I am about to sign up to Marriott rewards and it's asking me whether I want to earn points or miles. not sure if it's in 1:1 ratio (i.e. does a stay =x points = xm miles, or do they reduce miles somehow?)

I am thinking miles with United, but I am sure someone here has done the math

thanks for any thoughts!

Welcome to FlyerTalk.

I recommend going with the points. I think you can redeem them for airline points and it will probably be worth more than going by miles initially. Or better yet, you can redeem them for the travel packages (air + hotel).

Others may provide more details for those who have tried this. I have yet to use it for anything else besides free nights with the points.

Points

Points. That way you should be able to benefit from various promotions through the year to get extra points and you should consider getting a credit card that will increase the number of points you get.

First, welcome to FT. To find more info on Marriott Rewards, you might find the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...er-thread.html thread very helpful and informative.

Specific to your question, you can find some good points/miles info in the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...nts-miles.html thread.

I disagree with all the people saying "just earn points". It depends on the promo.

Currently, I would suggest starting with points, because that'll presumably allow you to sign up for the MegaBonus promo, where you'll get some free night certificates in addition to regaulr points. After you're done with that (ie, your first 6 stays), switch to miles, sgn up for the MegaMiles promo, and get triple miles starting with your second stay (second stay after you've switched to earning miles).

(But if you don't have a MegaBonus promo available to you in your Promoition Cental as a new member, switch right away to miles and see if you have the MegaMiles promo. Earning with a promo is more imprant than anything else, so figure out which promo or promos you qualify for first, and then making your "real" earning sleection based on that.)

The value of a free night cert after 2 stays is a lot more than the miles you earn in two stays, but you can only earn 3 free nigh certs. After that you're done with that promo, and once you are, the triple miles on earning miles directly beats earning only single points.

And just to clarify: You can change you earning preference between points and miles anytime and as often as you want. So you can sign up one way and then change it 5 minutes later and then change it back 10 minutes later! So don't worry about how you sign up...