Originally Posted by
B6Drvr
Hi,
I'm looking to get a new CC soon and am torn between the 2. I spend most of my time at Marriott hotels with work (usaf). I frequently travel each month and end up in Marriott hotels for the most part. With my family travels however, we end up using more Hilton stays. I'm torn between the 2 cards and want to know which card truly offers the most benefits per dollar spent. I would be using the CC as my primary card trying to rack up as many points as possible throughout the year. I understand with the Premier, I would get a nice free night voucher each year that would seem to offset the $65 card fee each year. As far as cons..it looks like there aren't many benefits for using the card for everyday purchases outside of Marriotts.
As for the Hilton, it offers 6 points per dollar spent on many everyday purchases (gas, groceries etc). 3 points for everything else.
Cons..it looks like it takes a lot of points to redeem a normal category room at most of their locations compared to the cost of just paying for the room. IE Embassy suit stays per night being 35,000 pts when I can pay only around $130 on average where I travel.
The more I look at the 2, the more I get confused. I like the SPG card, but never stay at any Starwoods chain hotels so I guess that is out of the question.
Thanks for any help you all can provide!
What I would do if I were you is to get the Marriott card to use for the Marriott hotels, and then get the 2% cashback Amex from Fidelity, and then use that cash for your Hilton stays.
And then get the PenFed gas card for 5% cash back on gas as a statement credit.
I've not found Hilton to be a good deal for their rewards, personally. I stick with Starwood and Marriott. Put most of my spending on the Starwood card (and redeeming them for 4% cash back essentially), and for my Marriott stays for work, I use the Marriott card.