Originally Posted by
tvetter01
+1
The annual stay cert is great, as are the 5 points/$ and the 15 elite nights, but I don't use the card for any normal spending.
Other rewards cards seem to give more bang for the buck for general spending. However, if you're transferring as many Marriott points to airline miles through the travel packages, it's basically the same as getting airline miles - which can be a decent return. A pretty good argument could be made that the 2 points/$ on restaurants and airlines is a pretty good reward rate.
+1
I plan to get the card after Jan 1, so those 15 elite nights will count in 2010 and help me retain the Gold status I'll earn by the end of 2009. I'll continue to use my UA Mileage Plus Platinum card for most other charges, since the double miles on UA / *A tickets, groceries, gasoline, restaurants, and home improvement stores really add up, and the EQM are invaluable to retaining UA status. But the Marriott Premier card offers double miles on car rentals, which the UA card does not. So I'll shift those charges and Marriott charges to the Marriott card.