Marriott Rewards Credit Card

[havaneselover]

I got an email offer for this today. My offer was for $100 statement credit after the first purchase, 40,000 points if you spend $3,000 in the first three months, and no annual fee for the first year.

I don't stay in hotels too often (our vacations are either an every other year cruise or visiting my parents) but my dd swims so a few times a year we stay overnight for a meet.

Any feedback would be appreciated. I need another credit card like I need a hole in my head (balances are paid in full every month). This just seems like a decent deal.

 

[elgerber]

There is public offer right now for 80000 points, with the $3000 purchase. That is a GREAT deal. My dh and I each have this card, because there is a Courtyard right down the street from my dd's campus. We actually pay the annual fee, as you get a free night every year with the fee, and $89 for a free night is a pretty good deal.

 

[havaneselover]

There is public offer right now for 80000 points, with the $3000 purchase. That is a GREAT deal. My dh and I each have this card, because there is a Courtyard right down the street from my dd's campus. We actually pay the annual fee, as you get a free night every year with the fee, and $89 for a free night is a pretty good deal.

I think the public offer doesn't wave the annual fee in year 1 but I need to check.

 

[HM]

You know, we've had a Marriott CC for 17 years and have never been offered a free night. We have over 130.000 points on it the Rewards card too. My parents get a free night each year on theirs. I don't know why we are different. Still pay the annual fee.

 

[havaneselover]

You know, we've had a Marriott CC for 17 years and have never been offered a free night. We have over 130.000 points on it the Rewards card too. My parents get a free night each year on theirs. I don't know why we are different. Still pay the annual fee.

You definitely should get 1 night (up to category 5) free every year??? Do you pay an annual fee?

 

[elgerber]

I think the public offer doesn't wave the annual fee in year 1 but I need to check.

It appears you are right. It does offer an additional 7500 in points by adding an auth user. I guess you'd need to see what the point values are in the areas you would stay in, to see which makes the most sense.

 

[HM]

You definitely should get 1 night (up to category 5) free every year??? Do you pay an annual fee?

Yes. It's listed at the "get a new card" sites, but I've never seen it listed on the member or elite member benefits page. It's never listed as something we can get in the annual reward book they send either.

 

[calypso726]

I think the public offer doesn't wave the annual fee in year 1 but I need to check.

Paying the $89 annual fee the first year may be well worth the extra 40,000 points on the public offer depending on how you redeem those points. We were on the Copenhagen, Norway, Iceland, Scotland, England Disney cruise last year. We were able to extend our trip and stayed in London for the weekend after the cruise at the St. Ermin which is a Marriott property. The cost would have been over $430 each night. Fortunately we had Marriott points and were able to stay for 40,000 points each night. I will happily pay $89 for enough points to get me a stay somewhere that costs over $400

The Marriott card has also been a keeper card for us. DH and I each have one since we get a free night each year. We mostly use the free nights for an additional weekend getaway to WDW when we want to go last minute and there is no DVC availability.

 

[ibob52]

You know, we've had a Marriott CC for 17 years and have never been offered a free night. We have over 130.000 points on it the Rewards card too. My parents get a free night each year on theirs. I don't know why we are different. Still pay the annual fee.

It is possible you have a different Marriott Rewards Card.

Not so long ago (2 years) there were two personal Marriott Rewards Cards.

A (premier) and a (non premier) personal Marriott Rewards Card (both non business)

One card had more premium type rewards and the sign up bonus was more.

Example: 70K vs 30K .. ask me how I know ... .. . BTDT

 

[kid-at-heart]

I have a Marriott card that I keep just to use when we have early morning flights. I use it a few times a year for purchases but gain most of my points from referring friends who want to sign up for Marriott rewards. My card does have the once a year free night which to me, makes it worth paying the annual fee.

My preferred card is a SPG that I can use at the Swan hotel in Disney but I do find it worthwhile to have one card for SPG, Hilton and Marriott, the main three hotels we utilize. Most of these cards/hotel programs have point boosters whereby if you recommend a friend and they stay at their brand hotel and/or apply for their brand card, you, as the "friend" who referred them also receive bonus points. At the moment Hilton Amex has a great deal going on.

BTW, I make sure I never carry a balance on any credit card. If I cannot pay off the balance in full each month then I cannot afford the card/items.

 

[havaneselover]

Just got another email. Same as before but the statement credit is now $200 (plus 40,000 points and no annual fee in year one). I'm probably going to apply. Seems like a decent deal.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

@havaneselover I think it all depends on how you value the points. 40,000 points gets you a hotel that could normally cost over $400. So 80,000 points would equate to over $800, minus the $89 annual fee. So just over $700. Yours would be valued at $400 plus $200 plus $89. So just under $700. In my eyes, the public offer is still a better offer but you may value the points differently - it will depend on what hotels have maybe caught your eye and how they are valued currently?

 

[havaneselover]

@havaneselover I think it all depends on how you value the points. 40,000 points gets you a hotel that could normally cost over $400. So 80,000 points would equate to over $800, minus the $89 annual fee. So just over $700. Yours would be valued at $400 plus $200 plus $89. So just under $700. In my eyes, the public offer is still a better offer but you may value the points differently - it will depend on what hotels have maybe caught your eye and how they are valued currently?

Yeah, I'm thinking out two years. Hoping for a Disney cruise to either Alaska or Europe in 2018. So two nights in Barcelona or Vancouver would probably be 70-80,000 points. The public offer may be a little better under those circumstances, but I'd be deferring the value for two years. I guess I need to think about it more.

