Marriott Canadian Owners Earn More Reward Points

[saturn28]

I have a Canadian Marriott Premier Rewards credit card that I use. When I use it to pay my maintenance fees, it is charged in US dollars then converted to Canadian. The conversion rate is approximately $1.42 Canadian to buy $1 US. That means for every $1000 spent on maintenance fees I get $1420 x 5 = 7100 Marriott Rewards Points instead of $5000 if the dollars were at par. All Canadian dollar Marriott Rewards visa cards base the rewards amount on Canadian dollars after the conversion into Canadian dollars. Then we get 5 times the points when it involves an expenditure at Marriott.

 

[jimf41]

So if I move to Canada does that mean I actually made money in the stock market the last two weeks?

 

[saturn28]

So if I move to Canada does that mean I actually made money in the stock market the last two weeks?

The Canadian dollar has been going down against the US dollar because we are considered a resource base economy. With the fall in the price per barrel for oil, our dollars has collapsed. So, if you live in Canada and get paid in US dollars you are getting richer.

 

[dioxide45]

I think most Canadians would take a dollar at par and save the $420 on a $1000 vs the extra 2100 Marriott Reward points they get from the current exchange rate environment. It isn't always easy to get $0.02 in value out of one MR point.

Though, it is always good to look on the positive side in a bad situation.

 

[saturn28]

I think most Canadians would take a dollar at par and save the $420 on a $1000 vs the extra 2100 Marriott Reward points they get from the current exchange rate environment. It isn't always easy to get $0.02 in value out of one MR point.

Though, it is always good to look on the positive side in a bad situation.

Exactly. In addition, our gas prices at the pump have dropped from $1.40 per litre to $0.85 per litre. There is always a bright side to the equation as long as you stay in Canada and keep a US dollar account buying US dollars when they are low.

 

[classiclincoln]

I think it's really due to the metric conversion....

 

[middleoforchid]

I have a Canadian Marriott Premier Rewards credit card that I use. When I use it to pay my maintenance fees, it is charged in US dollars then converted to Canadian. The conversion rate is approximately $1.42 Canadian to buy $1 US. That means for every $1000 spent on maintenance fees I get $1420 x 5 = 7100 Marriott Rewards Points instead of $5000 if the dollars were at par. All Canadian dollar Marriott Rewards visa cards base the rewards amount on Canadian dollars after the conversion into Canadian dollars. Then we get 5 times the points when it involves an expenditure at Marriott.

Hi,
I also opened a USD account in a US bank and deposited some money there when the CAD was almost at par w/usd a while ago. So I wrote a check to pay my maintenance fee instead of paying 40+ percent exchange rate just to get reward points! It is really not worth it.....

 

[Fasttr]

Hi,
I also opened a USD account in a US bank and deposited some money there when the CAD was almost at par w/usd a while ago. So I wrote a check to pay my maintenance fee instead of paying 40+ percent exchange rate just to get reward points! It is really not worth it.....

Very smart!!!

 

[Luvtoride]

Hi,
I also opened a USD account in a US bank and deposited some money there when the CAD was almost at par w/usd a while ago. So I wrote a check to pay my maintenance fee instead of paying 40+ percent exchange rate just to get reward points! It is really not worth it.....

Good thinking, Middle. I have many friends and colleagues in CANADA and most do maintain US dollar bank accounts to hedge for travel to the US. Most Canadians I know who do not, won't even think of vacationing in the US right now due to the low exchange rate.

Our thinking is it is going to get worse in 2016 and drop below .60/ CAD $ at some point during the year.

Good luck.

 

[pwrshift]

So if I move to Canada does that mean I actually made money in the stock market the last two weeks?

Probably not.

But you can save a ton of dollars if you vacation in Canada this year! $$$$$

Brian

 

[jimf41]

Probably not.

But you can save a ton of dollars if you vacation in Canada this year! $$$$$

Brian

I was thinking of cancelling out St Thomas next week but the hotels in Ontario wouldn't accept credit cards.

They only wanted cold, hard cash.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry I just couldn't help myself:rofl::hysterical:

 

[Powerguy]

Hey Jim. Glad to hear that you will be there again this year. I thought that you might go to Florida this February. St.Thomas is much more enjoyable swimming weather than Ontario in February. See you there next weekend.

 

[Mamianka]

Most Canadians I know who do not, won't even think of vacationing in the US right now due to the low exchange rate.

Our thinking is it is going to get worse in 2016 and drop below .60/ CAD $ at some point during the year.

