# Is the Marriott credit card worth it?



## travelmom11 (Apr 21, 2012)

We keep getting these credit card offers sent to us.  I am currently Marriott Gold.  We are also in the process of purchasing a re-sale for Koolina.  Is there any good reason to get the credit card?  Im not a fan of annual fees, except for the Alaska Airlines (for the $99 companion pass every year).  I also get airline points on my Marriott account instead of Marriott points. I wonder if I should switch that. Pros/cons fo the card?


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## sea&ski (Apr 21, 2012)

*wait until you find a need*

We also rec'd those offers, just about every week, for what seemed like years.  I was just about to the point of writing, in big black sharpie, "take us off your list" when we decided to visit one of the Marriott's timeshares.  If you use your card and apply a MOD, there is considerable savings.  Since I'd shredded all the applications, I just applied online, and then harassed the heck out of Chase to hurry my app along so that I could use it for the resie.  I also put some college expenses on it so that I could earn some free nights, but otherwise, we just have it sitting.

Seems that there are good offers from Chase on occasion, and be sure, if you do decide to get one of these VISA cards, that you get the one that earns you the most points per usage at Marriott.  I am not very sure that I got the right one, but it works for us...  And frankly, I don't remember the yearly fee.  Hopefully it isn't surprising when it comes due.


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## terryfic (Apr 21, 2012)

The only real value of the Marriott points is for Marriott hotels.  I have used the Marriott points in travel to London and other places, but now find that airfare points through Capital One are a better choice for me.  It just depends on how you can get the best bang and how much you can run through the card to accumulate points, and without paying those excessive interest charges.


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## mike2200 (Apr 21, 2012)

travelmom11 said:


> We keep getting these credit card offers sent to us.  I am currently Marriott Gold.  We are also in the process of purchasing a re-sale for Koolina.  Is there any good reason to get the credit card?  Im not a fan of annual fees, except for the Alaska Airlines (for the $99 companion pass every year).  I also get airline points on my Marriott account instead of Marriott points. I wonder if I should switch that. Pros/cons fo the card?



Mrs. Mike2200 and I both applied and obtained the Chase Marriott rewards card, the 1st year no fee, 1st use we each received 70k in reward points which can be combined to book a stay.  we think it was a great deal, can book with 5k more points a week at a some nice properties. IMHO


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## Bnov (Apr 21, 2012)

The premiere version of the Chase Marriott Rewards card currently offers 50,000 MR points with your first purchase and they wave the first year fee (I believe it's $89).  They also give you a free stay (Category 1-4 Hotel) when you sign up and a free stay each year on your anniversary (Category 1-5).  Any costs you have with your Marriott timeshare will earn you 5 points/dollar, travel and dining 2 points/dollar and all other purchases 1 point/dollar.  You automatically get 15 elite night credits per year, plus an additional elite night credit for every $3000 charged on the card.  There is another MR card from Chase without an annual fee but has reduced point yields and benefits.  You'll have to do the math to find out if the card can help you get the best outcome.

We bought a resale week from Marriott and used this card to pay for the purchase, so that gave as a nice boost with our Reward Points.


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## answeeney (Apr 21, 2012)

We poor Brits don't, on the face of it, get a very good deal but maybe that's because the (recently introduced) Marriott Master card has no annual fees. Anyway, we get just 1 Marriott point per £ spent in the UK on non Marriott things or 2 points per £ spent at a Marriott (so why would you use it when you can get at least 1p cash back on any other comparable card?). Spending at a Marriott overseas (i.e. outside the UK) boosts the take to 4 points per £, which makes using it to pay overseas Marriott resort charges or MVC member fees with the card more attractive. I did though read on a recent thread that the US Marriott visa card attracts 5 Marriott points per $ spent which makes me salivate.

Oh and BTW we only get 10000 points for the first transaction and 2000 on each annual renewal - again a lot less, I think, than US card holders get.


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## Big Matt (Apr 21, 2012)

You get a hand full of things that are of huge value if you use a credit card for all of your purchase (I do).

