Status of Existing Marriott and Starwood Credit Cards + New Credit Cards Coming this Year!

UPDATE: All offers in this post are expired. 

With the future of the Marriott and Starwood program announcement, there are many questions in regards to their co-branded credit cards. What is happening to those that currently have the Marriott and/or Starwood credit card? Are you still able to apply for these credit cards? Are there any new credit cards available? Below is all the information you need to answer these questions!

Existing Marriott and Starwood Credit Cards

Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express

This card will eventually be discontinued, but is still available for new applicants. The welcome offer just changed and is no longer offering the standard 25,000 25,000 Starpoints. The offer is significantly worse – Earn a $100 statement credit after you make $1,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership, plus, earn an additional $100 statement credit after your first purchase on the card at a participating SPG or Marriott Rewards hotel within your first 6 months of Card Membership. The card still comes with a$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. Terms Apply. Those that have the card prior to it being discontinued will still be able to keep the card going forward.

The major changes to this card include:

• Pro:
  • Starting on August 1st, after every card member anniversary, you’ll receive a yearly free night certificate that you can use at any hotel that costs up to 35,000 points. Unfortunately, if your anniversary hits prior to August 1, you’ll need to wait until next year to get this free night.
  • Starting in 2019 you’ll receive 15 nights towards elite status. Unfortunately though you’ll only be able to earn a cap of 15 nights per account regardless of the number of credit cards you have that come with this benefit.
  • Staring on August 1st, the card will earn 6 points per dollar spent at Marriott and Starwood hotels
• Con:
  • Right now you earn 1 SPG point per dollar on everyday spend, which transfers over to 3 Marriott points. On August 1st when the program fully aligns, you’ll only earn 2 Marriott points per dollar spent.

Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express

This card will continue to be available for new applicants and is NOT being discontinued.The welcome offer just changed and is no longer offering the standard 25,000 25,000 Starpoints. The offer is significantly worse – Earn a $100 statement credit after you make $1,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership, plus, earn an additional $100 statement credit after your first purchase on the card at a participating SPG or Marriott Rewards hotel within your first 6 months of Card Membership. The card still comes with a$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. Terms Apply. Since this card is NOT being discontinued, I really really hope that we see the offer changed back to offer points later this year.

The major changes to this card include:

• Pro:
  • Starting on August 1st, after every card member anniversary, you’ll receive a yearly free night certificate that you can use at any hotel that costs up to 35,000 points. Unfortunately, if your anniversary hits prior to August 1, you’ll need to wait until next year to get this free night. 
  • Starting in 2019 you’ll receive 15 nights towards elite status. Unfortunately though you’ll only be able to earn a cap of 15 nights per account regardless of the number of credit cards you have that come with this benefit.
  • Staring on August 1st, the card will earn 6 points per dollar spent at Marriott and Starwood hotels.
  • Starting on August 1st, you will earn 4 points per dollar at US restaurants, US gas stations, and US wireless phone services.
• Con:
  • Right now you earn 1 SPG point per dollar on everyday spend, which transfers over to 3 Marriott points. On August 1st when the program fully aligns, you’ll only earn 2 Marriott points per dollar spent.
  • On August 1st, the free lounge access at Sheraton properties will be discontinued.

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card

While this card is still available for new applicants, it will eventually be discontinued. Existing card members will be able to keep this card but will be enticed to upgrade to the new card with an offer still to be determined. The current offer is for 75,000 Marriott points after spending $3,000 on the card within the first 3 months. The $85 annual fee is waived for the first year.

The major changes to this card include:

• Pro/Con:
  • Starting on August 1st, after every card member anniversary, you’ll receive a yearly free night certificate that you can use at any hotel that costs up to 25,000 points. This is replacing the category 5 free night certificate. If your anniversary is prior to August 1st then you’ll receive the category 5 night certificate, but if you anniversary is post August 1st, you’ll receive the up to 25,000 point free night certificate. Whether this is a pro/con depends on which categories all the hotels are placed into, which is still TBD.

