topic Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa... in Credit Cards

For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 14:31:32 GMT

I have read in many places that the free night they give as a sign up bonus is rather worthless because you can't use it in most if the good Marriotts. Has that been true in your experiences?

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 15:06:49 GMT

I'd really love to know how the benefits compare to the IHG card as well. C'mon folks jump in here for me!

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

msbia — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 22:47:50 GMT

Edit. Never mind.

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Sharingan — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 15:51:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have read in many places that the free night they give as a sign up bonus is rather worthless because you can't use it in most if the good Marriotts. Has that been true in your experiences?

The sign up bonus is the tier 1-4 free night certificate along with 50-70K points usually. I had trouble using it, and even had to call to have it extended when I unfortunately let it expire in January. I had to settle for a tier 3 hotel about 30 miles from my destination in order to finally use it. It was a Courtyard Marriott, but it wasn't too bad. It obviously wasn't a Ritz Carlton; however, it was extremely clean and decked out with granite counters and nice amenities. I would certainly go back there again if I'm in the area. The free annual certificate permits up to tier 5, which is pretty decent.

I don't plan on keeping my Marriott card past my first year because the Hyatt card is a much better value in my opinion. The sign up bonus last summer for the Marriott was too good to pass up though. IHG is next on my list of cards to acquire. I don't think it will replace my Hyatt card as my go-to hotel card, however I'm still interested.

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 16:07:48 GMT

@Sharingan wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I have read in many places that the free night they give as a sign up bonus is rather worthless because you can't use it in most if the good Marriotts. Has that been true in your experiences?
The sign up bonus is the tier 1-4 free night certificate along with 50-70K points usually. I had trouble using it, and even had to call to have it extended when I unfortunately let it expire in January. I had to settle for a tier 3 hotel about 30 miles from my destination in order to finally use it. It was a Courtyard Marriott, but it wasn't too bad. It obviously wasn't a Ritz Carlton; however, it was extremely clean and decked out with granite counters and nice amenities. I would certainly go back there again if I'm in the area. The free annual certificate permits up to tier 5, which is pretty decent.

I don't plan on keeping my Marriott card past my first year because the Hyatt card is a much better value in my opinion. The sign up bonus last summer for the Marriott was too good to pass up though. IHG is next on my list of cards to acquire. I don't think it will replace my Hyatt card as my go-to hotel card, however I'm still interested.

Thanks for offering your thoughts! Can you tell me more about the Hyatt card? Why do you feel like its a better value?

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Sharingan — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 16:29:35 GMT

Sure! First, the Hyatt card comes with a very hefty sign up bonus if you know how to use it. 2 nights at the Park Hyatts in the Maldives, Paris, Tokyo, and other similar properties can easily exceed $1500-2000 USD. Also, the card comes with a free annual night (Category 1-4) as well and has a reasonable $75 AF.

Lastly, Hyatt points are typically around 1.8+ cents per point compared to the Marriott's paltry 0.4-1.0 (if you are lucky) cents per point value. If I ever need to transfer UR points for hotels, the Hyatt is a significantly better route to take, thus adding additional value and flexibility to my CSP.

It's a personal and preferential decision... Really though, it's hard to go wrong with the Marriott/IHG/Hyatt cards because the annual free night is usually able to easily compensate for the AF.

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Callandra — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 16:39:22 GMT

@Sharingan wrote:
Sure! First, the Hyatt card comes with a very hefty sign up bonus if you know how to use it. 2 nights at the Park Hyatts in the Maldives, Paris, Tokyo, and other similar properties can easily exceed $1500-2000 USD. Also, the card comes with a free annual night (Category 1-4) as well and has a reasonable $75 AF.

Lastly, Hyatt points are typically around 1.8+ cents per point compared to the Marriott's paltry 0.4-1.0 (if you are lucky) cents per point value. If I ever need to transfer UR points for hotels, the Hyatt is a significantly better route to take, thus adding additional value and flexibility to my CSP.

It's a personal and preferential decision... Really though, it's hard to go wrong with the Marriott/IHG/Hyatt cards because the annual free night is usually able to easily compensate for the AF.

+1 This. My parents have the Marriott Visa (they've had it since the 90s) and my Dad offered to let me and my fiance use some points and the redemptions were kind of awful. My mom said years ago the points were worth a lot more. Still, if the free night makes it worth it to you with the AF, probably still a good card to get.

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 16:41:24 GMT

Ok very insightful. Really appreciate your feedback. I just got a Freedom and SWA last month so I am just information gathering right now. But I'd like to try for one of the hotel cards eventually once my scores are a bit higher and I can show Chase a few months of good history. I'm trying to strategize to get a free or nearly free honeymoon with airline/UR/hotel points! :-)

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

ojefferyo — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 16:45:42 GMT

@Sharingan wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I have read in many places that the free night they give as a sign up bonus is rather worthless because you can't use it in most if the good Marriotts. Has that been true in your experiences?
The sign up bonus is the tier 1-4 free night certificate along with 50-70K points usually. I had trouble using it, and even had to call to have it extended when I unfortunately let it expire in January. I had to settle for a tier 3 hotel about 30 miles from my destination in order to finally use it. It was a Courtyard Marriott, but it wasn't too bad. It obviously wasn't a Ritz Carlton; however, it was extremely clean and decked out with granite counters and nice amenities. I would certainly go back there again if I'm in the area. The free annual certificate permits up to tier 5, which is pretty decent.

