Originally Posted by
frankhi
I absolutely agree with craz, that using marriott pts for airfare is not the best deal, its just one pt = one mile, no bonus. Plus, airline miles are so easy to get just by applying for CC. For example, get a usair master and a usair visa and you have 41000 miles, more than enough for a trip to HI. I like the european sampler 14eh, for 150000 pts you get a 3nt, and two 2 nts cat 7 cert for europe.
You are not considering the fact that Marriott points are upto 18 per $ spent at Marriott hotels and 2 per $ in some cases. You need to spend no more than $15k at FS Marriott's to get the 7 nights and 120,000 miles ^ I dont beleive this is beatable elsewhere. However, if you are not staying at Marriott - then other options are much better.