Originally Posted by
MDtR-Chicago
The thing to watch out for is the hidden cost of that $3000 spend. If it's on charges that would earn 3x on the CSR, the UR points could be worth upwards of $150+. Depending on how you value Marriott points these days, maybe you'd only get back $50 of value on that same spend. When I did this analysis for myself, I realized I could do an overnight mattress run at the business Courtyard nearby on their weekend $80 rate and break even, whenever I actually needed the elite night.
More of a pain but something to keep in mind, especially if Chase brings back that targeted offer for 50k points to upgrade to the new Marriott card that doesn't give elite nights.
Yeah, all good points. I am looking at other options, but still going the credit card route for now. Partly because I have a long vacation in September where it's all AirBnb and boutique hotels. It's taking up valuable mattress run time this year
. I thought about the risk of not booking any Marriotts on the trip, but honestly we were able to book some really cool places, and that's worth more to me.