This card will keep on the same perks and spend categories. This means that this card and the business version are the only two cards that will allow you to earn more then the 15 nights towards elite status. A current perk of this card is that for every $3,000 you spend on this card you’ll earn 1 elite night credit (with no maximum number of elite credits you can earn!). If that is important to you, I suggest applying for one of these two cards prior to it being discontinued. If that is not important, then applying for this card will exclude you from applying for the new offer with the new Chase Marriott card coming out this year. Remember, this card is subject to Chase’s “5/24” rule.

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Business Credit Card

While this card is still available for new applicants, it will eventually be discontinued. Existing card members will be able to keep this card. The current offer is for 75,000 Marriott points after spending $3,000 on the card within the first 3 months. The $99 annual fee is waived for the first year.

The major changes to this card include:

• Pro/Con:
  • Starting on August 1st, after every card member anniversary, you’ll receive a yearly free night certificate that you can use at any hotel that costs up to 25,000 points. This is replacing the category 5 free night certificate. If your anniversary is prior to August 1st then you’ll receive the category 5 night certificate, but if you anniversary is post August 1st, you’ll receive the up to 25,000 point free night certificate. Whether this is a pro/con depends on which categories all the hotels are placed into, which is still TBD.

This card will keep on the same perks and spend categories. This means that this card and the personal version are the only two cards that will allow you to earn more then the 15 nights towards elite status. A current perk of this card is that for every $3,000 you spend on this card you’ll earn 1 elite night credit (with no maximum number of elite credits you can earn!). If that is important to you, I suggest applying for one of these two cards prior to it being discontinued. Remember, this card is NOT subject to Chase’s “5/24” rule.

New Marriott and Starwood Credit Cards

Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury Credit Card from American Express

This is a brand new card that will be available in August after the two programs are combined. The sign up bonus has not yet been revealed, but I am going to guess a 100,000 point offer. The lower level cards come with a 75,000 point offer and since this card comes with a higher annual fee, I am going to guess (and hope) for a much better offer.

This card will come with a whopping $450 annual fee, but will have many perks to offset the fee. One benefit is that you’ll receive a $300 annual credit to use at Marriott and Starwood hotels, thus bringing the annual fee down to essentially $150. If you stay at these properties often, then receiving that credit should be easy. Now, if you typically use point for your hotel stays, the $300 credit can also be used on incidentals which includes anything that is put on your hotel bill, i.e., restaurants, activities, etc. Like all other premium cards, this card will also reimburse the $100 Global Entry fee every 4 years and come with Priority Pass lounge access.

This card will also give you easier access to earn status. You’ll automatically be given Gold status and if you spend $75,000 on the card within the calendar year you’ll receive Platinum status. You’ll also receive 15 elite night credits towards status, but remember that you’ll only be able to receive a maximum of 15 credits per account per year regardless of the number of cards you have that come with this benefit. You will also receive a free night upon every cardmember anniversary that can be used at a hotel that costs up to 50,000 points.

With this card you’ll earn 2 Marriott points per dollar spent on all purchases, 3 Marriott points per dollar spent on US airfare and US restaurants, and 6 Marriott points per dollar spent at Marriott and Starwood hotels.

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card 

This card will be available on May 5th and rumor has it that it will come with a 100,000 point bonus. This card will come with a $95 annual fee and will have slightly better benefits then the current Marriott credit card.

The main benefit of this card and the leg up it has on the current Marriott card is that you’ll receive a free night (starting on your cardmember anniversary) valid at a hotel that costs up to 35,000 points. The current card free night will only be offered at a hotel up to 25,000 points. This card will also give you 6 Marriott points per dollar spent at Marriott and Starwood hotels, where the current card is only 5 points per dollar spent.

This is going to be an extremely popular card, but if you are currently a current Chase Marriott Premier cardmember you will not be eligible. We’ve also been told that this card will be subject to Chase’s “5/24” rule.

Overall…

Overall, I am glad to see two new cards being introduced. This is always a great way to increase your point balance and they come with some good perks as well. I also like that all the cards will come with a free anniversary night which will essentially pay for the annual fee for most folks and hopefully give you an even better value. We are still waiting to see which hotels fall into which categories, so the value of those free nights is still to be determined, but should be a win overall. If you are interested in any of the existing cards I suggest applying sooner then later as they will be discontinued in the near future, although an exact date has not yet been given. I’ll be sure to post more information as it comes available!

Info about the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express has been collected independently by Deals We Like. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.