# Chase Marriott Premier Visa fee increase [merged]



## aka Julie (Jul 25, 2011)

*Marriott Visa annual fee to increase to $85*

I just received notification from Chase that the annual fee for the Marriott Premier card (black) will increase to $85 effective 9/15/11. :annoyed:  This is a $20 increase.  Not sure if the Signature card (silver) will still be free.

I guess the increased fee is still worth it for the benefits, especially the free one night hotel (up to category 5).  What do others think?

I'm going to slip in under the wire since my card renews in August.


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## Pens_Fan (Jul 25, 2011)

I'm not happy to see it go up, but I have been happy with the rooms we have gotten with the free night.

Last year was one of the field view suites in the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

I watched Toronto play Tampa Bay from the suite.


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## Antny (Jul 25, 2011)

*I agree!*



aka Julie said:


> ...I guess the increased fee is still worth it for the benefits, especially the free one night hotel (up to category 5).



AND 15 nights Elite credit every year. Even at $95, I think its still worth it!


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## Numismatist (Jul 25, 2011)

Antny said:


> AND 15 nights Elite credit every year. Even at $95, I think its still worth it!



Shhh, don't tell THEM that!:hysterical:


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## NJMOM2 (Jul 25, 2011)

aka Julie said:


> I Not sure if the Signature card (silver) will still be free.



The silver card was only free the first year - It's cost $30 per year (don't know if it's going up).  We just upgraded to the black card a few months ago.


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## K2Quick (Jul 25, 2011)

I just got this card recently to use as a secondary card (I use the Starwood Amex as my primary card).  This will probably push me over the edge.  At $65 it was a no-brainer - at $85 not so much.


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## Big Matt (Jul 25, 2011)

For $85 you get a free night, 15 elite nights credit, 1 elite night for every $3000 spent on the card.

I am in Hawaii on rewards points right now and many/most are from this card. 

I'd say that it's worth every penny.


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## SueDonJ (Jul 25, 2011)

This is the only card we have that carries an annual fee and we think the benefits are well worth the cost, don't mind the increase at all.  Like many others it's our primary card and we use it as a checking account of sorts, pay everything under the sun with it and don't carry a balance month-to-month.  I suppose if we only used it here or there as a secondary card, or had to figure in interest charges, the benefits wouldn't add up at a rate to make it worth the cost.

I'm wondering, though, when was the last time the annual fee was increased?


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## JimC (Jul 25, 2011)

Use as secondary card for travel.  Appreciate the benefits.  I am OK with the increase.


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## MOXJO7282 (Jul 25, 2011)

Big Matt said:


> For $85 you get a free night, 15 elite nights credit, 1 elite night for every $3000 spent on the card.
> 
> I am in Hawaii on rewards points right now and many/most are from this card.
> 
> I'd say that it's worth every penny.



For me as well. Spending 5 nights on Maui in Feb largely from MAR Visa points. And you get a free night stay which can easily be worth $300 if used properly.


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## BocaBoy (Jul 26, 2011)

SueDonJ said:


> I'm wondering, though, when was the last time the annual fee was increased?


The fee has never been increased before.  It has been $65 since the card was first introduced a few years ago.


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## javabean (Jul 26, 2011)

Although we hate to see the fee go up we have been very pleased with the card. Last year we were targeted for a number of promotions which worked out great. We haven't been target for anything useful this year. This past weekend we were scheduled to use our cat 1-5 free night stay. It was due to expire. One of my husband's delivery drivers had an accident with the company truck on Friday afternoon. We couldn't go on our getaway. I am very pleased to say that between Marriott and Chase the certificate expiration date was extended. I appreciate that they took my word for it and extended this courtesy.  Now I get to plan another getaway.


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## MikeM132 (Jul 26, 2011)

we were warned that bank/credit card charges would go up due to the financial situation. Still, this card is a good deal for me as I use the free night every year (generally the hotel rate I get "free" is about 150.00). As far as MR points, this is no longer my main card, so MR points come from maintenance fees (use this card for that every year---a point bonanza) and incidentals at timeshares. That usually amounts to another room a year (at a lower category hotel).


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## DJensen (Jul 26, 2011)

*Silver Card*

I believe the notice for the Silver card mentioned a $45 annual fee


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## Whirl (Jul 26, 2011)

*Works for now*

We rarely get anything out of the promotions. We just dont stay in hotels often enough, it seems. 

