Long-time Marriott Elite, first time questions
Sep 8, 2013, 6:59 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: GGG, DFW, IAH
Posts: 284
Long-time Marriott Elite, first time questions
I have greatly appreciated all the advice this community gave me over the years and tried to give back when I could. Now I'm travel situation has drastically changed I cannot find answers to some questions I face to I have to write a brand new post and ask for advice.
Short background: In the past I have extensively travelled on business (held various levels of Marriott Rewards Elite over the years, currently Platinum) and always had larger points inflow than outflow (both hotels and airlines). I have recently been accepted to the Executive MBA program that would involve a lot of travel on the personal account so I have to come up with the optimal strategy of using hotel points/airlines miles and cash (as the stack of the points and miles is not enough to cover all travel some cash will be necessarily involved).
Interestingly the most desired airline miles are United ones which seems to be a preferred partner of Marriott. That being said I would appreciate the advice:
- what are the best sources to get extra Marriott Rewards outside of hotel stays? I understand there are Chase credit cards any other interesting ideas?
- speaking about the Chase credit cards which provide 5 points on Marriott-branded hotel stays - does anyone know if that extends to marriott.com gift card purchases?
- what's the best overall value redemption? I'm looking at 5th night free and trying to compare it with the air+ 7 night hotel package? which one is better (for someone who is interested in airline miles but can live without them as well if enough value is created on the hotel redemption side)?
- what are the best practices on saving on hotel rooms paid with cash (granted there's a fairly good negotiated 'event' rate in the hotel) - my understanding though that even in this situation some savings could be achieved by going the gift cards route - any other good practices to be aware of?
Thanks for all the advice in advance,
Short background: In the past I have extensively travelled on business (held various levels of Marriott Rewards Elite over the years, currently Platinum) and always had larger points inflow than outflow (both hotels and airlines). I have recently been accepted to the Executive MBA program that would involve a lot of travel on the personal account so I have to come up with the optimal strategy of using hotel points/airlines miles and cash (as the stack of the points and miles is not enough to cover all travel some cash will be necessarily involved).
Interestingly the most desired airline miles are United ones which seems to be a preferred partner of Marriott. That being said I would appreciate the advice:
- what are the best sources to get extra Marriott Rewards outside of hotel stays? I understand there are Chase credit cards any other interesting ideas?
- speaking about the Chase credit cards which provide 5 points on Marriott-branded hotel stays - does anyone know if that extends to marriott.com gift card purchases?
- what's the best overall value redemption? I'm looking at 5th night free and trying to compare it with the air+ 7 night hotel package? which one is better (for someone who is interested in airline miles but can live without them as well if enough value is created on the hotel redemption side)?
- what are the best practices on saving on hotel rooms paid with cash (granted there's a fairly good negotiated 'event' rate in the hotel) - my understanding though that even in this situation some savings could be achieved by going the gift cards route - any other good practices to be aware of?
Thanks for all the advice in advance,
Sep 8, 2013, 7:30 pm
#2
Join Date: Feb 2006
Programs: HH Silver, MR Plat Prem & LT Plat, Hyatt Plat,SPG Plat, Hertz PC, National EE, UA 1K
Posts: 3,404
- what are the best sources to get extra Marriott Rewards outside of hotel stays? I understand there are Chase credit cards any other interesting ideas?
- speaking about the Chase credit cards which provide 5 points on Marriott-branded hotel stays - does anyone know if that extends to marriott.com gift card purchases?
- what's the best overall value redemption? I'm looking at 5th night free and trying to compare it with the air+ 7 night hotel package? which one is better (for someone who is interested in airline miles but can live without them as well if enough value is created on the hotel redemption side)?
- what are the best practices on saving on hotel rooms paid with cash (granted there's a fairly good negotiated 'event' rate in the hotel) - my understanding though that even in this situation some savings could be achieved by going the gift cards route - any other good practices to be aware of?
Thanks for all the advice in advance,
- speaking about the Chase credit cards which provide 5 points on Marriott-branded hotel stays - does anyone know if that extends to marriott.com gift card purchases?
- what's the best overall value redemption? I'm looking at 5th night free and trying to compare it with the air+ 7 night hotel package? which one is better (for someone who is interested in airline miles but can live without them as well if enough value is created on the hotel redemption side)?
- what are the best practices on saving on hotel rooms paid with cash (granted there's a fairly good negotiated 'event' rate in the hotel) - my understanding though that even in this situation some savings could be achieved by going the gift cards route - any other good practices to be aware of?
