Visa Premier bonuses - is it really mine to use?

[justnosy]

I upgraded my Visa to the black premier one knowing that I would not get the extra bonuses. When I called to do the upgrade the customer service person mentioned that I won't be getting the extras and I said it was ok and that I was aware of that.

Yesterday I got the golf certificate in the mail and when I checked my Marriott account I got the free night too! Not only that - they sent me 4 new cards and all of them have my existing account number.

So, are the bonuses really mine or should I call and tell Marriott that I wasn't suppose to receive those freebies?

 

[Bill4728]

When we opened our Marriott Visa CC, we got the bonuses even though we had an old Marriott visa CC.

IMHO, Keep them and enjoy.

 

[rsackett]

I think you should SEND THEM BACK!

Just mail them to me and I'll take care of them!

 

[justnosy]

yea! freebies!

Thanks! I'll go and enjoy my freebies...mine...all mine....

 

[davidvel]

I received all incentives when upgrading to Premier card from regular card as well as when I got the business card, although it stated you wouldn't.

 

[bafriend2]

Wow, what a lucky break. I didn't receive any of the perks when I upgraded to the black card except the golf cert and we're not golfers.

My advice is enjoy that free night !!!! Betty

 

[luv2vacation]

I also didn't receive ANY of the perks when we upgraded.

I even called and asked about the hotel cert. because I upgraded about 6 weeks before our annual anniversary date and was told, even though I had to pay the $65, I wasn't eligible for the cert until NEXT (year's) anniversary. This made me so mad I even thought about canceling and reapplying for it new but didn't want to go through the hassle as I use this card for EVERYTHING.

 

[Bill4728]

When this card came out in late 2006, the word was :

-If you apply for the new card without up grading your current card, you get all the perks
-If you up graded a current Marriott Visa you didn't get the perks.

But what is the real difference?? You keep your old number if you upgrade and nothing else.

I'm not sure why Marriott ever had this policy, maybe they changed it. Why would they want to piss off their loyal CC holders by not giving the perks now?

 

[hhoope01]

Actually, its Chase that would have changed the rules not Marriott. They pay Marriott for all the bonus points and free night certs. Marriott only issues them when Chase tells them to.

There are a couple of small issues that could cause someone to upgrade their accounts rather than apply for a new one. There will be a small credit rating hit for having a new line of credit. Also, having fewer cards for longer periods of time may help your credit rating as well. And upgrading an existing account will allow you to keep the original issuing date, rather than starting over. But overall, I tend to agree that for most, the guarantee of the bonuses outweighs the smaller credit issues.