ETA: for a cat 7 it looks like two nights with cash/points would be 42,000 points + $180 if I'm understanding this properly (I'm new to this). That makes me lean toward the targeted offer.

 

[jls886]

This is not the card you asked about, but I'll throw in my $0.02 and say that I ditched my Marriott card for the IHG card instead. IHG has a much more flexible rewards program, with much greater bang for your buck (in my opinion, as a weekly business traveler for 3+ years). The thing I liked least about the Marriott card is that yes, you get a free night each year, but it can only be used at a hotel up to Category 5. Many hotels in Marriott's portfolio are Category 6+, so I found the free night to be pretty restricted. The IHG card has a lower annual fee and also comes with a free night each year, but there are no restrictions on its use. So for multiple reasons I've found the IHG card to be much more valuable to me.

 

[havaneselover]

This is not the card you asked about, but I'll throw in my $0.02 and say that I ditched my Marriott card for the IHG card instead. IHG has a much more flexible rewards program, with much greater bang for your buck (in my opinion, as a weekly business traveler for 3+ years). The thing I liked least about the Marriott card is that yes, you get a free night each year, but it can only be used at a hotel up to Category 5. Many hotels in Marriott's portfolio are Category 6+, so I found the free night to be pretty restricted. The IHG card has a lower annual fee and also comes with a free night each year, but there are no restrictions on its use. So for multiple reasons I've found the IHG card to be much more valuable to me.

After staying at a Candlewood suites last week, I'm leery of ihg. What a terrible product. But I know that's their bottom of the line hotel. I'll take a look at their card/current offer.

My dd swims and we do some regional traveling so I figured I could use the free night for that.

 

[jls886]

After staying at a Candlewood suites last week, I'm leery of ihg. What a terrible product. But I know that's their bottom of the line hotel. I'll take a look at their card/current offer.

My dd swims and we do some regional traveling so I figured I could use the free night for that.

I will admit to never having stayed at a Candlewood Suites. For work I typically have to stay at a Hilton or Marriott property, but for personal travel I tend to use Hilton properties or IHGs. But, when it comes to IHG I'm partial to Holiday Inn Express properties when I'm doing general personal travel, and they are usually very consistent and good hotels (with a good breakfast). The thing I like about IHG's reward program is their cash+points option. Marriott calls theirs that, but it isn't the same meaning. Marriott will let you pay cash for some nights and points for some nights in the same reservation. IHG will let you discount the cash price of a room with points. For example, there's a Holiday Inn Express we like for football games - it's normally about $250/night or 20k points/night. Or we can use 10k points/night + $70/night to discount the room. It lets your points stretch a little farther while giving you a great room rate.

 

[havaneselover]

I will admit to never having stayed at a Candlewood Suites. For work I typically have to stay at a Hilton or Marriott property, but for personal travel I tend to use Hilton properties or IHGs. But, when it comes to IHG I'm partial to Holiday Inn Express properties when I'm doing general personal travel, and they are usually very consistent and good hotels (with a good breakfast). The thing I like about IHG's reward program is their cash+points option. Marriott calls theirs that, but it isn't the same meaning. Marriott will let you pay cash for some nights and points for some nights in the same reservation. IHG will let you discount the cash price of a room with points. For example, there's a Holiday Inn Express we like for football games - it's normally about $250/night or 20k points/night. Or we can use 10k points/night + $70/night to discount the room. It lets your points stretch a little farther while giving you a great room rate.

Got it. Holiday Inn expresses are fine when I'm traveling with the kids--I'm staying at one in July for a swim meet. I'll definitely take a look at this. And thanks for explaining how the cash/points work.

 

[okeydokey]

Yeah, I'm thinking out two years. Hoping for a Disney cruise to either Alaska or Europe in 2018. So two nights in Barcelona or Vancouver would probably be 70-80,000 points. The public offer may be a little better under those circumstances, but I'd be deferring the value for two years. I guess I need to think about it more.

ETA: for a cat 7 it looks like two nights with cash/points would be 42,000 points + $180 if I'm understanding this properly (I'm new to this). That makes me lean toward the targeted offer.

In Vancouver, you can currently book the Delta Vancouver Suites near the cruise port for 35,000 and night.

 

[Ngwira]

I will admit to never having stayed at a Candlewood Suites. For work I typically have to stay at a Hilton or Marriott property, but for personal travel I tend to use Hilton properties or IHGs. But, when it comes to IHG I'm partial to Holiday Inn Express properties when I'm doing general personal travel, and they are usually very consistent and good hotels (with a good breakfast). The thing I like about IHG's reward program is their cash+points option. Marriott calls theirs that, but it isn't the same meaning. Marriott will let you pay cash for some nights and points for some nights in the same reservation. IHG will let you discount the cash price of a room with points. For example, there's a Holiday Inn Express we like for football games - it's normally about $250/night or 20k points/night. Or we can use 10k points/night + $70/night to discount the room. It lets your points stretch a little farther while giving you a great room rate.

Spg also has a cash and points rate.

 

[landocolt45]

This is not the card you asked about, but I'll throw in my $0.02 and say that I ditched my Marriott card for the IHG card instead. IHG has a much more flexible rewards program, with much greater bang for your buck (in my opinion, as a weekly business traveler for 3+ years). The thing I liked least about the Marriott card is that yes, you get a free night each year, but it can only be used at a hotel up to Category 5. Many hotels in Marriott's portfolio are Category 6+, so I found the free night to be pretty restricted. The IHG card has a lower annual fee and also comes with a free night each year, but there are no restrictions on its use. So for multiple reasons I've found the IHG card to be much more valuable to me.

I agree 100%.