Good luck.

The members of a professional education list to which I belong were sent a note form a colleague who teaches at the uni level in Canada. She reminded us that sending our students to Canada for COLLEGE is a great deal right now - if one of my NY kids decided to go to college on the West Coast, they would be further away from home than if they just went Due North, up the Thruway. Some colleges also offer first-year - or more- scholarships to attract good US kids, too. I am sure that there are minus sides - but for some folks, this just might work out. I had another student a few years back who was seriously considering going back to Uruguay for college - it worked for her! And years ago, I had a student from Colombia who was adopted by a French family living and working here in NY - and since the parents let all the kids choose new names upon adoption, she *now* had a VERY French-sounding name - she got a FAT scholarship from a uni in Quebec who said that being a dual French-US citizen, they were offering her this scholarship because they were eager to improve the spoken authentic French on campus. She said they were in for SOME SURPRISE when they heard rapid-fire Spanish . . . Meanwhile, I would rather spend my money on TRAVEL than see Morgan Stanley continue to feed it to the bears . . .

 

[jimf41]

Hey Jim. Glad to hear that you will be there again this year. I thought that you might go to Florida this February. St.Thomas is much more enjoyable swimming weather than Ontario in February. See you there next weekend.

See you there. Looks like good flying wx from the NE on Saturday.

 

[dioxide45]

I was talking with someone over on Disboards and they were indicating that a lot of Canadians are holding off on booking trips this year, hoping for some kind of promotion from Disney targeted at Canadians. I find Disney prices absurd at their current price, imaging taking on 40% to that price.

My parents are wanting to do a family reunion a trip to Orlando/Disney in 2018. They have two grandchildren that live in Alberta. I sure hope the CAD dollar has a better exchange rate for them by then.

I can get them the units at a decent price, but Disney tickets for 10 people sure could break the bank. At that point they will likely be $115 to get in to a park. In today's exchange rates that would be north of $150 a day. I don't know if they plan to buy multi day tickets or not. That would save money on per day prices, but would inflate their cost overall.

 

[Eli Mairs]

We stayed in a grand villa at OKW with our kids and grandkids in Oct./14.
They were offering a Canafian special rate of $200.00 for a four day pass- one different park per day. It was such a great deal that we saved our no expiry passes for a future trip.
We are repeating this trip in September with our family and hoping that a similar deal will be offered. Our dollar is much lower now than it was in 2014.

 

[am1]

The Canadian Universities on average will be much harder. Larger class sizes, less on campus housing.

The members of a professional education list to which I belong were sent a note form a colleague who teaches at the uni level in Canada. She reminded us that sending our students to Canada for COLLEGE is a great deal right now - if one of my NY kids decided to go to college on the West Coast, they would be further away from home than if they just went Due North, up the Thruway. Some colleges also offer first-year - or more- scholarships to attract good US kids, too. I am sure that there are minus sides - but for some folks, this just might work out. I had another student a few years back who was seriously considering going back to Uruguay for college - it worked for her! And years ago, I had a student from Colombia who was adopted by a French family living and working here in NY - and since the parents let all the kids choose new names upon adoption, she *now* had a VERY French-sounding name - she got a FAT scholarship from a uni in Quebec who said that being a dual French-US citizen, they were offering her this scholarship because they were eager to improve the spoken authentic French on campus. She said they were in for SOME SURPRISE when they heard rapid-fire Spanish . . . Meanwhile, I would rather spend my money on TRAVEL than see Morgan Stanley continue to feed it to the bears . . .

 

[am1]

Starwood works the same way. I am thinking of opening up a starwood CDN card for that reason and the sign up bonus.

I have a Canadian Marriott Premier Rewards credit card that I use. When I use it to pay my maintenance fees, it is charged in US dollars then converted to Canadian. The conversion rate is approximately $1.42 Canadian to buy $1 US. That means for every $1000 spent on maintenance fees I get $1420 x 5 = 7100 Marriott Rewards Points instead of $5000 if the dollars were at par. All Canadian dollar Marriott Rewards visa cards base the rewards amount on Canadian dollars after the conversion into Canadian dollars. Then we get 5 times the points when it involves an expenditure at Marriott.

 

[pwrshift]

Inflation will be a big problem in Canada this winter...this week cauliflower is $6.99 CDN as opposed to $1.99 last summer; iceberg lettuce small was $3.49; romaine was 2.39; asparagus $9.99; etc. as they come from USA now. Ouch.

Brian