Free Night at a Category 1-5 each year
Points for every purchase
silver elite status and an automatic 15 nights elite stays to start the year
one elite night for every $3000 spent


I use get elite nights from my spending, timeshare stays, and a few hotel stays.  I get platinum each year without a problem.  I also have approximately 900,000 rewards points and like I said I don't stay in hotels that often.

BTW, the only real way to get a good value on air miles is to use the travel package which makes the miles a great deal.


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## answeeney (Apr 21, 2012)

Big Matt said:


> You get a hand full of things that are of huge value if you use a credit card for all of your purchase (I do).
> 
> Free Night at a Category 1-5 each year
> Points for every purchase
> ...



You're just rubbing it in.


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## 4Reliefnow (Apr 21, 2012)

*Real Marriott People carry a Marriott Card*

The Marriott Reward card gives you 50,000 points to sign up and it gives yu 3*points for all spending at Marriott.  You pay an annual fee and get the value back in a certificate for one night category 1-5 ($100-$150 value)

I use Capital One Platinum No Hasssle rewards and have calculated that regular spending is 50% more valuable than the Marriott card for Airline Tickets.  But, the Marriott card gives you 3*points at Marriott and if you are a real Marriott person with timeshare and hotel stays this is the best points per dollar spent. 

I see the card as free after I use the hotel certificate and the 3 times points as great.  The Silver Elite gets you late check-out and some room upgrades.

Key thing with Capitol One for airline tickets is no black-out, no airline carrier restrictions, no games with availability.  You book any ticket you want and have 60 days to go back to Capital One on-line and use points to reimburse the cost. 

 I only use my Marriott points on hotels and the deal is book 4 nights with points and get the 5th night free.  I can't throw down like Big Tom, but we have five nights Edinborough, Scotland in May and five nights Madrid in October.


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## suzannesimon (Apr 21, 2012)

I have the Marriott card for use at Marriotts but use the Capital One  Venture Card to pay for absolutely everything else and use the points to pay for my airfare to my timeshares, trades etc.


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## dioxide45 (Apr 21, 2012)

4Reliefnow said:


> The Marriott Reward card gives you 50,000 points to sign up and it gives yu 3*points for all spending at Marriott.  You pay an annual fee and get the value back in a certificate for one night category 1-5 ($100-$150 value)



You actually get 5 points per dollar at Marriott's with the black card. Which I assume is the one you are speaking of since you mentioned the free cat 1-5 certificate each year, which you don't get with the silver card. the silver card provides 3 points per dollar for Marriott spending.


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## jlr10 (Apr 22, 2012)

We just spent time at the Marriott Wailea on Maui using points.  There is no way I would pay the room rates to stay there, but with points we got the chance to stay somewhere that we would not normally go.

We always use our anniversary free night. (usually we go to Disneyland and stay across the street at the Farifield.)  They will sometimes have rewards periods were if you spend a certain amount on the card in a certain amount of time you get a free night in a 1-4 catagory hotel.  We always use that also.

If you get the Elite card anytime you stay at a Marriott hotel you have access to an Elite checkin line, receive a (usually very small) gift or discount coupon.

We were racking up quite a lot of points with college tuition and housing unitl the college decided they didn't like VISA :annoyed: But it has been the card we used for most major, and all Marriott, purchases.

That being said I am thinking about the Alsakan card, as I think we would benefit quite a bit from the $99 companion ticket.


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## Former Cruiser (Apr 23, 2012)

Your category 1-5 can be worth over $200 depending on where you stay, and even more when you consider you're not paying any taxes on what would have been the room rate.  We stayed in a Courtyard in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.  The room rate was $199 on the Marriott site plus $32 in taxes.  Right now the exchange rate is $1 vs $.996.  So we did better than $200 for an $89 fee.  

In addition there are no fees for charging outside of the US.


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## curbysplace (Apr 23, 2012)

Former Cruiser said:


> In addition there are no fees for charging outside of the US.



What do you mean  by this?  Are you referring to foreign exchange transaction fees?


