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UPDATE: The changes to the Marriott co-brand card application rules are now live – full details in our updated post.
As reported by View from the Wing, new card restrictions/approvals will be in effect as of August 26, 2018, for those looking to pick up any Marriott Rewards or Starwood Preferred Guest co-branded credit cards from either Chase or American Express.
With the Marriott Rewards / Ritz-Carlton / Starwood Preferred Guest merger scheduled to happen on August 18, 2018, there is a ton going on with the program, and we're glad to have an update on what is happening with existing credit cards and the new cards that'll be offered. Simply put, well, it isn't simple. These rules impact all cards in the Marriott/SPG family including:
- Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
- Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
- Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card
- Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card
- Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card
Brief Summary of Updates
There are rules and restrictions in place for every scenario we can think of and here is a summary:
- These rules go into effect as of August 26, 2018
- All eligibility requirements will be validated by Marriott (Chase and American Express won't be confirming who has what card products)
- Assume all cards will be subject to their respective application rules (5/24 for Chase and Once per lifetime for Amex)
Cross-issuer rules include restrictions on welcome bonuses if you have or have had equivalent cards.
Our Take
Honestly, kudos to Marriott for getting this right. They've put out the information, and while it is complex, it is clear. The rules as we see it are logical. Just as the loyalty programs are integrating, so much the points-earning mechanism.
Yes, it is entirely different than the (lack of) integration in place with Citi/Barclays and their partnerships with American Airlines, but I think both Chase and American Express have a ton of skin in the game here and they want Marriott to play nice.
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Good to have some notice of this
Clear and upfront. Hey, good for them. At a minimum, that’s all we can ask.
Anyone wanting bonuses needs to sign up immediately as the new rules are very restrictive and really not the right thing to do. One banks card has nothing to do with another.
For sure. Hopefully we don’t have to complete our initial spend by the 26th though right… that’d be crazy?!?
I better get my SPG Amex now to not run the risk of not being accepted.
There is so much change going on with Marriott / SPG at the moment, its hard to keep up but thanks to these articles we feel more informed.
Marriott has learned from the mistakes of others. Glad for the notice, even if the news isn’t great.
Thanks for the notice
I once lived in a section of the country where its citizens said frequently, “Hang around for ten minutes and you can bet the weather will change. Again!” That kind of sums up the points/miles world I live in.
Need to keep on top of this. Thanks!
Good to know that they are being upfront about this.
Transparency is always good — even if the results aren’t great…
I assume (I hope) that as long as I have signed up before August 26 I’m not caught up in these rules even if my bonus doesn’t get finished before then?
Long time SPG Amex holder that signed up for the new Marriott in late June (to get the 100k bonus). I’ve got all the accounts open without an issue so just want to make sure I don’t have to finish my $5k spend by August 26 (rather have until late September).
Correct.
Great, thanks for the follow up!
Wow so complicated.
Sadly I’m missing out on the Ritz card.
These are restrictions on AMEX products. Are there corresponding restrictions on Marriott Chase cards?
These are restrictions on Chase and Amex -issued cards.
Oops – I missed the second chart. Sorry.
cannot wait to see the details.
Our plan all along was for the wife to retain the SPG card, and me to get a new Marriott card at some point netting us 2 ‘free night certs’ per year, so thankfully, the new restrictions won’t really affect our plans.
Restrictions are never good but it is a good thing that they told us the mechanics up front.
so complicated to even read. i rather not worry about applying and wondering if I am eligible or not.
It is great that everyone has advance notice that they need to act quickly.
Well it is disappointing that I won’t be eligible for the Marriott Cards since I have both the SPG personal and Business Amex. They were not a huge priority anyway. Ever since I discovered the benefits of the credit card points programs all cards that earned specific hotel or airline points became afterthoughts for me. Thanks for the succinct article on the topic.
How refreshing to be given notice.
Absolutely. I hope the banks read blogs like these so that they see how much customers value advance notice and transparency, even if the news is bad.
Thanks for the notice
Want the Amex luxury card! Sign up bonus rumored to be very nice… can’t wait.
harsh sign up restrictions. This may not play well if Marriott is aiming for a high sign up #.
Thanks for the heads up.
Ritz Carlton card seems to no longer be available
That appears to be the case.
Thankfully hubby and I have enough time to consider our approach to these cards.
Clearly they anticipate lots of sign up before and want to keep the multi bonus sign ups less after the merge.
Wonder how this will effect Chases bottom line with the all the sign ups. Since they seem to have had a hit from the Sapphire Reserve.
I see how getting these cards would be beneficial but I need to keep all my point earnings to Chase for a trip I’m planning. Sad I’ll be missing out. Oh well. I’m sure they’ll be more sign ups in the future.
I agree. I think a lot of cards took a hit from CSR. Now that the bonuses are more moderate, it may not be as big of a draw. Who knows?
This is quite complex. It looks as if this is another of your pages I will have to bookmark. Thank you for compiling all of this information.
Thanks, very clear and helpful.
Looking forward to the combined program. Prefer the Marriott brand but the Marriott VISA was discontinued in Canada.
really complicated….!!! but will figure it out and apply before the deadline…
thanks for the info.
I cancelled my Marriott card two years ago. I may just get another one after the merger of accounts since I’ll be lifetime Gold and will want to accumulate points to travel with. These details are useful in choosing.
Looks like everything is tightening up in anticipation of the official merging!
To be honest, I still don’t know what I’m going to do (but I do think the merger give a lot more hotel options)
I just canceled my SPG AMEX card. Hope it won’t affect my future application.
Glad to see this information being provided by the merged programs.