Ready to sign up for Marriott Visa

Just signed up for Marriott Program (always used wife's member # and card)

Choice of:
30,000 pts, 2 free nights, (on sign up), Free first year, $45 thereafter OR
50,000pts, 1 free night (on sign up), Free first year, $85 therafter
Both porvide a free night each anniversary

Will keep wife's card, and probably pick $45 choice, as any Marriott is worth that and we do stay 20-40 nights of mixed lodgings a year. Not stayed in a 10,000 pt Marriott...seems when we stay it is 20,000 pts.

Any imput would be greatly apprecaited...just using our good credit in retirement to get what we can.

The free night certs are very likely Category 4. Whatever certs you get will likely have a six-month lifespan to them.

If you have good uses for the certs, then I'd consider the two signup offers roughly equal. I'd theoretically value 50,000 points + 1 free night greater than 30,000 points + 2 free nights since you obviously don't have to spend the points in six months, nor do you have to use them for single Category 4 nights.

But....if you do have a decent use in mind for the certs, it's probably not a big enough difference to worry about.

Are you sure the cards are otherwise identical? 5 pts/$ at Marriotts, one Category 5 Free Night on the anniversaries, etc. If everything else is equal, I'd opt for a lower annual fee over a higher one.

I'd guess that the OP is comparing the base card ($45/yr fee) with the Premier card ($85/yr fee). The main websites for each is not real clear, but if you click on the card details link, it will tell you if you get 5pts/$ spent at Marriotts or just 3 pts/$.

Based on that, I would guess, the real question is will you use either of the cards very much? If you will be staying at Marriotts and using this card, then the extra points your get per $ with the Premier card will probably be worth it. If your getting the card just for the sign-up bonus and then going to through it in the drawer and forget about it, then probaby the lower fee one is better (also I think the base card comes with the annual fee waived for the first year where the Premier card doesn't normally do that.)

I wasn't aware that they even marketed the older card anymore. That leads me to a question: did they actually add an anniversary free night certificate to that card? I held that card for many years and never received a free night cert. It was only when the $85 card rolled out that I started getting free night certs.

Its still around and can be found at Marriott Rewards Credit Card. But I don't think you earn a free night every year. But everything else seems to match up with what the OP stated.

I've never seen the Premier card advertised with a $45/yr fee, only the base card.

Over in MilesBuzz! there is a thread on the Marriott card with 70k + free night signup bonus.

Thany you...

I do not expect to actively use the card, at least not at this time. At $85 per year after the first free year, I would not even keep it to the renewal, when that fee would be required. At $45, after the first free year, I would likely keep it (inactive). Both provide an annual free night upon renewal.

The bonus points, to me, are worth 1 nt, per 20,000 pts. We find award stays at that level. We do not find award stays at 10,000pts. The higher level point stays (over 20,000) unusally come with parking fees and sometime resort fees (sometimes these apply, sometime not). A recent stay downtown San Diego, found us in a Residence Inn w/breakfast and free parking, even though we could have stayed in a more expensive Marriott, but paid $15-30 for parking and no included breakfast. Also many of our stays are in smaller markets, that do not have the Category 5 and above.

We have been happy with our HI (Priority Card), which we ended up getting 6 nights free for with the help of the special bonus codes provided on FT.

Looks like both cards will net me 3+- free nights for sign-up and the $45 card will give me the one night renewal night for $45 a year.

Is that how you see it?

We do stay at motels fairly often. Usually a trip once a year will be for 30 days with 18 or so different motels. Then we also make a few single night stays to visit my Mom, take a local overnight trip (without night driving) etc.

I could not find (even search) the 70,000 pt bonus card

I hope I don't sound like a broken record but just to repeat the caution: the $45 version of the card does not normally come with an anniversary free night. See hhoope's link above: that's the typical signup offer we usually see for the $45 card.

If you have a promotion that is promising that, keep a copy of the promotion...print it or save it on your hard drive because it might be gone a year from now when you need to reference it. Make sure you have the underlying promotion code attached to the offer. I can easily see something going wrong and the anniversary night *not* posting automatically like it does with the $85 card.

The upfront points and nights will probably post with no troubles at all. It's the anniversary free night certificate that I'd worry about most.

