Originally Posted by
Cledaybuck
Not if you have a lot of grocery/gas/restaurant spending. I also don't value Marriott points as highly, as I have never done a travel package and find the vast majority of hotel redemptions to be less than $.01/pt.
Yeah, if you're using Marriott points for anything *other* than Travel Packages, the math is a lot different. Then none of the Marriott/Starwood cards are worth it for general spend after August 1. A big part of the value prop of the Marriott Rewards program is based upon your ability to reach at least the 270,000 point (and probably 330-360k) mark on a fairly consistent basis. It's a much weaker program if you're a slow grinder. Starwood and Hyatt were always better programs if you liked quick, small awards on a regular basis.
As for grocery/gas/restaurant, I will confess that I've never really optimized around bonus categories. I have enough travel/restaurant spending that I should probably factor that in this summer as I overhaul what's in my wallet.