I don't plan on keeping my Marriott card past my first year because the Hyatt card is a much better value in my opinion. The sign up bonus last summer for the Marriott was too good to pass up though. IHG is next on my list of cards to acquire. I don't think it will replace my Hyatt card as my go-to hotel card, however I'm still interested.

Oh shoot!!! I let mine expire too. Who did you call to get it extended?

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Sharingan — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 16:54:45 GMT

I called the Marriott customer service number on the back of my card (not the Chase number) and they were able to extend it another 6 months or so. They are very friendly and effective anytime I have to call for anything.

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

ojefferyo — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 17:01:42 GMT

Thanks for the info.

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 17:43:45 GMT

I have a question..found a hotel use my free night at. How do I go about booking that?

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Sharingan — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:03:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have a question..found a hotel use my free night at. How do I go about booking that?

If it's for the Marriott, after you log into your account, go to book a hotel with points/rewards instead of cash. You will have the option to use your certificate instead of points if the room/location qualifies. The end of the booking will confirm if your certificate has been used.

Otherwise, the Marriott Rewards CSRs are more than happy to do the booking for you.

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

woodyman100 — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 20:44:34 GMT

I used my free night at a nice cat 4 on the Riverwalk in San Antonio.
The staff was rude and inattentive, but the hotel was nice.
I switched back to the Wyndham Garden next time we went

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 20:56:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have read in many places that the free night they give as a sign up bonus is rather worthless because you can't use it in most if the good Marriotts. Has that been true in your experiences?

Depends on how you define "good". Most of the luxury hotels of the brand are in the Cat 6+ range; even the mid-grade hotels like Residence Inn and Courtyard can be Cat 6 in a bigger city or more central location. The certificate that you pay for is for Cat 1-5. I got a Cat 1-4 certificate when I signed up a couple of years back, and they gave me a Cat 1-5 right before I cancelled (hee hee!). I used the Cat 1-4 on a TownePlace or something near the beach, and Cat 1-5 certificate was used at a Courtyard which would have been about $120. Technically the award I got was more than the AF would have been, but the difference was small enough and selection limited enough that I didn't find it worth it. Additionally, I probably wouldn't have actually picked that specific hotel to stay in for $120 if I were paying cash and would have opted to stay elsewhere, so to me the actual intrinsic value of the room was less (but that's completely subjective)

It depends on your travel habits. If you're like me, I either stay at an AirBNB or something budget (or camping in the summer), or something I consider really nice (in Marriott-speak, a JW or a Renaissance) depending on what kind of trip I'm on and what kind of deals are being offered. So I don't really pay to stay in mid-range places all that much (unless I'm on business in which case I'm not paying) and thus found little value in the Cat 1-5 certificate.

If you stay in a lot of Courtyard-level hotels (I am a big fan of Courtyard, not luxury necessarily but an excellent hotel) and you pay for them out of pocket, you might find it worthwhile. I am a bit brand loyal to Marriott, but this card just didn't add up for me (the signup bonus was nice though!)

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 22:36:10 GMT

@Sharingan..I think I'm just going to call the CSR's and have them do it for me. Do I just call the number on the back of the card?

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Sharingan — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 22:42:36 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Sharingan..I think I'm just going to call the CSR's and have them do it for me. Do I just call the number on the back of the card?

Yes, the number for Marriott on the back of the card. When I got my certificate extended, they offered to book the hotel and room right away in the call. I also think the CSRs have more flexibility in getting you a particular room or location if it's not available online.

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Anonymous — Sat, 06 Jun 2015 04:16:30 GMT

Sweet!

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

onstar — Sat, 06 Jun 2015 05:41:24 GMT

I had no issue using my signup free night certificate. I usually go to Residence Inn, and the one I wanted to go to in San Diego qualified. There are lots of Marriott properties in southern California that are tier 3 & 4, so it's easy to use here.

I prefer Marriott & IHG to Hyatt because Marriott & IHG have so many different brands and so many locations. There are over 4,000 Marriott locations worldwide and IHG has over 4,800, compared to just 587 for Hyatt.

Also, IHG is great because you can use the annual free night ANYWHERE, even the most exotic or the most expensive IHG property. But I still prefer the Marriott because I like the overall Marriott brand lineup better than the others.

Re: For those with the Marriott Rewards visa...

Anonymous — Sat, 06 Jun 2015 05:47:07 GMT

That's why I choose Marriott over Hyatt. There's way more Marriotts all over the world. Honestly..I see a lot of people using the two free nights and dumping the card. In the long run, I'll have way more issues finding a Hyatt than Marriott.