Thanks for all the advice in advance,
Hope I can help.
1-Chase Credit Card
2-Marriott gift cards DO earn 5pts/dollar. more on this later
3-Travel packages are the WAY to go! I use them all the time. Best value for me...but I usually am MR points rich, miles POOR. Turned in 3 X cat8 TP's for UA 2 weeks ago...the extra 10% is GREAT!
4-I have been frugal lately with spending...(once my company promoted me and I now get a bonus on travel budget savings-totally changed my habits
) That said...here is what I do...1, gift cards at 10% bonus with AMT (when available) or UA points. 2, book with topcashback for the rebate. 3,check out the "publicly available" codes...some have worked WELL . 4,LNF. Takes a little time, but this week I LNF'd a $189 down to >$110 in Hawaii! Poke around...MR makes LNF MUCH easier than SPG by far!!! I have had 8/11 accepted in past month.Good luck...let us know if you find anything else.
PS-boy did you miss the "good 'ole days" of topcashback on gift cards/free luggage on gift cards...
Sep 8, 2013, 7:43 pm
#3
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 6,790
Answers interlineated:
I have greatly appreciated all the advice this community gave me over the years and tried to give back when I could. Now I'm travel situation has drastically changed I cannot find answers to some questions I face to I have to write a brand new post and ask for advice.
Short background: In the past I have extensively travelled on business (held various levels of Marriott Rewards Elite over the years, currently Platinum) and always had larger points inflow than outflow (both hotels and airlines). I have recently been accepted to the Executive MBA program that would involve a lot of travel on the personal account so I have to come up with the optimal strategy of using hotel points/airlines miles and cash (as the stack of the points and miles is not enough to cover all travel some cash will be necessarily involved).
Interestingly the most desired airline miles are United ones which seems to be a preferred partner of Marriott. That being said I would appreciate the advice:
- what are the best sources to get extra Marriott Rewards outside of hotel stays? I understand there are Chase credit cards any other interesting ideas?
<A: Marriott has a number of special promotions during the year for extra points earned by stays or (more commonly) nights during the reward period. These bonus points can get as high as 50,000! Additionally, points can be purchased (supposedly limited to 50K per year) from Marriott. See also the comment in the question concerning Marriot Gift Cards.>
- speaking about the Chase credit cards which provide 5 points on Marriott-branded hotel stays - does anyone know if that extends to marriott.com gift card purchases?
<A: It does. You can get 5 points per dollar charged on the black Marriott VISA at marriott.com to purchase gift cards. Also, for the last few years toward the end of the year they've run a promotion where you can get a bonus of 10 points per dollar purchased up to a limit, usually 25,000 or 30,000 points for buying $2500 or $3000 in gift cards -- see mooper's thread on this forum. No guarantee, but you might look for it during the last calendar quarter.>
- what's the best overall value redemption? I'm looking at 5th night free and trying to compare it with the air+ 7 night hotel package? which one is better (for someone who is interested in airline miles but can live without them as well if enough value is created on the hotel redemption side)?
<A: It depends on what you're looking for, but many folks (yours truly included) really like the 7-night + air travel packages since you effectively get 20 air miles per dollar spent after you get the minimum if you're Platinum (you get 10 points per dollar spent at Marriotts, plus 50% Plat bonus, plus 5 points per dollar for charging it to the black Marriott VISA, so 20 points per dollar spent, and can get one air mile per point!).>
- what are the best practices on saving on hotel rooms paid with cash (granted there's a fairly good negotiated 'event' rate in the hotel) - my understanding though that even in this situation some savings could be achieved by going the gift cards route - any other good practices to be aware of?
<A: Cash should get you 10 points plus any elite bonus. If you can pay the "cash" via gift cards, and bought the gift cards using the black Marriott VISA, you'd get the extra 5 points per dollar when you bought the gift card. Couple this with the "10 points per dollar purchased" promotion mentioned above, and you have a nice haul.>
Thanks for all the advice in advance,
Short background: In the past I have extensively travelled on business (held various levels of Marriott Rewards Elite over the years, currently Platinum) and always had larger points inflow than outflow (both hotels and airlines). I have recently been accepted to the Executive MBA program that would involve a lot of travel on the personal account so I have to come up with the optimal strategy of using hotel points/airlines miles and cash (as the stack of the points and miles is not enough to cover all travel some cash will be necessarily involved).
Interestingly the most desired airline miles are United ones which seems to be a preferred partner of Marriott. That being said I would appreciate the advice:
- what are the best sources to get extra Marriott Rewards outside of hotel stays? I understand there are Chase credit cards any other interesting ideas?
