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Chase is offering its Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card with a signup bonus of 75,000 after spending $3k in 3 months. If you meet all these requirements, you will end up with a significant amount of Marriott points. Let's take a look at the Marriott Rewards program, and what you can do with all of these points.
Apply Now: Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card
Here are Seven Ways to Get the Most Value from this Exceptional Marriott Offer:
1. Take a five-night vacation someplace warm. Marriott's award chart offers a night in a category 5 hotel for as little as 20,000 points per night at the PointSaver rate. Since this offer includes enough points for a four-night stay, and the Marriott Rewards program offers a fifth night free when you redeem four nights, you can use 80,000 points to stay for free for five nights! Examples of category 5 properties that offer you some sun during the winter include the SpringHill Suites Orlando at SeaWorld and the Miami Marriott's Villas at Doral.
2. Spend an amazing weekend in the city. Marriott's category 9 awards are for their most expensive properties, which start at 40,000 points per night at their PointSaver rate, and 45,000 for their normal rate. So this offer is essentially worth two nights at any property. Go crazy by considering properties like the San Francisco Marriott Fisherman's Wharf, the historic JW Marriott Essex House New York, or the Paris Marriott Champs Elysees Hotel.
3. Check out the Ritz-Carlton. While there are some luxury properties in the Marriott brand, the most opulent hotels are reserved for the Ritz-Carlton. 90,000 points is enough for three nights at the PointSaver rate of 30,000 points per night, or two nights at the standard rate of 40,000 points per night at any tier 2 property such as The Ritz-Carlton Denver, The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta, and even The Ritz-Carlton Moscow.
Move up to a Tier 3 property, and it's 40,000 points a night at the PointSaver rate. At that rate, you will have enough points for two nights in properties like The Ritz-Carlton Chicago, The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, and The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove Miami.
EDIT: see top travel cards here
4. Go with a Cash + Points option. If you are looking for a way to use your points to stay longer in a more luxurious hotel, Marriott Rewards offers cash plus points options. For example, you can book four nights in a category 7 hotel for a total of 140,000 points, or you can pay 84,000 points plus $360. And best of all, their Cash + Points options are still eligible for their fifth night free redemption offer. So consider five nights in properties like the JW Marriott Miami, the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa in Kona Hawaii, or even the Atlantis Hotel on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
5. $300 worth of dining or spa services. While this may not be the most valuable way to redeem your points, some people might like this option, especially when they are visiting a Marriott property and the rest of their stay is being paid for by their company or their client. You can redeem 59,000 points for a $200 charge to your room, and another 35,000 points for a $100 charge. And if you are able to redeem 100,000 points at once, you can get a $500 credit which goes a long way towards room service and a massage.
6. Upgrade yourself. One of the more efficient uses of Marriott Rewards points is for room upgrade awards, which are only 5,000 points each night. While this would give you 18 nights worth of upgrades, there are some kind of rooms that require multiple upgrades. For example, a standard award at a Marriott Vacation Club property is a deluxe guest room, and it can be upgraded to a 1 bedroom villa for a single upgrade certificate. Moving up to a 2 bedroom villa costs two upgrade certificates, 10,000 points per night, while a 3 bedroom villa is three upgrade certificates or 15,000 points per night. So you could use your 90,000 points to upgrade your standard room to a 3 bedroom villa at a Marriott Vacation Club for six nights.
7. Wait and see what happens in 2016. Last year, Marriott announced that it would be acquiring the Starwood brand in 2016. Starwood operates its Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty program which is considered to be one of the leading hotel rewards programs in the world. While the merger is not yet complete, and Marriott hasn't announced what it will be doing with the Starwood brand, it has said that it highly values the Starwood Preferred Guest program and its legions of raving fans. Therefore, some have speculated that it will be possible to convert Marriott Rewards points to Starwood points, although it's unlikely that the more valuable Starwood points could be acquired at a 1:1 ratio (also it may make sense to apply for the SPG card now if you haven't had it before, because it may be phased out). But even at a 2:1 or even a 3:1 ratio, 90,000 Marriott points would be incredibly valuable when converted to the Starwood program, where it could be redeemed at Starwood properties or transferred to frequent flier miles with over 30 different airlines. We should probably know how this merger will affect Marriott Rewards members later this year.
For your reference, below is Marriott's full award chart:
And it's also worth mentioning that Marriott has announced its 2016 category changes.
How the New Marriott Premier Offer Works
New Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card account holders earn 75,000 bonus points in the Marriott Rewards program after spending $3,000 on new purchases within three months of account opening. There is no charge to add an authorized user.
Cardholders receive five points per dollar spent at over 4,000 Marriott locations including The Ritz-Carlton. Double points are earned at rental car agencies and restaurants, and one point per dollar spent is earned on all other purchases.
Other benefits include an annual free night stay at a category 1-5 hotel each year at your account anniversary, and 15 nights towards elite status, which is enough to guarantee you Silver elite status each year. You also receive one credit toward Elite status for every $3,000 spent on purchases. There is an $85 annual fee for this card which is waived for the first year, and no foreign transaction fees imposed on purchases that are processed outside of the United States. As a Visa Signature card, you are entitled to a complimentary concierge service as well as numerous travel and shopping discounts.
Conclusion
The offer on the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card makes it easy to earn a nice haul of hotel points. We hope this post helps you understand how you can maximize your points if you've already, or are going to take advantage of this offer.
Apply Now: Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card
