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Over the past few days you may have noticed some blogs reporting a new 80,000 bonus for signing up for a Chase Marriott Rewards Premier credit card and, as one of the highest bonuses we’ve seen on this card, that offer probably looks very tempting. But you should ignore it.
The thing with credit card offers is that the small print can change from one offer to the next so you really need to be careful to make sure you’re getting the best deal. With this offer the small print is what you should really be focusing on.
To get the 80,000 points you need fulfil the following criteria:
- Spend $3,000 in the first 3 months of having the card
- Not already hold a Chase Marriott Reward Premier Card
- Not have received a bonus for a Chase Marriott Rewards Premier card in the last 24 months.
None of that is too tricky or unusual, so far so good. But what about any other bonuses?
Most importantly with this offer, the annual fee of $85 is not waived in the first year and you do not receive a free Category 1-4 certificate when you sign up.
So, when you compare this offer to the existing 70,000 points offer (no longer available) it starts to look a lot less enticing.
With the existing offer you may only get 70,000 Marriott Rewards points but take a look at the other details:
- The 70,000 bonus is achieved after a $2,000 spend in the first 3 months (rather than a $3,000 spend).
- You get a free Category 1-4 certificate as soon as you’re approved.
- The Annual fee of $85 is waived for the first year.
Full details and T&Cs are here.
With the new offer you’re effectively being given 10,000 more Marriott Rewards Points in exchange for the value of a Cat 1-4 certificate and $85.
How you feel about this offer will be completely dependent on how you value your Marriott Rewards points but, for most people, the new offer simply won’t be worth it.
A night at a Category 1-4 hotel is worth at least $85 (I’m being conservative!) so together with the annual fee that isn’t waived with the new offer, you’re effectively giving up $170 in exchange for 10,000 Marriott Rewards points – and therefore valuing the points at 1.7 cents/point.
I don’t know anyone who values Marriott Rewards Points at anything near that level – Personally I value them somewhere between 0.6 and 0.8 cents each.
The card itself is a good one to have if you’re a Marriott loyalist even if it’s not great for every-day-spending.
Benefits include:
- 5 Points for ever $1 spent at Marriott notes and resorts (includes Ritz-Carlton)
- 2 Points for every $1 spent for purchases directly with airlines, car rental agencies and restaurants.
- 1 Point per $1 spent everywhere else.
- 15 nights credit to Marriott Elite stays each year
- 1 Elite night credit for ever $3,000 spent
- A Category 1-5 certificate on the anniversary of the card
If you stay at Marriott’s regularly or if you’re a Marriott Vacation Club owner you should probably have this card in your wallet – the points build up quickly if you remember to room charge everything.
The moral to all this is simple: Just because a credit card company offers a high points bonus if you sign up for one of their cards, it doesn’t mean the offer is better than a previous, lesser-seeming, offer. Read the small print and see what, if any, differences you can spot. Then do the Math!