That being said, the free night is useful every year and pays for the card, in my opinion.


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## Mamianka (Jul 26, 2011)

We have one, in DH's name.  However, NEW joiners get all kinds of goodies - we might just get another in MY name, too! Has worked before with other programs.  We drop them years later if we wish - or not.  Our FICO is so high, that closing them does not hurt us one bit.


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## SueDonJ (Jul 26, 2011)

BocaBoy said:


> The fee has never been increased before.  It has been $65 since the card was first introduced a few years ago.



Well, certainly can't complain about one fee increase after 5 years in existence!  (Found [URL="http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19393"]this old thread[/URL] from when it was introduced.)


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## dougp26364 (Jul 26, 2011)

DJensen said:


> I believe the notice for the Silver card mentioned a $45 annual fee



We recieved notice today that our silver card will have a yearly fee of $45. I've moved away from MR points since they've lost so much of their value over the years. About all we've been using this card for is MF payments. Now we mostly use FF miles cards as we get better value from using these for airline tickets than what we're currently getting from MR points. When it comes time to renew this card, I believe I'll let this one go.


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## mjm1 (Jul 26, 2011)

Sorry to hear of the increase, but have been happy with the benefits.  We are using our free night this Friday in the San Diego area and are looking forward to it.


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## dougp26364 (Jul 26, 2011)

Mamianka said:


> We have one, in DH's name.  However, NEW joiners get all kinds of goodies - we might just get another in MY name, too! Has worked before with other programs.  We drop them years later if we wish - or not.  Our FICO is so high, that closing them does not hurt us one bit.



I think that CC's and their credit limits are over rated when it comes to credit scores. I checked my credit score, then dumped approx. $50,000 in credit limit by getting rid of a bunch of specialty and department store cards. I checked our credit score a few months down the road and it was no different than before. What seems to matter most is do you make your payments on time and, what's your income to outstanding credit ratio. 

Credit protection companies like Freecreditreport.com have something to sell and they sell it based on a certain amount of fear. Our Marriott card has a pretty high limit on it. I still don't believe it will affect my credit score nearly as much as the credit score services would like me to believe. What may hurt more than reducing our available credit is terminating a credit relastionship that's been good for several years but, since it's a CC and I don't believe CC's are weighted that much for credit reports unless you make a habit of making late payments, I'm still not worried about it.


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## winger (Jul 26, 2011)

dougp26364 said:


> I think that CC's and their credit limits are over rated when it comes to credit scores. I checked my credit score, then dumped approx. $50,000 in credit limit by getting rid of a bunch of specialty and department store cards. I checked our credit score a few months down the road and it was no different than before. What seems to matter most is do you make your payments on time and, what's your income to outstanding credit ratio.
> 
> Credit protection companies like Freecreditreport.com have something to sell and they sell it based on a certain amount of fear. Our Marriott card has a pretty high limit on it. I still don't believe it will affect my credit score nearly as much as the credit score services would like me to believe. What may hurt more than reducing our available credit is terminating a credit relastionship that's been good for several years but, since it's a CC and I don't believe CC's are weighted that much for credit reports unless you make a habit of making late payments, I'm still not worried about it.



One thing to note (and I have been keeping my eyes open alot this past year on the FICO topic) - it sounds like the general understanding (seen in various blogs and have even been told by multiple loan brokers and officers) is that having a low utilization ratio (debt / total available credit) is a very good thing in terms of keeping credit scores higher.


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## winger (Jul 26, 2011)

Mamianka said:


> We have one, in DH's name.  However, NEW joiners get all kinds of goodies - we might just get another in MY name, too! ....



We have two cards also, and will likely continue holding two until my VERY low interest rate balance transfer is paid off...at which time I will reconsider holding two cars.

That said, we have also been able to make extremely good use of the two annual free hotel certificates, so we are happy at this point. 

Besides MF and Marriott hotel/resort incidentals, we do not use the card anymore.  We now funnel all our daily purchase to our Citibank AA card (to earn AA FF miles).


