How Long Do Starwood Household Transfers Take?

The Starwood/Marriott merger opened up a whole new world of possibilities.  I've been stockpiling Marriott points for a rainy day (this one) and it definitely paid off.  The 3:1 transfer and instant point transfer enabled us to move points into SPG's program in order to take advantage of Starwood's resort sale which is currently offering up many amazing properties at 35% off.

First, I exhausted Emily's Marriott account by moving all of her points into her SPG account at a 3:1 ratio.  I then needed to move her Starwood points into my account via the "Household transfer."  Starwood will let you consolidate points into another account with the same address (don't abuse this).

Starwood household transfer

Unfortunately, this isn't an instant process.  Not sure if it's because they manually review each transaction for fraud or if it's just outdated technology.  Either way, the delay is annoying when you are itching to book an award.

It's been awhile since I've made one of these transfer.  Reports online mentioned this could take up to 5 business days!

Transfer out

Well I'm happy to report that I submitted the transfer on a Friday afternoon (9/23 - the day I she received the instant Marriott transfer) and the points were in my account on Tuesday morning (9/27).   Technically I think that's only 2 business days.

Transfer in

 Kudos to Starwood for allowing this and enabling it online (despite the slow process).  Marriott offers spouse pooling of accounts but in my experience, it requires paperwork.  Hopefully the merged company will improve upon Starwood's online transfer process!