<A: Marriott has a number of special promotions during the year for extra points earned by stays or (more commonly) nights during the reward period. These bonus points can get as high as 50,000! Additionally, points can be purchased (supposedly limited to 50K per year) from Marriott. See also the comment in the question concerning Marriot Gift Cards.>
- speaking about the Chase credit cards which provide 5 points on Marriott-branded hotel stays - does anyone know if that extends to marriott.com gift card purchases?
<A: It does. You can get 5 points per dollar charged on the black Marriott VISA at marriott.com to purchase gift cards. Also, for the last few years toward the end of the year they've run a promotion where you can get a bonus of 10 points per dollar purchased up to a limit, usually 25,000 or 30,000 points for buying $2500 or $3000 in gift cards -- see mooper's thread on this forum. No guarantee, but you might look for it during the last calendar quarter.>
- what's the best overall value redemption? I'm looking at 5th night free and trying to compare it with the air+ 7 night hotel package? which one is better (for someone who is interested in airline miles but can live without them as well if enough value is created on the hotel redemption side)?
<A: It depends on what you're looking for, but many folks (yours truly included) really like the 7-night + air travel packages since you effectively get 20 air miles per dollar spent after you get the minimum if you're Platinum (you get 10 points per dollar spent at Marriotts, plus 50% Plat bonus, plus 5 points per dollar for charging it to the black Marriott VISA, so 20 points per dollar spent, and can get one air mile per point!).>
- what are the best practices on saving on hotel rooms paid with cash (granted there's a fairly good negotiated 'event' rate in the hotel) - my understanding though that even in this situation some savings could be achieved by going the gift cards route - any other good practices to be aware of?
<A: Cash should get you 10 points plus any elite bonus. If you can pay the "cash" via gift cards, and bought the gift cards using the black Marriott VISA, you'd get the extra 5 points per dollar when you bought the gift card. Couple this with the "10 points per dollar purchased" promotion mentioned above, and you have a nice haul.>
Thanks for all the advice in advance,
Sep 8, 2013, 10:32 pm
#4
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Thailand
Programs: Marriott - P; HH - G; Hyatt - P; Avis - LT First
Posts: 5,023
IMO, the use of TPs over 5th night free is predicated on where I'm headed (and if I need another 120k UA miles).......ie. I'll use TPs when I want to fly C (from Bangkok) and stay for a week in Osaka (as I can travel to Nara, Himiji & Kyoto too), Paris, London, Rome which are all "worth" a full week, but when I go to Hong Kong (like I will on Wednesday) or Singapore later this year, I'll opt for the 5-nights as a week in these "city states" just isn't worth the time spent (probably because I return yearly)........
a few years back I opted for a TP and used my 7-nights at the Vienna Marriott.........found myself in Budapest paying for 2-nights as Vienna just was tooooo small to occupy me for a full week.......
so, do you need extra UA miles?? where do you plan to go for either 5 or 7-days?? in the end, these factors (to me) determine my usage (but I've got 700k UA/MR in reserve for future use and I travel monthly).......
a few years back I opted for a TP and used my 7-nights at the Vienna Marriott.........found myself in Budapest paying for 2-nights as Vienna just was tooooo small to occupy me for a full week.......
so, do you need extra UA miles?? where do you plan to go for either 5 or 7-days?? in the end, these factors (to me) determine my usage (but I've got 700k UA/MR in reserve for future use and I travel monthly).......
I have greatly appreciated all the advice this community gave me over the years and tried to give back when I could. Now I'm travel situation has drastically changed I cannot find answers to some questions I face to I have to write a brand new post and ask for advice.
Short background: In the past I have extensively travelled on business (held various levels of Marriott Rewards Elite over the years, currently Platinum) and always had larger points inflow than outflow (both hotels and airlines). I have recently been accepted to the Executive MBA program that would involve a lot of travel on the personal account so I have to come up with the optimal strategy of using hotel points/airlines miles and cash (as the stack of the points and miles is not enough to cover all travel some cash will be necessarily involved).
Interestingly the most desired airline miles are United ones which seems to be a preferred partner of Marriott. That being said I would appreciate the advice:
- what are the best sources to get extra Marriott Rewards outside of hotel stays? I understand there are Chase credit cards any other interesting ideas?
- speaking about the Chase credit cards which provide 5 points on Marriott-branded hotel stays - does anyone know if that extends to marriott.com gift card purchases?