And I totally hear you on Priority Club: for a serial roadtripper, that's probably the best program out there in terms of having motels in places that Fairfield, Hampton, and 4Points don't. The newer HIX builds are typically pretty good. And they always have good (and stackable) promotions so you're always earning piles of bonus points.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...mier-visa.html

$45 card does NOT provide a free night on the anniversary. It give you 6 months to use your 2 free nights. You lose your bonus points if you do not keep the card for 6 months. TERMS




OFFER DETAILS:

30,000 BONUS POINTS: You will qualify for and receive your bonus after your first use of the card. First use includes using your account for purchases or balance transfers, or using any checks that access your account; cash advances are not included. After qualifying, please allow 6 to 8 weeks for bonus points to post to your Marriott Rewards� account. To be eligible for this bonus offer, account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment. This one-time bonus offer is valid only for first-time Marriott Rewards Credit Card Cardmembers with new accounts. Previous and existing Marriott Rewards Credit Card Cardmembers/accounts are not eligible for this bonus offer. If your account is not open for at least 6 months, Marriott and Chase reserve the right to deduct the bonus points from your Marriott Rewards account.

FREE NIGHT STAY: Marriott Rewards points needed for a standard reward free night range from 7,500 points for Category 1 hotels to 40,000 points for Category 8 hotels. Refer to MarriottRewards.com for all reward redemption values.

2 FREE NIGHT STAY E-CERTIFICATES: Please allow 6 to 8 weeks after account opening for your Free Night Stay E-Certificates to be automatically deposited into your Marriott Rewards Account. Free Night Stay E- Certificate is valid for hotels in categories 1-4. For participating category 1-4 locations, log on to MarriottRewards.com or call 800-321-7396. The E-Certificate must be redeemed within 6 months from date of issue. E-Certificates may not be transferred, extended beyond the expiration date, or re-credited for points. This one-time bonus offer is valid only for first-time Marriott Rewards Credit Card Cardmembers. Previous and existing Marriott Rewards Credit Card Cardmembers are not eligible for this bonus offer. Chase is not responsible for offer fulfillment.

CARDMEMBER BENEFITS: Certain restrictions, limitations, and exclusions apply. Once your account is opened, please see your Guide to Benefits for details.

EARNING POINTS: You will earn 3 points for each $1 of Net Purchases made at participating Marriott� locations. You will earn 1 point for each $1 of all other Net Purchases. ("Net Purchases" means purchases of goods and services made by you or any authorized user on your card account minus any returns or refunds.) You do not earn points on balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like charges such as travelers checks, foreign currency, and money orders, any checks that are used to access your card account, overdraft advances, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, or fees of any kind, including fees for products that protect or insure the balances of your card account. There is no maximum number of points that you can accumulate in the program. All Marriott Rewards terms and conditions apply. For details see MarriottRewards.com and Rewards Program Rules and Regulations, which will be mailed after your account is established.

AUTOMATIC ELITE STATUS: Please allow 6 to 8 weeks from account open date and account anniversary date every year for the 10 nights to be credited to your Marriott Rewards account. To qualify for the anniversary 10 nights Elite status credit, your account must be open and not in default on your account anniversary date. Only one Marriott Rewards Credit Card account per Rewards member (Rewards member must be the primary Cardmember on that account) is eligible for the 10 Nights Elite credit award. Chase is not responsible for offer fulfillment or the provision of or failure to provide the stated benefits and services.

ELITE NIGHT CREDIT: You will earn 1 Elite night credit for each $3,000 in net purchases. There is no limit to the number of Elite nights that you can earn. Please allow 6-8 weeks for Elite nights to be credited to your Marriott Rewards account from the last day of each calendar month you qualify. Purchases do not include balance transfers, any checks that are used to access your account, cash advances, cash-like charges such as travelers checks, foreign currency, money orders, overdraft advances, interest charges, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, or fees of any kind including fees for products that protect or insure the balance of your account. We have the right to determine which purchases qualify for this offer. We reserve the right to change or end this offer at any time. To qualify for the Elite nights, your account must be open and not in default at the time of processing and fulfillment. Chase is not responsible for offer fulfillment or the provision of or failure to provide the stated benefits and services.

MARRIOTT REWARDS� PROGRAM INFORMATION:


Points accrued and awards issued are subject to the terms and conditions of the Marriott Rewards program. Click here for complete terms and conditions of the Marriott Rewards program, including all redemption values, or refer to MarriottRewards.com. Terms and conditions of the Marriott Rewards program may be modified and services and benefits may be added or deleted at any time without notice to Cardmembers. Individuals whose request for a credit card are not approved will not be enrolled in the Marriott Rewards program through this offer, although existing Marriott Rewards memberships will not be affected. Additional authorized users will not be enrolled in the Marriott Rewards program as a result of this offer. Marriott Rewards points awarded through the use of the authorized user's card will only be credited to the Primary Cardmember's Marriott Rewards account.

Employees of Marriott International Inc. and the Ritz-Carlton� Hotel Company and their subsidiaries are not eligible to participate in Marriott Rewards, and are not eligible to earn points with the Marriott Rewards card.
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depends if you can use the free nights before expiration. How long you'll keep the card (savings from $45 fee, etc) and where you plan to use the free nights (domestic/intl)