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## dougp26364 (Jul 26, 2011)

winger said:


> One thing to note (and I have been keeping my eyes open alot this past year on the FICO topic) - it sounds like the general understanding (seen in various blogs and have even been told by multiple loan brokers and officers) is that having a low utilization ratio (debt / total available credit) is a very good thing in terms of keeping credit scores higher.



Having to many cards with to much available credit can hurt you also. Like I said, I cancelled several cards with something around $50,000 worth of credit line we weren't using. My score didn't budge. 

My Marriott Visa has a limit just north of $20,000. It renews in January. Despite what the hype tells me, I'll cancel it rather than pay $45/year. Sure it's not a huge amount but, I'm not using that card for anything much more than paying our Marriott MF's right now. I see no reason to pay $45 for a card I barely use. My intentions are to pay this years MF's and then be done with it.

Who know, there's still a few months between now, when MF's are due and when this card renews. Maybe something will come up that makes me want to keep the card........but I doubt it. If I were using the benefits, it's not a bad price. I'm just not using MR points like I used to.

My United FF card is getting ready to offer an Explorer card that will have a $95/year fee. I plan on upgrading that card (currently $65) because we are using that card to build FF miles. As a bonus, the new, more expensive card, offers first checked bag free for you and one companion. For us that will pay for the annual fee as we can use United. Until United starts jacking with their FF program we'll keep this card.

We did not take out the Amex Delta card for two reasons. First, Delta has made it nearly impossible for us to find FF mile flights for anything less than 40,000 miles. Second because Amex customer service ticked me off maybe 20 years ago. I had a down year for income and they had a store cut up the card when I tried to use it. Never sent a letter, just had a clerk cut up the card when I was making a purchase. When I called customer service they made it abundantly clear I was NOT Amex material. In fact, I think he said something about scum like me......Even if we were flying Delta as frequently as we have in the past, I'm not certain I could bring myself to keep an Amex card in my wallet again.


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## m61376 (Jul 26, 2011)

Slightly off topic, but does anyone have experience with the Chase Sapphire preferred card- it lets you transfer points one to one to Marriott if you want to, but also to several FF programs.

I need to get a different cc since my primary card uses points as a paltry credit for airline tickets, rather than the previous 1:1 mile credit to different FF programs. It's really time for me to get a more worthwhile card, but I am not sure if the Marriott card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred would be better (or something else altogether).


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## pwrshift (Jul 26, 2011)

*The Canadian Marriott Visa card is crap...*

The Canadian Marriott Visa card (there's only one) is so bad I can't believe Marriott allowed Chase to issue it.  It doesn't give us anywhere near the benefits you get with the US card.  Take a look at this link and have a laugh.  You'll appreciate your US cards much more.

https://www.chase.com/online/canada...tm?JOBNUM=VMR1011011?CELL=6RRW&MSC=IQ33846651


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## dioxide45 (Jul 26, 2011)

pwrshift said:


> The Canadian Marriott Visa card (there's only one) is so bad I can't believe Marriott allowed Chase to issue it.  It doesn't give us anywhere near the benefits you get with the US card.  Take a look at this link and have a laugh.  You'll appreciate your US cards much more.
> 
> https://www.chase.com/online/canada...tm?JOBNUM=VMR1011011?CELL=6RRW&MSC=IQ33846651



This appears to be about equal to the signature (silver) card here in the USA. Though I think the bonus points for the first purchase is much lower but they do give you a free night for getting the card. That wasn't offered on the silver card in the US. Not sure what the annual fee for the Canadian card is.


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## SuperBeav39 (Jul 26, 2011)

m61376 said:


> Slightly off topic, but does anyone have experience with the Chase Sapphire preferred card- it lets you transfer points one to one to Marriott if you want to, but also to several FF programs.
> 
> I need to get a different cc since my primary card uses points as a paltry credit for airline tickets, rather than the previous 1:1 mile credit to different FF programs. It's really time for me to get a more worthwhile card, but I am not sure if the Marriott card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred would be better (or something else altogether).



I just got the Chase Sapphire Preferred and couldn't be happier with it.  I previously used the Marriott Black card for all purchases but I'm having a hard time seeing the benefit of it.  If you keep an eye on the Marriott deals your MRP points are worth at maximum $.01 per point.  And that locks you in to using them for either hotel or travel (or getting horrible value at their mall).