- what's the best overall value redemption? I'm looking at 5th night free and trying to compare it with the air+ 7 night hotel package? which one is better (for someone who is interested in airline miles but can live without them as well if enough value is created on the hotel redemption side)?
- what are the best practices on saving on hotel rooms paid with cash (granted there's a fairly good negotiated 'event' rate in the hotel) - my understanding though that even in this situation some savings could be achieved by going the gift cards route - any other good practices to be aware of?
Thanks for all the advice in advance,
Short background: In the past I have extensively travelled on business (held various levels of Marriott Rewards Elite over the years, currently Platinum) and always had larger points inflow than outflow (both hotels and airlines). I have recently been accepted to the Executive MBA program that would involve a lot of travel on the personal account so I have to come up with the optimal strategy of using hotel points/airlines miles and cash (as the stack of the points and miles is not enough to cover all travel some cash will be necessarily involved).
Interestingly the most desired airline miles are United ones which seems to be a preferred partner of Marriott. That being said I would appreciate the advice:
- what are the best sources to get extra Marriott Rewards outside of hotel stays? I understand there are Chase credit cards any other interesting ideas?
- speaking about the Chase credit cards which provide 5 points on Marriott-branded hotel stays - does anyone know if that extends to marriott.com gift card purchases?
- what's the best overall value redemption? I'm looking at 5th night free and trying to compare it with the air+ 7 night hotel package? which one is better (for someone who is interested in airline miles but can live without them as well if enough value is created on the hotel redemption side)?
- what are the best practices on saving on hotel rooms paid with cash (granted there's a fairly good negotiated 'event' rate in the hotel) - my understanding though that even in this situation some savings could be achieved by going the gift cards route - any other good practices to be aware of?
Thanks for all the advice in advance,
Sep 9, 2013, 7:26 am
#5
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: BOS
Programs: Marriott, AAdvantage, United, Club Carlson
Posts: 1,687
You can also pick up any of the Chase non-marriott cards (Sapphire, Ink) and then transfer the bonus points to Marriott.
Sep 9, 2013, 1:20 pm
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Some place in this wonderful world (usually at 39,000 ft in seat 1C)
Programs: CO Gold Elite / NW Gold Elite
Posts: 13,747
- what are the best practices on saving on hotel rooms paid with cash (granted there's a fairly good negotiated 'event' rate in the hotel) - my understanding though that even in this situation some savings could be achieved by going the gift cards route - any other good practices to be aware of?
Thanks for all the advice in advance,
Thanks for all the advice in advance,
Sep 10, 2013, 10:05 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: GGG, DFW, IAH
Posts: 284
Thanks for the advice but I don't count too much on this route - the program has already negotiated pretty low rates with the hotel (e.g. in September $200 vs. at least $399 for the general public, in the winter difference is less pronounces but is still usually 30%+) so there's very limited if any negotiation room - I was more interested in the smart moves of squeezing as much as I can from the set rate (i.e. if gift cards could be purchases with a discount and/or added bonus and or getting as many points as possible on this fixed $200 spend)
Sep 10, 2013, 10:17 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: GGG, DFW, IAH
Posts: 284
On the other side though I'm pretty frugal (have been more than once in the parts of the world where finding a room that is warm enough to sleep with a single bathroom for the entire hotel is considered a blessing) so staying all 8 nights in Marriott is not a must (though very logistically convenient I should admit) - if it will save a good chunk of cash/points I don't oppose to scenarios of staying 5 nights in Marriott and 3 nights in the nearby Holiday Inn for example.
Sep 10, 2013, 10:42 pm
#9
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,369
5 or 7 days fit very nicely with 3 or 4 8-days long executive modules the program has - so using these would not be an issue at all.
On the other side though I'm pretty frugal (have been more than once in the parts of the world where finding a room that is warm enough to sleep with a single bathroom for the entire hotel is considered a blessing) so staying all 8 nights in Marriott is not a must (though very logistically convenient I should admit) - if it will save a good chunk of cash/points I don't oppose to scenarios of staying 5 nights in Marriott and 3 nights in the nearby Holiday Inn for example.
On the other side though I'm pretty frugal (have been more than once in the parts of the world where finding a room that is warm enough to sleep with a single bathroom for the entire hotel is considered a blessing) so staying all 8 nights in Marriott is not a must (though very logistically convenient I should admit) - if it will save a good chunk of cash/points I don't oppose to scenarios of staying 5 nights in Marriott and 3 nights in the nearby Holiday Inn for example.