regularly order via Flipkart, linking your account is necessary to take advantage of this partnership.
You can link your accounts here.
How does this partnership works?
There are three ways this partnership works:
- Earn Marriott Bonvoy Points on orders on Flipkart
- Transfer points from Marriott Bonvoy to Flipkart as SuperCoins
- Transfer FlipKart SuperCoins to Marriott Bonvoy Account
Earn Marriott Bonvoy Points on FlipKart Orders
You will earn 100 Marriott Bonvoy Points on every ₹1000 spent on the Flipkart website or App once your accounts are linked. However, Flipkart Non-VIP members will only earn 500 Marriott Bonvoy Points in a year, whereas VIP members can earn 1000 Points in a year.
Exclusions on which you don’t earn any Marriott Bonvoy Points:
- Flipkart Gift Cards; and
- Gold Coins/ Gold Bars/other precious metals
- Gift Voucher (E.g. Malabar Gift Vouchers sold on Flipkart)
- FK branded Carton & Packaging Boxes (Bought by sellers for Market Place)
- FK branded Packaging Security Bags (Bought by seller for Market Place)
- FK printed Cello Tapes & Tape Dispensers (Bought by seller for Market Place)
- Digital Products & digital vouchers
- Service listings
- Recharge & Bill Payments
Transfer Ratio Marriott Flipkart
- Marriott to Flipkart: 2:1
- Flipkart to Marriott: 2:1
The conversion is usually real-time; however, it may take up to 48 hours for successful completion.
How many points or supercoins can you transfer?
You can transfer 30K Marriott Bonvoy Points or SuperCoins in a single transaction or 100K points or coins in a single day. That is a big limit.
How to delink account?
If you want to delink your accounts, you can either contact Flipkart Customer Support or email grievance.officer@flipkart.com.
Should you transfer?
Marriott Bonvoy is a more stable program than Flipkart SuperCoins. There have been several developments with supercoins without prior notification to members. For instance, we no longer earn SuperCoins on Myntra orders.
Also, you can only use 100 SuperCoins per order on Flipkart. Currently, on Cleartrip, you can use 100% of your SuperCoins. But as per official terms & conditions, here is the limit:
- Domestic flights: Up to 5% of the gross fare (base + tax), capped at 150 SuperCoins per booking.
- International flights: Up to 3% of the gross fare (base + tax), capped at 250 SuperCoins per booking.
- Hotel bookings: Up to 10% of the best available rate (base room rate + tax + property discount), capped at 250 SuperCoins per booking.
Although we can currently use 100% Supercoins on Cleartrip, there is an official maximum limit of 250 Supercoins that can be applied at any time. So, as long as you can use 100% SuperCoins on Cleartrip, you can get the value of ₹ 0.50 per Marriott Points, which is decent. Actually, suppose you have a stash of American Express Points that can be transferred to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio. In that case, the value of Amex Points increases from the default ₹ 0.25 per point to ₹ 0.5 per point if redeemed as supercoins.
At the same time, I generally value Marriott Bonvoy Points at ₹ 0.6, and SuperCoins are usually available for redemption at ₹ 1, so it doesn’t make sense to transfer SuperCoins to Marriott. Additionally, earning Marriott Bonvoy Points is easier than earning Flipkart SuperCoins. Do remember, Marriott Bonvoy Points don’t have any fixed value.
Validity of Points & SuperCoins
The Marriott Bonvoy Points have soft expiry and are valid for 24 months, with their validity resetting upon every earning or redemption. In contrast, SuperCoins are valid for three months.
Where to start?
If you’re not a member of the Marriott Bonvoy Program and want to learn more about it, consider reading multiple guides available on the website. One of the best ways to get familiar with Marriott in India is by having the HDFC Marriott Credit Card, as it gives you Silver Elite status and a free night redeemable up to 15K points.
Bottomline
The Marriott Flipkart Partnership is not exceptional, but it is a good start to get people familiar with the loyalty programs of one of the largest hotel chains in the world. Other than that, there could be limited potential for customers.