With the Sapphire every point is worth $.01 cash.  The only thing you lose is the bonus points for Marriott purchases (we kept our black card for the annual free night, so we just have to jog cards) and the double for restaurants.  What you gain is the ability to have cash and do whatever you want with it.  The annual fee is on the high side, but it's waived the first year so you have plenty of time to decide if the card is working for you or not.

If you do decide of the preferred, make sure to shop the Internet for promo codes.  You should be able to get a 50,000 bonus point promo if you look around enough.


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## GetawaysRus (Jul 26, 2011)

I've got the Sapphire Preferred as well.  This will make it harder for me to decide whether to keep the Sapphire Preferred or the Marriott black card or just go ahead and pay both annual fees.

The Sapphire preferred has a $95 annual fee, though you should be able to find a sign-up promo that waives the fee for the first year.  You earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  The attraction is flexibility.  Chase U.R. points can be converted into any of several programs:  Marriott, Hyatt, Priority Club, Continental, and British Air.  Also, the Sapphire Preferred rewards you with 2 points per dollar spent on dining, air, car rental, and hotel.  There is a 7% bump on the points you've earned and are in your account at the end of the year, so that pushes it up to 2.14 points per dollar on dining, air, car rent, and hotel.

So it seems that now I'd only be using my Marriott black card for Marriott spend (Marriott hotels, timeshare annual maintenance fees).  I'd rather use the Sapphire Preferred for everything else.  Using the Sapphire Preferred gives me the flexibility to transfer my points to whichever program I need to.

By the way, if you're looking for another credit card, there is a promo offer on the Starwood AmEx credit card through Aug 22.  You earn 10,000 points after your first purchase and an additional 20,000 points after spending $4,500 in the first three months.  This promo is being discussed in a number of travel blogs today.


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## OldPantry (Jul 27, 2011)

*How about 2 1/2 %?*

Has anyone else received a Bank of America VISA Cash Rewards card?  Our offer is a straight 2% cash back, with an extra .5% bonus if we redeem $300 or more at a time.  On a $100,000 outlay to the card, the cash back amounts to $2500.

So far, our card has been good for over $900 cash back.  We've used the money as a straight statement credit, but there are a few other ways to use the cash credit.  You can have the money deposited to a checking account or receive a check for the rebate.  While it might be a bit more thrilling to get the cash in hand, the statement credit works very well indeed.  

The account also came with a zero % purchase rate for one year.  So, we're pretty much maxed out.  I'm considering increasing the credit limit to take further advantage of the free financing till next January.


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## LisaRex (Jul 27, 2011)

OldPantry said:


> Has anyone else received a Bank of America VISA Cash Rewards card?  Our offer is a straight 2% cash back, with an extra .5% bonus if we redeem $300 or more at a time.  On a $100,000 outlay to the card, the cash back amounts to $2500.



The best I could find for BoA is 1.25%:

"The Bank of America BankAmericard Cash Rewards Visa Signature does fairly well (but not great) in our PlasticIQ Ranking Engine, due primarily to its ability to earn 1.25% cash back (which puts it ahead of the numerous plain-vanilla 1% cashback cards running around).  In order to achieve this level of performance, you’ll need to redeem your BankAmericard rewards in increments of $300 or more (that is, receive $300 in rewards payouts) in order to get a 25% boost in your cashback percentage. Since you are on the PlasticIQ site, we graciously assume you are trying your best to maximize your rewards, so we assume you’ll earn the 1.25% cashback. If that’s not the case, then the BankAmericard loses a good deal of its lustre (and its rank in the PIQ Ranking Engine!)."

http://www.plasticiq.com/blog/review-bank-america-bankamericard-cash-rewards-visa-signature/


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## LisaRex (Jul 27, 2011)

Re the Marriott black card:  For the last few years, we've used the free night, but I'm not sure if I'll keep the card just for that, now that it's $85.  Because I don't qualify for the bonuses because I rarely stay in hotels, I've diverted most of my spending to two cards:

SPG AMEX - I have to keep an AMEX because it's the only card that Costco accepts.  This one earns 1:1, which isn't great, but 10,000 SPG points are worth way more in terms of redemption value than 10,000 MRs.  And you still get 125% on most airline transfers.

