tomsam

I agree with craz that MYPTs is a good way to buy MR cards now - though it is limited. But over the last 2-3 months I have bought MR cards at a rate which equates (by my calculation) to about a 10% ROI.

Once you are signed up with Mypoints you generally get emails with the promo details when they are running the promos on the MR cards, or if you log on their website
https://shopping.mypoints.com/index....ravelcard.html

Details

* 450 Points will be posted to your account within 3-5 business days.
* 300 Bonus Points will be posted to your account within 30 days of your gift card purchase.
* Please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery
* Not responsible for lost or stolen cards
* Limit 2 cards per order
* Marriott® is not a sponsor or co-sponsor of this promotion

So right now, for instance, buying a $75 MR gift card nets you 750 mypoints points. You can cash in 12600 mypoints points for a $100 MR gift card - so if used toward marriott expenses, 1 mypoint point is worth about 0.8 cent.

So buying a $75 MR gift card gets you 750 mypoints points that is worth about $5.95 in future spend on Marriott. In addition if you use a mile-earning reward card for the purchase you get 75 miles - which if you use a rate of 1.5 cents per mile is worth about $1.12 in future mileage value. So on a spend of $75, you get (ignoring the fact that we're mixing units here) over $7 in ROI. That's better than what you get buying MR cards at Staples or using a MR chase credit card to pay your Marriott invoice.

The issue is that the opportunity is limited to when Mypoints runs promos and then usually limited to 2 x $75 MR gift cards.

But it costs us little to just pick up the cards when they are available through promos.

PM me if you have any questions. I would also be glad to refer anyone interested to Mypoints (I will earn some points if I refer you), or you can sign up with them directly.