ch3ss

So I just started a new gig, and the job will be taking me all CONUS and some OCONUS to Alaska and Hawaii...

Matter of fact I am traveling to Hawaii in 3 weeks.

My client stays only in Marriotts and I use my SWA card for everything, including hotel says.

Do you guys suggest getting the Marriott Credit Card ? or is there another Card I can use to take advantage of ?

Thanks guys

sdsearch

I'm confused. You say your client stays in Marriott exclusively, but what about you? Will you be doing stays at Marriott paid by you?

The Marriott card will give you bonus points at signup, then after one year (and every year thereafter), when you pay the $85 annual fee, you'll get a cat 1-5 free night certificate. (Though I doubt you'll find many if any cat 5 or under hotels in Hawaii. )

If you're going to be staying a sigfnicant amount at Marriott (on paid stays credit to your account), the card will give you 15 elite night credits every year; that lowers the requirement for Gold from 50 to 35 nights. (Those 15 nights give you Silver status, but Marriott Silver status is a minimal as Hilton Silver status.) Plus for every $3000 of spend, it adds another 1 elite night credit.

ch3ss

SD: yeah sorry lol....I will be staying wherever he stays....its reimbursed so that's always a positive....

Just trying to figure out if the sapphire is a better card to use the the MR.


Trying to determine what's the best card for me traveling while staying at Marriotts and using Hertz )

mrsyeltzin

I would use another CC unless you highly value Marriott rewards. You'll get credit for stays and points based on that, so you'll be elite and have enough Marriott points for redemptions anyway, so why not get extra, flexible points from a CSP, Citi ThankYou card, or bank miles on your Southwest Card?

The Citi ThankYou Preferred gives 3x points on travel, so that would be a significant bonus.

ch3ss

Yeah.. I did that all last year with my SWA card and used that everywhere I went... I ended up making CP which was rather nice... I have the ALP with 100% bonus now for the whole year which is another perk.

I have to renew my NFL tickets which are 6k here in the next couple months so I was looking for more bang for my buck... I wasnt sure if the MR card was even worth it these days :|

LondonElite

For those of us not up to date on all the current acronyms, what is CONUS/OCONUS?

radium_mask

contiguous United States / outside contiguous United States

LondonElite

Thank you..

ch3ss

oops sorry London Yup what radium said... CONUS is basically domestic US, OCONUS is anywhere outside the US including Alaska and Hawaii

sdsearch

Well, it depends how often you'll stay at Marriott family hotels, and what's most important to you at Hertz.

The Marriott card gives 5 points per dollar spent at Marriott family hotels, 2 points per dollar spent on a couple categories including restaurants, and 1 point per dollar spent on everything else.

I use my Marriott card only for Marriott family hotel stays (because of the 5 points per dollar spent there), plus overseas (since it is the only Visa I have with 0% forex) at restaurants or wherever MC is not accepted (since my other 0% forex cards are all MCs). If you'll be earning Marriott points on the stays themselves anyway, this will combine with those (and boost them by 50% or so).

I use a card (that's not currently available for new applicants) at Hertz (and other rental agencies) which gives excellent collision/theft protection on rentals. On car rentals, I care more about that than what I earn on the card, but then all my car rentals are purely personal. Whether this is important to you may depend on whether you need that, or whether your Hertz rentals will be reimbursed and you'll be allowed to add on "full coverage" with Hertz (and that "full coverage" will be reimbursed). In the latter case, you wouldn't need any credit card collision/theft protection, and you could use whatever card earned you the best rewards for car rentals. (If all your car rentals are domestic, you could also use your own car insurance, but in case you have any non-USA car rentals, your own car insurance probably doesn't cover you for those.)