CapOne Venture card - Earn 2 points for every dollar spend.  You can redeem the points for travel expenditures at the rate of 1:100.  In other words, with $50k of spending, you'll earn 100,000 CapOne points, which can be used to pay off a $1000 airline ticket. 

I still keep the Delta gold AMEX because I travel almost exclusively on Delta (most convenient itineraries) and it gets me and all my traveling companions one free checked bag.  Since the annual fee is only $40 (since I also have the SPG AMEX), one trip pays for the annual fee.  Then back in the drawer it goes!

We downgraded my husband's black Marriott to silver a few years ago.  Now that it's $45/year, we canceled it. 

Once my United Visa comes up for renewal, I'm canceling it, too.  I've accumulated 150k miles, but can't find a decent itinerary to use them.


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## redrew22 (Jul 27, 2011)

I cancelled Citibank AA card when AA made getting a decent flight w/o using anytime miles almost impossible.  I stopped using Chase Marriott card except for MF's and when @ a Marriott when they devalued the Marriott Reward Points.  I now use Capital One Signature Card for everything else.  2 miles for every dollar, can book any flight w/ any airline, can redeem up to 90 days after purchase, & very easy to use on-line.


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## isisdave (Jul 27, 2011)

IIRC one of the benefits of the Marriott Black card is no currency exchange fee. If you travel internationally much, pay your Marriott MFs with it, and don't want to get the Capital One card with the same feature, it's OK. It's our principal use-overseas card.

And it's not hard to get more than $85 worth of hotel room out of it.  My free night is due to post 7/29 and I plan to use it within two weeks on a $169 room.

[Thread diversion, sorry:] I recently changed from a Credit Union card I'd had for ten years when they inflated the points required for travel and instituted point expiration dates. Spending of $25,000 used to get $300 airline credit; now it takes 30,000. Too bad for them, we pushed EVERYTHING through this card.  We're done with "rewards" and "points"; now it's just "show me the money." The best deal I find now is Fidelity's Investment Reward Visa:

    1.5% cash back when spending up to $15,000 annually
    2.0% cash back on any purchases above $15,000
    No limits on cash rewards, and no annual fee

Fidelity actually has an Amex card that rebates 2% on all purchases, also with no annual fee.  I pass up $75 by not having that one, but there are a lot of places that don't take Amex.


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## MOXJO7282 (Jul 27, 2011)

We use 3 cards

We use the Amex Blue for a 5% annual cash rebate on groceries, gas and drug stores and that nets us around $1200 annually. 

The second card we use is a great one I just got AA Citibank where I have a *0% on purchases until 11/12. *So I'm getting AA miles and am able to nicely manage our cash flow for a big bulk of our money. 

We just spent about $5k on home, auto and electronics upgrades and I only have to pay as little as $75 a month, or as much as I want but have about 16 months to pay it off.


Thirdly is the MAR black card. I use this exclusively for Marriott purchases. Even though I only use it sparingly its still my most valuable card because of the MAR points i get from my ownership of 12 MAR units. My total MFs are a tad more than $17k for which I receive 5x in points. 

We also take a few Marriott hotel stays a year so the points received from both is well worth the $85


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## dioxide45 (Jul 28, 2011)

Big Matt said:


> For $85 you get a free night, 15 elite nights credit, 1 elite night for every $3000 spent on the card.
> 
> I am in Hawaii on rewards points right now and many/most are from this card.
> 
> I'd say that it's worth every penny.





isisdave said:


> IIRC one of the benefits of the Marriott Black card is no currency exchange fee. If you travel internationally much, pay your Marriott MFs with it, and don't want to get the Capital One card with the same feature, it's OK. It's our principal use-overseas card.



The silver card also has the no currency exchange fee and 1 elite night for every $3000 spent on the card. I think the only difference between the two is the black card gives 15 elite nights on your card anniversary where the silver one only give you 10. The black card also provides the free night certificate. So for $40 more you get 5 more elite nights and a free night.

The other benefits (rental CDW, baggage insurance) are all the same between the two.


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## aka Julie (Jul 28, 2011)

dioxide45 said:


> The silver card also has the no currency exchange fee and 1 elite night for every $3000 spent on the card. I think the only difference between the two is the black card gives 15 elite nights on your card anniversary where the silver one only give you 10. The black card also provides the free night certificate. So for $40 more you get 5 more elite nights and a free night.
> 
> The other benefits (rental CDW, baggage insurance) are all the same between the two.



