Originally Posted by
damon2
2. Apply for the
Marriott premier visa card (the black one, not the silver visa card) to get 20K bonus points, a cat 1-4 free night cert, 2 for 1 golf cert, 15 nights credit towards elite status and 5 points per $ spent at Marriotts, 2 per $ on air/dine/car and 1 point per $ on rest of the charges. The card has a $65 annual fee but the free night cert itself is worth it.
The base Marriott Signature Visa and the Marriott Business Visa both come with the same bonus points, free night cert and also have the 1st year free (i.e. no annual fee for the first year and $30 thereafter.) Note that both of these cards only receive 3 pts/$ spent at a Marriott and don't come with a free night cert on future years.
Also, depending on how many stays/nights you will have, you should also sign up for the currently Megabonus promo. You might be able to snag some decent bonus points from that as well.