The Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card just announced their highest ever publicly available sign up offer! Earn 100,000 Bonus Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. While the minimum spend requirement is $2,000 more then it used to be, the sign up offer is 20,000 extra points! Keep in mind though that this card has a $85 annual fee that is not waived the first year. This is a limited time offer that will go through May 4, 2017.
This was actually my first points and miles credit card I opened right out of college and still have this card in my wallet! While I do not use it for regular spend, I keep it year after year due to the free night certificate benefit – more on the below!
- Key Link: Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card – Earn 100,00 Bonus Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $85 annual fee.
My Favorite Card Benefits
With the Premier card, you’ll get a free night annually that can be used at any category 1-5 hotel. This is one of the best perks of the card in my opinion. The certificate is good for 1 year from your card renewal date and I typically use my free night at a hotel that would cost me $150-$200/night. This covers the $85 annual fee plus more.
Additionally, the card comes with 15 nights a year towards status. This will guarantee you silver status, but can also help you earn Gold or Platinum. These 15 nights get added to your account when you apply for the card and then every 12 months thereafter. You can also earn 1 night towards status for every $3,000 spend on the card. If you are interested in credit cards that will help you towards status, make sure to check out this post.
The card (along with many other Chase cards) also come with travel insurance/reimbursement. I personally ONLY use a Chase credit card when booking my flights due to these benefits.
- Trip cancellation insurance — Reimbursement of non-refundable passenger fare due to covered cancellations and emergencies when tickets are purchased with your card (for both silver and premier card)
- Trip delay reimbursement — If your trip is delayed by more than 12 hours due to a covered event, you can be reimbursed for reasonable expenses, like meals and lodging (for both silver and premier card
My Take on the Marriott Premier Credit Card
As I mentioned above, I personally have had this card for the past 12 years. I was staying at Marriott hotels every.single.night of the week straight out of college (thank you consulting life style!) and it was a great card to use to get 5 points per dollar spent on all my stays. Even though I do not use the Marriott card often anymore (I had kids, I left the consulting life, my travel habits changed), it is still one that I keep in my wallet as I feel as though I get more out of this card than the $85 annual fee.
Also, getting 100,000 bonus points is a great deal! This is the highest offer I’ve ever seen for this card. The 100,000 points can get you two free nights at a top top top tier hotel, 5 consecutive free nights at a mid-level hotel since 5th night is free when you redeem points, or 14 free nights to use whenever you’d like at their lowest level hotels – or anything in between, whatever you desire! And if you enjoy traveling during off-peak times, you might even be able to snag a PointSavers Rewards which will allow your points to go further.
You can also redeem your Marriott points at Ritz-Carlton properties, although a free night requires way more points. While Ritz-Carlton properties can be very nice and fancy, I prefer to not redeem as many points for a free night and stay at Marriott properties.
And lastly, due to the Marriott/Starwood merger, you can transfer your Marriott points to Starwood at a 3:1 ratio. So the 100,000 bonus points earned (really 105,000 points after you factor in the points earned from meeting the minimum spend requirement) will get you 35,000 SPG points. Right now, there is a limited time offer for the Starwood credit card which allows you to earn the exact same 35,000 points with the same minimum spend requirement. I am happy to see that the card offers are now aligned.
The Marriott card is subject to Chase’s “5/24” rule and the Starwood card is limited to one sign up bonus in a lifetime. Since they both have some limitations, you are better off applying for the one you eligible for – or both!
Key Links:
- Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card – Earn 100,000 Bonus Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $85 annual fee.
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