With the silver card you get 3 MR points per $ spent with Marriott.  The black card gets 5 MR points per $ spent with Marriott.


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## larryallen (Jul 28, 2011)

I still think it's worthwhile. Like most credit cards it depends on how much you use it. If you don't charge much it's still a good deal if you get full use out of your cat 5 cert. If you charge a lot, and like Marriotts, it's a great deal with all the bonuses; 5 for 1 on stays, etc....  I average $8k a month on that card, including business purchases, so it pays for a lot of free nights!


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## GetawaysRus (Jul 28, 2011)

isisdave said:


> IIRC one of the benefits of the Marriott Black card is no currency exchange fee.



Chase has eliminated currency exchange fees on many of its credit cards.  I know this includes:  Marriott black, Priority Club, British Air, Sapphire Preferred.  And there may be some others as well that I'm missing.


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## OutAndAbout (Jul 31, 2011)

Starting on Sept 15th the annual fee will go up from $65.00 to $85.00, a 30% increase  

Funny how they now offer this card as First Year Free, and then waive the fee on the legacy cardmembers.  This is one less card that'll be in my wallet.

Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase


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## Mr. Vker (Jul 31, 2011)

It sucks, but the 15 nights and the free night each year at a cat 1-5 hotel (1-4 in the first year) is worth the $85.00. Plus the bonus points for Marriott spend.


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## BocaBoy (Aug 1, 2011)

Don't forget the valuable benefit enhancements they have made since the card was introduced at the $65 level.  These include, among other things, the one night credit for every $3K spent, the elimination of the 3% foreign transaction fee, and the new travel insurance coverage for travel paid for with the card.  These and other things were not there originally when the annual fee was $65.  Would I rather pay $65 than $85?  Sure I would, but I think the card at $85 today is worth as much or probably even more to most cardholders than it was at $65 prior to the recent enhancements.


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## LAX Mom (Aug 1, 2011)

I put almost everything on my Marriott Chase VISA and will continue to use it. However I'll probably cancel the card we have linked to DH's Marriott account. In the past I figured the category 1-5 free night was worth $65 so we each had our own cards.


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## qlaval (Aug 1, 2011)

xxx...wrong thread...xxx


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## SuperBeav39 (Aug 1, 2011)

*Upgradable?*

I'm going to cancel my black card and here's why:  The free night 1-5 doesn't do me a lot of good since I use the free nights for vacations and typically stay at MOD properties that are levels 6 and above.

I called Marriott Rewards twice asking if I could upgrade my cert so that I could use it at the higher levels and was told both times "no, not possible."  I have seen others on this board post about upgrading certs, but since I can't actually make it happen in practice this card doesn't do much for me.  The higher fee is the straw that broke the camel's back.

Technically I renew on Sept 1, so I'd be avoiding the increase for this year.  But even at $65 it's not worth it if I can't get any use out of the free night cert.  Bummer.


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## MOXJO7282 (Aug 1, 2011)

SuperBeav39 said:


> I'm going to cancel my black card and here's why:  The free night 1-5 doesn't do me a lot of good since I use the free nights for vacations and typically stay at MOD properties that are levels 6 and above.
> 
> I called Marriott Rewards twice asking if I could upgrade my cert so that I could use it at the higher levels and was told both times "no, not possible."  I have seen others on this board post about upgrading certs, but since I can't actually make it happen in practice this card doesn't do much for me.  The higher fee is the straw that broke the camel's back.
> 
> Technically I renew on Sept 1, so I'd be avoiding the increase for this year.  But even at $65 it's not worth it if I can't get any use out of the free night cert.  Bummer.



Really you can't find the use of a cat 5 somewhere? We use it every year on our trip to HHI, but could've used it on our trip to Philly as well. There are many very nice cat 5 that would rent for at least $150 and some as much as $250.


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## SuperBeav39 (Aug 1, 2011)

MOXJO7282 said:


> Really you can't find the use of a cat 5 somewhere? We use it every year on our trip to HHI, but could've used it on our trip to Philly as well. There are many very nice cat 5 that would rent for at least $150 and some as much as $250.



