CreditScholar wrote:
cassembler wrote:Anyone have this? (This is the black one, not the silver one). I applied for it over a year ago and was declined because none of my other revolving accounts had anywhere close to the CL (I had just two at 750 each), and this one apparently starts at $5k.
The $85 AF is offset by a free night /yr in a cat 1-5 hotel, plus I'd travel enough (on company dime) to make the 5 points per Marriott dollar worthwhile...
I'd like a good card to use for work travel as opposed to the rewardless Corporate Amex... Any thoughts?
There are only 2 reasons to get this card:
1. The annual free night (cat 1-5) more than offsets the annual fee, making this cost-neutral or better just to have.
2. If you're trying to achieve elite status. The card gives you immediate silver (15 nights per year), and then another 1 night for every 3k you spend. So if you spend 45k a year on the card, you only need to stay 20 nights/year to get gold. This isn't difficult to do at all, even for a moderate traveller.
Otherwise the CSP is much better in terms of earning power. If you go through Chase's UR portal, you'll get 5 ultimate rewards points per dollar at the Marriott (2 for travel + 3 bonus). When you factor in the 7% annual dividend, you're getting 5.35 transferrable UR points per dollar spent at the Marriott. You also get whatever Marriott points you'd normally accrue (10 points per dollar base plus elite bonuses).
For me, the best value has been to pay for my Marriott stays with my CSP. I get 12.5 Marriott points per dollar (gold elite), then I use the 5.35 UR points and transfer them to the Hyatt. 22k per night for a Category 6 (like the Park Hyatt Tokyo) can't be beat.
Excellent analysis. However, I'm required to book company travel through our own portal, so wouldn't get the UR bonus (except for personal travel, of course). I'm actually thinking about getting a good plain cash rewards card, but I do like the built-in perks of the travel cards... Oh well, I've got a few months to ponder 
CreditScholar wrote:If you pay using the Marriott rewards card, you'll be getting a minimum of 17 Marriott Rewards points per dollar spent (10 base + 2 for silver + 5 for the credit card). This should work even if you're booking through another portal, as long as the charge comes directly from Marriott and not a 3rd party (like Travelocity, Expedia, etc.).
Do you currently have or are pushing for Marriott Elite status?
Not so much worried about status, more interested in the points. The status is pretty easy to get for me. I do like the Marriott brand as well.
But let's do some math here... Let's assume a single night runs 10,000 points (for easy math), or $150. Basically, each point is worth $0.015? Thus, for each dollar (17 points), I'm effectively getting ~$0.26? Is my math right there, because if it is, I don't see a big advantage over a plain 1% cash back card (signing bonus/status perks aside). So if my math is right, that's effectively 25% cash back? (A restricted cash, to be sure).
Thoughts?
EDIT: Re-did some math
Your math is right, with one exception. 1.5 cpp is a bit high for Marriott Rewards unless you're redeeming in huge amounts for a travel package. I'd assume a decent redemption value is between 1-1.2 cpp. Marriott points are one up from the bottom when it comes to value per point (starwood ~2.3, hyatt ~1.7, Marriott ~1-1.2, Hilton <1). Regardless it should still equate to ~20% off.
cassembler wrote:
CreditScholar wrote:If you pay using the Marriott rewards card, you'll be getting a minimum of 17 Marriott Rewards points per dollar spent (10 base + 2 for silver + 5 for the credit card). This should work even if you're booking through another portal, as long as the charge comes directly from Marriott and not a 3rd party (like Travelocity, Expedia, etc.).
Do you currently have or are pushing for Marriott Elite status?
Not so much worried about status, more interested in the points. The status is pretty easy to get for me. I do like the Marriott brand as well.
But let's do some math here... Let's assume a single night runs 10,000 points (for easy math), or $150. Basically, each point is worth $0.015? Thus, for each dollar (17 points), I'm effectively getting ~$0.26?
Is my math right there, because if it is, I don't see a big advantage over a plain 1% cash back card (signing bonus/status perks aside).So if my math is right, that's effectively 25% cash back? (A restricted cash, to be sure).
Thoughts?
EDIT: Re-did some math
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