Just booked my free night with marriott credit card

[bigblue7722]

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@JAY305 wrote:

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@bigblue7722 wrote:

Im a big giants fan but they are having a bye week on my birthday this year. So i decied to go to see a pats game on my birthday. Used my free room so the wife and I could stay the night before. I saved about 220 bucks. I cant believe that every year now they are gonna give me a free cat 1-5 free night. So worth it. I highly reccomend the card to anyone!

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Interesting topic.  

I see that you also have the PRG card.  Do you run most of your spending through the Marriott card?  I considered getting the United Explorer card considering the 50K mileage bonus promo.  However, I had to ask myself was it really worth adding a new card?

Notably, when it comes to hotels, rental cars and airline tickets; I tend to be more price sensitive opposed to brand specific.  As such, I would never be loyal to a singular brand as I see little value.  Notably, most airlines, hotels and rental car companies sell their distressed inventory to wholesalers at bargain prices.  So the $175 room that I get from Marriott.com, I can pick up on Priceline.com for $100.  The savings spread out over a specified period really adds up.

Do you find any value in having the Marriott Rewards card vs. running all of your spending through the PRG which allows you to transfer points to multiple brands and or redeem for gift cards?

Recently, I took the family to Hawaii.  I got a really good deal on a Marriott property via. Priceline.  Thankfully, around the same time, AMEX was offering a great promo on Marriott Gift Cards.  So, I redeemed points for a gift card to pay for incidentels, parking, etc...

Your thoughts?

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I just got the PRG last week. I really dont plan on keeping it the AF is way out of wack. I just did it for the free hp and i always wanted to see my name on that card lol. I think the CSP is the best bang for your buck when it is with the freedom.  I have always been a fan of marriott and ritz carlton hotels so thats why i got the card. It is very worth the AF cause of the free night. 

[physignathus]

You just need to login to your mariott reward account online, book the hotel and choose rewards point. They will redirect you to your voucher and you can redeem it for your free night. 

[fot1]

Think this will be the card I go far once I am out of the garden..

[jm1991]

i have currently only spent 1 paid night at a marriot since getting the card and managed to rank up 97k already. I just fnisihed a 2day stay and will have over 100k after the points are added. i got most from bonus categories like dinning and plane/rentals. Theres a bar downtown thats part of marriott but not inside the hotel which is very nice with comparable prices to other bars so its a good place for drinks for me. Marriott also has promos for rentals with hertz often which gives you a 35% discount as well as 2k or 5k points depending on the length. I still have yet to use my free night voucher but will certainly make good use of it. 

[fot1]

Apped last night.. saw the 70k  points offer and jumped on it.. Going to Disneland next summer so think I can get most the hotel stay free..

[iCoop]

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@Closingracer99 wrote:

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@JAY305 wrote:

so your net savings is actually ~$115 after you factor in the annual fee.  

But your response is truly why I decided against the United card.  When I consider the cumulative savings from going with the cheapest airline; those savings far outweigh however many points that would be required to earn a free ticket on United.  

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I don't travel a lot and just 1 free night there is good enough for me to spend $85 a year for the card. 

The IHG card which has a $49 AF might be a better choice since you get a Free night there as well but with a lower AF 

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I went the IHG route for the lower AF but the ability to use the free night cert at any hotel they offer worldwide with no category limitation makes the $49 AF instantly worth their most expensive hotel.