[ANALYSIS] Marriott Rewards
Since Chase Canada teamed up with Marriott Rewards with a 30,000 point sign up bonus (often up to 50,000) and first annual fee waived on its Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card, it would be appropriate to breakdown the Marriott Rewards program. Marriott products include a wide variety. Below are the earning ratios at the various hotels.
Earn 10 points per $1 spent at:
- Marriott Hotels & Resorts
- JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts
- Gaylord Hotels
- Renaissance Hotels
- Ritz-Carlton
- AC Hotels by Marriott
- Autograph Collection Hotels & Resorts
- EDITION Hotels
- Courtyard by Marriott
- Fairfield Inn by Marriott
- SpringHill Suites by Marriott
- Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI)
Earn 5 points per $1 spent at:
- Residence Inn by Marriott
- TownePlace Suites by Marriott
Earn 2.5 points per $1 spent at:
- Marriott Executive Apartments
- ExecuStay
Marriott Rewards is quite an extensive program so I will focus on a few key highlights.
The are over 250 ways to use points and no blackout dates. However, a major downside to the membership account is that points can be forfeited if there is not activity once every 24-months. If you have the credit card, you will not have to worry about anything. Otherwise, remember to keep your account active.
The reward chart for Marriott hotels begins at 7,500 points per night for Category 1 hotels (6,000 points with PointSavers). If you redeem 5 nights, your 5th night will be free. Reward nights go up to Category 9 at 45,000 points per night (40,000 points with PointSavers).
Ritz-Carlton hotels range from Category 1 at 30,000 points per night (20,000 with PointSavers) to a Category 5 at 70,000 points per night (60,000 with PointSavers).
They have three elite statuses, with a few highlights of the status:
Silver Status
- With 10 qualifying nights
- 20% bonus on points for stays
- Priority late checkout
Gold Status
- With 50 qualifying nights
- 25% bonus on points for stays
- Free Internet Access
- Complimentary Room Upgrade
- Guaranteed room type
- Continental breakfast, light snacks and beverages in the Lounge for members and one guest
- Free local phone and free local fax
- Discounted long-distance phone calls
- Hertz #1 Gold membership
Platinum Status
- With 75 qualifying nights
- 50% bonus on points for stays
- 48-Hour Guaranteed Availability
- RewardsPlus: Complimentary MileagePlus Premier Silver status
- Platinum During
- Guaranteed Platinum arrival gift
If you stay at Marriott hotels quite frequently (especially business travelers). Even for infrequent travelers, you can get some value just for hitting the 10 qualifying nights requirement a year.
If you manage to get the 50,000 sign up bonus on the Chase Visa with the first year annual fee waived (no brainer), you can potentially get a lot of value out of Marriott hotels. The 50,000 points sign up bonus can go a long if for example you spend 10,000 a night on Category 2 hotels. Your first 40,000 gets you 4 free nights and a 5th night for free. You will still have 10,000 points in your account. The elite statuses have a fair amount of perks that you can take advantage of.