Nope.  My vacation destination is Hawaii and the only cat 5 on the island is a Courtyard that has teeny tiny rooms that won't fit my family.


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## Mr. Vker (Aug 1, 2011)

SuperBeav39 said:


> I'm going to cancel my black card and here's why:  The free night 1-5 doesn't do me a lot of good since I use the free nights for vacations and typically stay at MOD properties that are levels 6 and above.
> 
> I called Marriott Rewards twice asking if I could upgrade my cert so that I could use it at the higher levels and was told both times "no, not possible."  I have seen others on this board post about upgrading certs, but since I can't actually make it happen in practice this card doesn't do much for me.  The higher fee is the straw that broke the camel's back.
> 
> Technically I renew on Sept 1, so I'd be avoiding the increase for this year.  But even at $65 it's not worth it if I can't get any use out of the free night cert.  Bummer.



I think the certs you may be hearing about upgrading are the Travel Packages. If you have already redeemed a Cat 5 Travel Package and suddenly need a Cat 6, Marriott will let you upgrade to a Cat 6 for the difference in points. 

But the Chase Cert is provided by Chase. It is what it is. One night at a Cat 5. I use my wife's every year the night before I race in the Baltimore Marathon. We stay at the Renaissance. Rate would be $229.00. And we always find a use for mine in a city on the east coast for a fun getaway.


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## OutAndAbout (Aug 1, 2011)

MOXJO7282 said:


> Really you can't find the use of a cat 5 somewhere? We use it every year on our trip to HHI, but could've used it on our trip to Philly as well. There are many very nice cat 5 that would rent for at least $150 and some as much as $250.


If you have to "find" somewhere to redeem the cat 5 cert, then it's much less valuable.

We pay a year-long annual fee and get a cert good for 6 months - unfortunately we do most of our traveling the first three months after we pay the annual fee, but the cert isn't valid until months after you pay the fee, so we never get a good value as the certificate can't be issued early, extended or upgraded to a higher category property.


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## dioxide45 (Aug 1, 2011)

I think we already have a discussion going about this.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151971


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## OutAndAbout (Aug 1, 2011)

LAX Mom said:


> I put almost everything on my Marriott Chase VISA and will continue to use it.



It depends on what your spend composition is, but very little of my Marriott spend goes on the Marriott Visa (as there are much better cards out there).

Just one example:
Chase Sapphire Preferred is first-year-free, annual fee is $95 (as $85), double points on all travel, can convert to Marriott, Hyatt, Continental, British Airways & South Korean Air (covering all alliances) or redeem for flights at 1.25c/point. (& 50k point signup, a minimum of $500).


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## rsackett (Aug 1, 2011)

SuperBeav39 said:


> Nope.  My vacation destination is Hawaii and the only cat 5 on the island is a Courtyard that has teeny tiny rooms that won't fit my family.



Hawaii has 3 cat 5 hotels:

Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
Kaua'i Marriott Resort

And two cat 4 hotels:

Courtyard Waikiki Beach
Courtyard Kaua'i at Coconut Beach

Last December we used on of these at the Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa and it defiantly saved us money over any discount I could have found!

Ray


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## NWL (Aug 2, 2011)

Mr. Vker said:


> It sucks, but the 15 nights and the free night each year at a cat 1-5 hotel (1-4 in the first year) is worth the $85.00. Plus the bonus points for Marriott spend.





Mr. Vker said:


> I think the certs you may be hearing about upgrading are the Travel Packages. If you have already redeemed a Cat 5 Travel Package and suddenly need a Cat 6, Marriott will let you upgrade to a Cat 6 for the difference in points.
> 
> But the Chase Cert is provided by Chase. It is what it is. One night at a Cat 5. I use my wife's every year the night before I race in the Baltimore Marathon. We stay at the Renaissance. Rate would be $229.00. And we always find a use for mine in a city on the east coast for a fun getaway.



You do get value out of your membership!  Thanks again for helping me through the ins and outs of the Marriott system.  

Cheers!


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## aka Julie (Aug 2, 2011)

OutAndAbout said:


> If you have to "find" somewhere to redeem the cat 5 cert, then it's much less valuable.
> 
> We pay a year-long annual fee and get a cert good for 6 months - unfortunately we do most of our traveling the first three months after we pay the annual fee, but the cert isn't valid until months after you pay the fee, so we never get a good value as the certificate can't be issued early, extended or upgraded to a higher category property.