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## FlyerBobcat (Apr 23, 2012)

curbysplace said:


> What do you mean  by this?  Are you referring to foreign exchange transaction fees?



I called Chase before my recent canada trip and was advised to used my Marriott card --- as only that card (of my several Chase cards) had no foreign exchange transaction fees.


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## FlyerBobcat (Apr 23, 2012)

Former Cruiser said:


> Your category 1-5 can be worth over $200 depending on where you stay, and even more when you consider you're not paying any taxes on what would have been the room rate.  We stayed in a Courtyard in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.  The room rate was $199 on the Marriott site plus $32 in taxes.  Right now the exchange rate is $1 vs $.996.  So we did better than $200 for an $89 fee.



I used mine at the Toronto Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre Hotel which would have run $250 - $275 plus taxes.

Previous year I used at a Courtyard in downtown Boston that was priced at around $350+.


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## MichaelColey (Apr 23, 2012)

I've been very tempted to get the Marriott card and pursue Platinum status with Marriott.  Between the 15 elite nights you get for the card, an elite night per $3k in spending, and 7 elite nights for each weekly Marriott timeshare exchange, Platinum would be easy for us to reach.

What holds me back, though, is two things:

1) I'm very happy with Hilton and Starwood.  I have both of those cards and get Hilton Diamond and Starwood Gold status from CC spend.  We especially like Hilton because they have hotels everywhere we need to go at reasonable prices and we get free breakfast everywhere.  We like Starwood for Cash & Points redemptions and for mileage transfers (where you get a 25% bonus).

2) Since discovering timeshares a couple years ago, our hotel stays are far less often than they used to be.


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## larryallen (Apr 23, 2012)

The Marriott card is at least a break even if you use your cat 5 cert each year. Plus you get 50k points when you sign up as that's worth about $500. It's thus well worth it. The 15 extra elite nights help some people make the next level which can be nice but, speaking as a plat, is not often that big of a deal. I like the Marriott card. I did recently add the Capital One card as someone on here was nice enough to point out the ability to get 100,000 free miles. I just got those in my new Cap One account last week. That was a sweet deal!


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## Nickfromct (Apr 23, 2012)

Big Matt said:


> You get a hand full of things that are of huge value if you use a credit card for all of your purchase (I do).
> 
> Free Night at a Category 1-5 each year
> Points for every purchase
> ...



This is all you really need to know. Good job Matt.


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## urban5 (Apr 23, 2012)

*Marriott Premier (black) Card*



curbysplace said:


> What do you mean  by this?  Are you referring to foreign exchange transaction fees?



Yes that is correct there are no foreign exchange transaction fees with the Marriott Chase Premier Card


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## MikeM132 (Apr 29, 2012)

I have the black card. I don't use it too much (I use an airline card for nearly everything). The Marriott card is a good deal for me for the free hotel, which more than pays for the fee. I charge my maint fees on it, too, which gives 5x points. I get MR points for my card. I have used hotel rewards a few times (kind of a rip-off) and travel awards a few times ( a much better deal, overall---the week in a hotel is almost a free throw-in). 
I'm not going to rave about the card, but since it pays for itself every year and it really gives you points if you use it at Marriott, it can be a decent card to have.


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## gblotter (May 10, 2012)

To keep the blame-game under control, DW and I use different cards.

My wife uses the Marriott Black VISA.  Worth it because of the annual free night certificate.  We have used that to great advantage at some beautiful Cat 5 resorts (and sometimes with a free Elite room upgrade to boot).  Last November we stayed free in a beautiful 2-room executive suite at the JW Marriott Starr Pass in Tucson.  http://www.jwmarriottstarrpass.com/

I use the Alaska Airlines Black VISA.  Worth it because of the annual $99 companion ticket.  Alaska Airlines now flies from the west coast to Hawaii which is super convenient for us.  Just purchased six roundtrip SJC-HNL tickets on Alaska Airlines for Spring Break next year.  Paid an average of $432 per ticket (incl taxes) using a combination of cash, 60K FF miles, and companion pass.  Not bad given the current high price of jet fuel.


