mr_right

So Jan 1st I found out I was going to stay in a Marriott for two weeks. I quickly went over to Flyertalk, looked for promotions, and all sorts of other good stuff.

I signed up to be a Marriott rewards member.

Then I got the Marriott Premier credit card. But thanks to FT, I was able to get the 50000 signing bonus instead of the normal 30000.

Then I signed up for that instant gold status in 90 days HSBC promotion. Boom, instant gold. Also thanks to FT.

Then I stayed in a Marriott for two weeks. Got a 25% bonus on points, giving me 20k points from my stay. Gold status was now extended for a year.

Then I found out there was a megabonus promotion that I missed (stay two times and pay with a Visa = 1 free night). I called and asked, and they gave me a free 20k points since I was a good customer.

I also signed up for the current megabonus promotion - stay two times in Feb-Apr and get a free night.

I'll be staying another two weeks in Feb, thus giving me another 20k points and a free night due to the megabonus.

Giving me a total of 50k points from card + 20k from first two week stay + 20k from second two week stay + 20k from calling customer service + 1 free night certificate from credit card for signing up + 1 free night for Feb megabonus stays.

I'll be using these for a 5 day stay in San Diego for free. Leaving me with 40k points, enough for 2 nights at a cat 4.

Pretty awesome, I have to say. ^

ljknecht570

Don't you love it when it works out that way! I swear I have a better time on my vacations more when the story turns out like that!

mr_right

Plus with my Discover More card I got 5% on rotating catagories, and used $20 of that reward to get a $40 dollar enterprise rent a car certificate (thus making the Discover More card a 10% cash back card). And our plane flight there will be paid for by Southwest credits.

Yeah, it's pretty awesome when you can do a good vacation for a cheap price.

SacTownGuy

Awesome!

b1513

Another addict in the works, I can see. ^

Bobette

mr_right

Yep!

I thought I was doing good when I got the Starwood Amex and Schwab Visa back in the day. But I strive for better rewards.

abhilife2001

+1..
Its feels lovely when things work out ^

travelexpert

Spectacular!

And welcome to FT.

Look forward to hearing about your lifetime Platinum!!

abhilife2001

Does this extension after staying for 2 weeks reflect in your account ??

mr_right

No, it still has the 26 nights till gold showing, but I called customer service when I finished my first stay and asked when it would expire, and was told the end of the year.

I was cool with that.

abhilife2001

hmmm..
since i am myself thinking of taking a gold / Platinum challenge and not this offer of 8 nights.. since i will easily make 12 nights also in the coming 3 months and hence don't wanna take the risk..

mr_right

I couldn't get a platinum challenge since I didn't have any history with Marriott before (yes, I did call about it). I think normally it's a 12 night challenge for gold (18 for platinum), so getting a 8 night challenge for a year of gold is much easier to get.

abhilife2001

I understand, but hv more than 18 days planned in the coming 2 months as of now, so this should not be a problem..
hv posted another thread to know about the validity of the membership.. if u hv any info on that kindly post about that.. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...taken-now.html

Btw.. since u have gold now ^ and its valid till next feb.. what happens after that if u hv not stayed 50 nights this year and even 15 (which is for silver) ? Does it change straight from gold to base level or is there a soft landing facility with Marriot ?

mr_right

That is a interesting other thread, talking about the challenge lasting until Feb 2013 instead of Feb 2012. From what I have read (and people, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), it seems that if you do a platinum challenge, it only lasts for 12 months once you do the 18 nights. I wonder if it was a typo in your letter. If not, that's really good.

About your question though, since I have the Marriott Premier card, I'll go back from Gold to Silver, since the card gives you 15 elite nights, and Silver status only requires 10 nights.

That Marriott Premier card is really good, the annual benefit is a free one night stay at a cat 1-5 hotel. Cat 5 hotels you can find in the big cities, and sometimes they cost around 200 bucks. Not bad at all for a $65 annual fee.

I don't think I'd use my Marriott card for anything other than staying at Marriotts though. I value each Marriott point as .88 of one cent to one cent, and I have the old Schwab Visa which gives me 2 cents per dollar spent. Cash is king there. But I'd still keep the Marriott card for the annual benefit, plus it gives me some variety on where to stay as opposed to just Starwood hotels.

Jadam

I signed up for the card straight from the Marriott site last night with the 30k points. Saw this and called Chase to see if I could change to the 50k points. They were less than helpful. Told me I could apply again if I'd like to even though they've already approved and processed my application.

Need to start doing my research before doing anything.