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Amex or Sapphire Credit Card Award Points for Marriot Purchase (Downpayment)

zerocylinders

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We have decided to take the plunge and buy 2 St. Kitts resale weeks from Marriott (direct sales) that will get us 10,000 DC points (enrolled) plus a ton of bonus points.

We are going for the financing option for extra bonus points at the end of 18 months (an extra ~10K bonus DC points after 18 months).

If we put 10% down, we will have ~$8K down payment, which I understand from the sales person they will let me put on a credit card. The sales person told me they will also allow me to make all loan and maintenance payments on a credit card to get points!

Has anyone made a down payment from Marriott resales on a credit card to get points

I am interested in how the charge will be treated for points purposes on Amex or Chase Sapphire - specifically whether it will qualify as "Hotel" purchase (Amex 5x points); or "Travel" (Chase Sapphire 3x points)?

If not, then my best bet is my United Club card which will give me 1.5x on all purchases, but obviously I would be much better off if the purchase qualifies under Amex Hotel or Chase Sapphire "Travel" categories...so picking the right card will make a pretty big difference in terms of points payoff here.

Also, does Marriott charge a "convenience fee" or increase the interest rate if you do this (HGVCI know charges a higher interest rate if you use your credit card to pay, which mostly defeats the benefits of getting points on the credit card).

Anyone with knowledge / experience please let me know!
 

frank808

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Disney Vacation Club (Aulani,SSR,VGC,VGF) Hilton Grand Vacation Club(Bay Club, Kohala Suites, The District) Marriott Vacation Club (Aruba Surf Club, Grand Residence, Grand Chateau, Grand Vista,Harbour Lake, KoOlina,Willow Ridge & DC points)
We have decided to take the plunge and buy 2 St. Kitts resale weeks from Marriott (direct sales) that will get us 10,000 DC points (enrolled) plus a ton of bonus points.

We are going for the financing option for extra bonus points at the end of 18 months (an extra ~10K bonus DC points after 18 months).

If we put 10% down, we will have ~$8K down payment, which I understand from the sales person they will let me put on a credit card. The sales person told me they will also allow me to make all loan and maintenance payments on a credit card to get points!

Has anyone made a down payment from Marriott resales on a credit card to get points

I am interested in how the charge will be treated for points purposes on Amex or Chase Sapphire - specifically whether it will qualify as "Hotel" purchase (Amex 5x points); or "Travel" (Chase Sapphire 3x points)?

If not, then my best bet is my United Club card which will give me 1.5x on all purchases, but obviously I would be much better off if the purchase qualifies under Amex Hotel or Chase Sapphire "Travel" categories...so picking the right card will make a pretty big difference in terms of points payoff here.

Also, does Marriott charge a "convenience fee" or increase the interest rate if you do this (HGVCI know charges a higher interest rate if you use your credit card to pay, which mostly defeats the benefits of getting points on the credit card).

Anyone with knowledge / experience please let me know!
I used my Chase Marriott card to earn 6x Bonvoy points from the San Francisco Pulse sales office for purchase of DC points. Sorry as I don't know if they classify them as hotel or travel. Knowing Chase, it would probably be coded as travel. MVC does not charge a convenience fee for using a credit card.

Also see if the finance charge is more than the bonus of 10k DC points (worth about $6200). If the finance charges are less then it would be worth it. Especially because you can use CC to earn points on the monthly charges. Also you can not pay more than the scheduled payments until the 19th month or you lose the bonus points.

I have not know Hilton Grand Vacations Club to charge a convenience fee for purchases or maintenance fee. When did this happen to you?
 

Dean

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We have decided to take the plunge and buy 2 St. Kitts resale weeks from Marriott (direct sales) that will get us 10,000 DC points (enrolled) plus a ton of bonus points.

We are going for the financing option for extra bonus points at the end of 18 months (an extra ~10K bonus DC points after 18 months).

If we put 10% down, we will have ~$8K down payment, which I understand from the sales person they will let me put on a credit card. The sales person told me they will also allow me to make all loan and maintenance payments on a credit card to get points!

Has anyone made a down payment from Marriott resales on a credit card to get points

I am interested in how the charge will be treated for points purposes on Amex or Chase Sapphire - specifically whether it will qualify as "Hotel" purchase (Amex 5x points); or "Travel" (Chase Sapphire 3x points)?

If not, then my best bet is my United Club card which will give me 1.5x on all purchases, but obviously I would be much better off if the purchase qualifies under Amex Hotel or Chase Sapphire "Travel" categories...so picking the right card will make a pretty big difference in terms of points payoff here.

Also, does Marriott charge a "convenience fee" or increase the interest rate if you do this (HGVCI know charges a higher interest rate if you use your credit card to pay, which mostly defeats the benefits of getting points on the credit card).

Anyone with knowledge / experience please let me know!
You can do the purchase and downpayment on a CC. I bought a retail Aruba week with enrollment of other weeks totally on a CC (well 2 different ones) to get the points at 6X. I considered financing to get the additional bonus but calculated that it would cost me more than the dues on the points would. Initially I was told I could do the payments from the CC but then I was later told I could not and someone else who bought around the same time was told they could not. So you'd want to be sure if this were important. I was also told I could not pay it down during the 18 months but I did not get further confirmation on this option. My original plan was to do the downpayment on the CC, finance to get the bonus then pay it down to where the remainder would pay out over the 18 months paying the payments on the CC. That way I would get the bonus of points on the entire purchase, minimize finance charges and get the additional bonus points. It might have worked out but only if all of the variables had worked the way I want them to and it looked questionable that it'd all work out. So I decided not to finance and just take the initial bonus and CC 6X points leaving the additional bonus points on the table but saving the financing costs. At 10% interest, I'm glad I did it the way I did.
 

zerocylinders

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Thanks Dean that is really helpful info. I was told I could pay everything on the card, so I will double check. The “deal” the offered on financing allows me to pay it off at any time, but if I pay off before the first 18 payments are made I don’t get the additional bonus points. At 10% interest that is roughly $12k interest over 18 months, less what I would have earned on my own money in investments so net is probably around 5k for the 10,000 bonus points. Still pretty expensive, I may just pay cash.

