Marriott American Express Bonvoy Platinum card or Chase Sapphire Card - which to use at JW Marriott in San Jose Mexico

[RoverJohn]

A big event and I would like to get the most points in return for a large party I am hosting. Bonvoy points seem overstated after the 3 for 1 exchange. And in general, I am not really sure of the value of the Marriott American Express Bonvoy Card except to pay for maintenance fees? Any ideas or help would be appreciated.
John

 

[DebBrown]

Personally, I like the flexibility of Chase Sapphire points especially with the extra value for travel purchases.

 

[vol_90]

I value Bonvoy points at $0.01 and Sapphire at $0.015 (for travel). You should get 6 X .01 using the AMEX and 3 X .015 using the Sapphire. I would go with the AMEX.

 

[rickandcindy23]

We just did a major road trip and stayed in 7 hotels. I was very impressed with the points we paid for some of the suites we got through Marriott, at only 10-15K per night. We stayed in one Spring Hill Suite and it was brand new for 15K. All of them included breakfast. That made me think twice about dropping my old Starwood Amex.

Plus, I booked our free night for a hotel room on Maui by the airport at the beginning of our upcoming trip, so we could extend the trip a bit and get an early start up to Hono Koa for our two weeks. The points would have been 35K, cost was about $400, but it's our free night. I booked Ritz Carlton for another night on the end of our trip. I thought I wouldn't be able to use my points for anything. I still have a lot of points left, but I am using them. I was going to use them and let go of the card. No way am I doing that.

 

[RoverJohn]

I'm not sure that a Marriott American Express Bonvoy point is worth .01 after the exchange of SPG points to Marriott points was 3 for 1. This devaluation/exchange seems to lessen the 6 points I might be able to receive from Marriott to the equivalent of 2 points on the open market, vs possible getting 3 real points using a Chase Sapphire card.

 

[ljmiii]

After the merger Bonvoy points are down to about 0.8 cents. Sapphire points are more nebulous...I put them at about 1.4. So I’d give the slight nod to your AMEX card.

But a better question is which points are you short of? You never know when a point vs cash opportunity will present itself - you are best positioned if you have plenty of both.

 

[Steve Fatula]

After the merger Bonvoy points are down to about 0.8 cents. Sapphire points are more nebulous...I put them at about 1.4. So I’d give the slight nod to your AMEX card.

But a better question is which points are you short of? You never know when a point vs cash opportunity will present itself - you are best positioned if you have plenty of both.

Exactly. Sometimes, it depends which one is closest to some key level you might be able to use.

.8 cents is the points guys valuation and likely is a good average. However, you can get more or less, it depends how you use them. Not too hard to get 1 cent out of them.

 

[vol_90]

I'm not sure that a Marriott American Express Bonvoy point is worth .01 after the exchange of SPG points to Marriott points was 3 for 1. This devaluation/exchange seems to lessen the 6 points I might be able to receive from Marriott to the equivalent of 2 points on the open market, vs possible getting 3 real points using a Chase Sapphire card.

Steve is correct above. It depends on how you use Marriott Bonvoy points. Very easy to get above $.0.01 per point using on vacations that I otherwise would not pay cash for (i.e. Maldives) especially with each 5th night free. For all hotel nights I pay with my Marriott credit card if the point value is under $0.01 vs using points.

I use the Chase Sapphire for almost all non-Marriott transactions and have only used the points booking flights (504,951 points valued at $7,574.32 since Sept. 2016). I always check the airline website and/or skyscanner.com before booking with Chase. There are have been a couple of times when a web search price is lower than what Chase is quoting for the same flight. Most of the time they are equal.

 

[RoverJohn]

Such helpful hints and opinions. Thanks to all, and now to check skyscanner.com and the points guy.
John

 

[brianfox]

It really depends on how you want to use the points. Points are not created equal.
If you want to ultimately use them for airline travel, I'd say Sapphire is best.
Even then, the best way to use the points for airline travel is not straightforward - there are LOTS of ways to redeem. Some much better than others. PointsGuy has years of strategies to peruse.
If your goal is Marriott stays, then Bonvoy is better.

Personally, I think it is best to decide on one strategy and then maximize the heck out of it.
We chose to maximize on airline rewards, and for the route we primarily use (LAX-LIH), British Airways Avios is the best strategy.
As AMEX and Chase both allow transfer to that program, we maximize point earn using their cards:
Sapphire Reserve
Chase Freedom
Chase Freedom Unlimited
AMEX Gold
AMEX Everyday Preferred
With that combination, you earn lots of points for every purchase. Do it right and you can earn hundreds of thousands of points a year.

 

[RoverJohn]

But trying to raise my credit limit on the card to pay for the big event at the Marriott - awful. And I have great credit.

 

[RoverJohn]

It really depends on how you want to use the points. Points are not created equal.
If you want to ultimately use them for airline travel, I'd say Sapphire is best.
Even then, the best way to use the points for airline travel is not straightforward - there are LOTS of ways to redeem. Some much better than others. PointsGuy has years of strategies to peruse.
If your goal is Marriott stays, then Bonvoy is better.

Personally, I think it is best to decide on one strategy and then maximize the heck out of it.
We chose to maximize on airline rewards, and for the route we primarily use (LAX-LIH), British Airways Avios is the best strategy.
As AMEX and Chase both allow transfer to that program, we maximize point earn using their cards:
Sapphire Reserve
Chase Freedom
Chase Freedom Unlimited
AMEX Gold
AMEX Everyday Preferred
With that combination, you earn lots of points for every purchase. Do it right and you can earn hundreds of thousands of points a year.

I love the effort and the focus you have. I'm listening and reading. I'm learning. I'm trying to mix in the American Express Bonvoy card to cover many bases.