My certificate always appears in my MR account almost immediately when I renew.


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## Mr. Vker (Aug 2, 2011)

aka Julie said:


> My certificate always appears in my MR account almost immediately when I renew.



Plus they send you a letter to be on the look out for it prior to deposit.


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## Ricci (Aug 2, 2011)

I received the cert. in my account several weeks BEFORE I had to pay the $65 fee.


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## GetawaysRus (Aug 2, 2011)

Mr. Vker said:


> Plus they send you a letter to be on the look out for it prior to deposit.



I've never received a letter that an e-cert is coming.  Guess I'm not special...

Instead, I keep a note in my Marriott file so that I remember when to anticipate the certificate each year.  It magically appears within a few days of that anticipated target date each year.


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## BocaBoy (Aug 2, 2011)

SuperBeav39 said:


> Nope.  My vacation destination is Hawaii and the only cat 5 on the island is a Courtyard that has teeny tiny rooms that won't fit my family.


Definitely not true.  Several category 4 and 5 hotels in Hawaii.


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## LisaRex (Aug 2, 2011)

BocaBoy said:


> Definitely not true.  Several category 4 and 5 hotels in Hawaii.



Category 4 hotels in Hawaii:

Hawaii
Honolulu- Courtyard Waikiki Beach
Kailua-Kona- Courtyard King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel
Kapaa- Courtyard Kaua'i at Coconut Beach

Category 5:
Honolulu- The Waikiki EDITION
Honolulu - Oahu- Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
Koloa - Kauai- Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club
Lihue - Kauai- Kaua'i Marriott Resort
Lihue - Kauai- Marriott's Kaua'i Beach Club
Lihue - Kauai- Marriott's Kauai Lagoons
Waikoloa- Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa


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## SuperBeav39 (Aug 2, 2011)

*OK......*



LisaRex said:


> Category 4 hotels in Hawaii:
> 
> Hawaii
> Honolulu- Courtyard Waikiki Beach
> ...



Geez.  I knew after I wrote it that it was wrong and somebody would comment.  But now that the total is up to 3 I will elaborate.

Last year when I stayed I had three seperate mixed certs and two were 1-4, so that is why I mistakingly said the Courtyard was the only hotel available.  Using the 1-5 it adds the Waikiki Beach Marriott (and apparently the EDITION, which was barely open when we visited and I'm surprised is not higher than 5).

Since my home resort is Ko Olina those are the only ones that matter to me.  They don't have the facilities that I would want with a 4 person family and I don't want to crash some place one night then pack up the toddlers and all their stuff and move to our real vacation destination.  So my main point remains that without the ability to upgrade these certs to something that I could use at a MVC property, they are not worth $85 / year to me.  YMMV.

For the past couple years the Black card was my CC of choice.  However, between the reduction in airline partners and the difficulty for me in using the cert I just don't see the value anymore.  I have a trip to Palm Springs in November that I would love to use the free cert, but I'm staying at Shadow Ridge and I can't use it there.  I require Shadow Ridge because we have a newborn that will be 4 months old at that point and having laundry and kitchen in the room makes life a whole lot less stressful.

I apologize for my incorrect statement regarding Cat 1-5 properties in Hawaii.  There are lots of them.  They just don't work for me.


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## winger (Aug 2, 2011)

also remember, categories change I believe at least once per year...so what was once a cat 6 could very well now be a cat 5 or cat 6, for example.


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## alchook (Aug 2, 2011)

I use the free night for a room at Doral every year, so it works for me even at the higher price.

Still, lately I've been using my AARP card almost exclusively. The first 6 months you get a 5% rebate on all purchases. So far I've cashed $1600.

Not bad for a credit card.


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## OutAndAbout (Aug 2, 2011)

OutAndAbout said:


> .. the cert isn't valid until months after you pay the fee, so we never get a good value as the certificate can't be issued early, extended or upgraded to a higher category property.





aka Julie said:


> My certificate always appears in my MR account almost immediately when I renew.





Ricci said:


> I received the cert. in my account several weeks BEFORE I had to pay the $65 fee.


Based on the above it seems anniversary has nothing to do with the timing of the certificate (thanks Chase for the misinformation).


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