Frank - they did not directly charge a convenience fee, but Hilton will jack up your base interest rate if you pay by credit card. It was a while ago, but my rate went from 7% to 12% with credit card payments. They specifically said the rate increase was contractual based on use of credit card for payments. I ended up just paying off the loan.
 

downtownrb

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It will 100% NOT be coded as a hotel for Amex. The 5x Amex for hotel is only when you go thru their portal and not direct.

Chase will code it as Travel.

I just submitted a payment today where I put $5k on my Citi Prestige (hopefully it will be coded as hotel, but not sure) and the rest on my Chase Sapphire Reserve (100% will be coded as travel and earn 3x).
 

zerocylinders

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It will 100% NOT be coded as a hotel for Amex. The 5x Amex for hotel is only when you go thru their portal and not direct.

Chase will code it as Travel.

I just submitted a payment today where I put $5k on my Citi Prestige (hopefully it will be coded as hotel, but not sure) and the rest on my Chase Sapphire Reserve (100% will be coded as travel and earn 3x).

Outstanding information, thank you! Loving my Sapphire Reserve just about now.
 

downtownrb

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Couple of other examples of how charges came across on Chase - all being tagged as travel.

Tour Package Purchase - MARRIOTT VACATIONS PKG

Charges to my room - MARRIOTT HILTON HEAD

Hybrid Bundle Purchase - MARRIOTTVACCLUBDESTINA

Charges at Barony Beach Bar billed to CC - MARRIOTT POS BARONY BE
 

hogs14

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Couple of other examples of how charges came across on Chase - all being tagged as travel.

Tour Package Purchase - MARRIOTT VACATIONS PKG

Charges to my room - MARRIOTT HILTON HEAD

Hybrid Bundle Purchase - MARRIOTTVACCLUBDESTINA

Charges at Barony Beach Bar billed to CC - MARRIOTT POS BARONY BE
It will 100% NOT be coded as a hotel for Amex. The 5x Amex for hotel is only when you go thru their portal and not direct.

Chase will code it as Travel.

I just submitted a payment today where I put $5k on my Citi Prestige (hopefully it will be coded as hotel, but not sure) and the rest on my Chase Sapphire Reserve (100% will be coded as travel and earn 3x).
 

hogs14

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I have a bonvoy amex card , if I used this card to pay for a down payment would I get the 6x hotel points ? and a question on the purchaser of the 2 st kitts - did you work the deal in st kitts or thru sales dept in utah or florida ? Also did you enroll a post 2010 week you owned or just 2 resales weeks ? I am still working out a deal and have been going back and forth with enrolling my existing week. I know St Kitts had a pretty good 8.9 dollar/ point vs Aruba at $11/pt
 

zerocylinders

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I think the consensus above was the Amex will not treat the Marriott purchase as a hotel charge, but Chase will (Chase has a broader "travel" category).

I have been working mostly with the Florida team, but also with several different Utah folks (I started out with a corporate rep in Utah, then went to the Florida team who specializes in St. Kitts). They have been really great relative to working with Hilton; much more transparent about options and pricing versus HGVC.

I am making my first purchase, not currently in the MVC system.
 

Dean

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I have a bonvoy amex card , if I used this card to pay for a down payment would I get the 6x hotel points ? and a question on the purchaser of the 2 st kitts - did you work the deal in st kitts or thru sales dept in utah or florida ? Also did you enroll a post 2010 week you owned or just 2 resales weeks ? I am still working out a deal and have been going back and forth with enrolling my existing week. I know St Kitts had a pretty good 8.9 dollar/ point vs Aruba at $11/pt
I got the 6x on both my Amex and my Marriott Chase.
 

downtownrb

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I think the consensus above was the Amex will not treat the Marriott purchase as a hotel charge, but Chase will (Chase has a broader "travel" category).

We are talking about different Amex and Chase cards here.

All Amex and Chase Marriott cards will treat the purchase as 6x.

Amex Platinum which gives 5x on hotels will not treat it as a hotel as the 5x for hotels must be booked thru the Amex portal and not directly with the hotel.

Chase Sapphire treats it as travel which earns 3x Ultimate Reward points.
 

GreenTea

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Chase will code as travel. But one thing to keep in mind....at the end of the 18 months if you want to keep paying their interest that long, you can NOT at that point pay the balance with your credit card. If you have the cash upfront, put it all on your CSR, the 3 points per dollar, and write Chase the check for the full amount at the time of sale
 

frank808

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I have a bonvoy amex card , if I used this card to pay for a down payment would I get the 6x hotel points ? and a question on the purchaser of the 2 st kitts - did you work the deal in st kitts or thru sales dept in utah or florida ? Also did you enroll a post 2010 week you owned or just 2 resales weeks ? I am still working out a deal and have been going back and forth with enrolling my existing week. I know St Kitts had a pretty good 8.9 dollar/ point vs Aruba at $11/pt
You will get 6x point for a Marriott purchase. I did it a couple months ago and got the bonus points for Marriott purchase

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