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## Mamianka (May 10, 2012)

gblotter said:


> To keep the blame-game under control, DW and I use different cards.
> 
> My wife uses the Marriott Black VISA.  Worth it because of the annual free night certificate.  We have used that to great advantage at some beautiful Cat 5 resorts (and sometimes with a free Elite room upgrade to boot).  Last November we stayed free in a beautiful 2-room executive suite at the JW Marriott Starr Pass in Tucson.  http://www.jwmarriottstarrpass.com/
> 
> I use the Alaska Airlines Black VISA.  Worth it because of the annual $99 companion ticket.  Alaska Airlines now flies from the west coast to Hawaii which is super convenient for us.  Just purchased six roundtrip SJC-HNL tickets on Alaska Airlines for Spring Break next year.  Paid an average of $432 per ticket (incl taxes) using a combination of cash, 60K FF miles, and companion pass.  Not bad given the current high price of jet fuel.



Like a lot of folks here, we juggle the benefits from the various (maybe 3 or 4) cards we use, since the points change every quarter or so.  We also check the BOTS inline to see who is giving extras, since we do shop online quite a bit.  The Boss looks up what is what, makes me a Cheat Sheet (a little card I carry in my wallet, and have a copy of at this computer) and it is easy to maximize benefits,  get free air (first class, yet), discounts on lots of things, cash back - we try to stay on top of it.  I bet there are many people here like us - it takes a little initial research, and you have to check up every so often (or read the emails they send you!), but it is so worth it. Again, like many here, we are totally debt-free for many years, pay off our cards every single month, and get the goodies by buying what we would anyway - we are NOT those people the financial gurus warn you about, that spend MORE just because they *want the points*, etc.  Yes, we used to charge the son's college costs, and we even charge our TAXES.  We are retired from music conducting jobs in schools, but always ran a home-based business too - in classical music - so have cards that help/rebate with the (fully deductible to the extent of the law) home business.  Our accounts and attorney are the best expenditure we make every year - and my Eleventh Commandment is "Thou shalt never pay full price."  Friends who say that they would NEVER pay a fee for a credit card, just do not know how to *work* the system to their advantage.  Like with timeshares - we do not mind spending, if we feel we are getting a GOOD VALUE.  Momma always said - you buy cheap, you GET cheap.


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## pacheco18 (May 10, 2012)

For me it is all about points and it is one of the many ways I get them.

This year
1 week free at Marriott Champs Elysee Paris (points package (120k miles)
1 week + 1 night free at JW Grovesnor House London (points package 120k miles)
5 nights free Marriott Prague (book 4 get 5th free)

Next year
7 nights free Marriott Sydney Harbour Circular Quay (points package 120k miles)

I am Platinum -- will get upgraded, 500k bonus points on arrival and access to Exec Lounge (free breakfast, soft drinks, hors d'oervres)

Year after
Free stays at Marriott Buenos Aires and JW Rio.

The BEST use of points is packages, which also give me airline miles.

I LOVE my card.


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## FlyerBobcat (May 10, 2012)

*An exclusive offer for Marriott Rewards® Credit Card holders*

*** Received in an email 5/10/2012

An exclusive offer for Marriott Rewards® Credit Card holders

Enjoy 3 free nights at Maui’s Wailea Beach Marriott® Resort & Spa when you redeem for a 4-night stay in 2012, giving you 7 nights of oceanfront bliss.

For just 140,000 Marriott Rewards points, you’ll enjoy:

•7 nights at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
•$100 credit at Kumu Bar & Grill

http://www.marriott.com/marriott/freenightsinparadise.mi


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## dioxide45 (May 10, 2012)

pacheco18 said:


> F
> I am Platinum -- will get upgraded, *500k* bonus points on arrival and access to Exec Lounge (free breakfast, soft drinks, hors d'oervres)



I think you meant to say 500 bonus points (arrival gift), not 500,000.


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## pacheco18 (May 10, 2012)

dioxide45 said:


> I think you meant to say 500 bonus points (arrival gift), not 500,000.



oops - now wouldn't that be a deal!!


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