Need help deciding between SPG Amex and Marriott Rewards Visa

[Anonymous]

Very soon I'll be making a business trip to NYC (Manhattan) where I'll be staying for a minimum of 2 weeks.  There's also a possibility that I'll be there longer, much longer, depending on if the client will let me work remote.  However long I stay, they're reimbursing for the hotel stay.  I still don't yet know what their per diem (preliminary puts it between 200 and 300 per day) is so a good Marriott hotel or a lesser expensive SPG hotel is likely in the mix.

I started by evaluating the Marriott Rewards card vs the Ritz and was able to determine the Ritz card wasn't really for my needs.  So that leaves the decision between SPG and Marriott even tho they're both the same company now.  I read how you can also connect your SPG account to your Marriott account (which I haven't done yet) and share points between the two at a 3:1 ratio.  The SPG card gives 2X rewards for Marriott stays which I think is 6 points total if transferred to the Marriott program.  That would compare to the Marriott card which provides 5 points for Marriott stays, making the SPG card seem more attractive from a points perspective.

Another consideration of mine was the lifetime status tiers.  It would appear at first glance that the Marriott Rewards program has an easier to achieve status since their program doesn't require maintaining a specific status for 5 or more consecutive years with SPG.  The two programs recognize each others status level which is awesome, but I can't tell if when transferring points from SPG to Marriott if those points count towards lifetime status.

I'm hoping there's some travellers out there who have been in my position and can help with the decision making.

[Anonymous]

Well first of all if you are <5/24 (which for the consumer version you have to be to get the mariott), you should be getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve, And chase sapphire preferred (as well as Ink preferred). Those all transfer to mariott and thats 230k points right there.

Also I see you have business cards, so definitely consider the amex spg for biz, 25k points, so thats 75k mariott right there.  Consumer SPG easy to get 30k.  And mariott biz is 80k and is not 5/24.

Fill up your 5/24 slots with the reserve first is your best choice (300 now off any travel, and 300 again in 2018) so dont let that 450 AF scare you. Can downgrade before you pay it a 2nd time.

I vote csp, ink preferred 80k, and mariott biz over the coming months. Then go to amex.

I am not sure status is worth it so much to me, but I think the mariott matching my spg gold from amex plat has been more helpful than say hhonors diamond matched from ihg.

You do realize that you could possibly get a package for 250k mariott points that would include a week at a category 1-5 hotel and 100k southwest rapid rewards with companion pass for 2017 and 2018?  You'd need to app soon and get the bonus posted by mid march and get this thing booked right away. I'd say it would need to be done very very quickly.  And still there are no guarantees you'd be able to find the 7 nights so just be aware it might fall through.

Marriott Hotel + Air packages cannot be booked online. To book a package you need to call 1-800-321-7396 and speak to a Marriott reservations agent.

Something worth noting here, if you don’t have all the points in your Marriott account and intend on transferring points from another program or performing a one-off transfer from a family member, you can still call and place your reservation on hold while you wait for the extra points to lodge in your account. If you find seven days of award availability in the hotel you want to redeem, don’t wait until everything has settled, get it booked immediately.