Ritz-Carlton hotel stays are not considered “Marriott participating properties worldwide” for earning 5 points per $1 with Marriott Rewards Premier Visa credit card. Ritz-Carlton hotel spend registers as ‘other purchases’ and only earns 1 Marriott Rewards point per dollar.

A January 2011 post from a thread in Marriott Rewards Insiders states Marriott Rewards is working with JP Morgan Chase to get a better deal for Marriott Rewards Visa card spend at Ritz-Carlton Hotels. (Note: You need to register with Marriott Rewards Insiders to read forum threads.)

I guess the bank hasn’t budged since this earning rate hasn’t changed in 2011.

Read More…

This week Hyatt Visa added a card member anniversary benefit of one free night at a category 1 to 4 hotel. A common complaint about the Hyatt Visa card since it launched in late 2010 was the lack of any incentive to retain the card after receiving the high value enrollment bonus offer for two free nights at any Hyatt worldwide. This new benefit remedies that complaint to a large degree.

Hyatt Gold Passport has hotels assigned to categories 1 through 6. Category 5 and 6 are relatively small number of hotels, but these are typically the best of the best and include many of the Hyatt resort hotels. The enrollment bonus of two free nights at any Hyatt is still the premier feature of the Hyatt card.

Benefits of Hyatt Visa

• Enrollment Bonus = 2 free nights at any Hyatt to be used within one year (all new cardmembers)
• Enrollment Bonus for current Hyatt Platinum elites = 2 free nights + 2 suite upgrade certificates for use on paid stays.
• Enrollment Bonus for current Hyatt Diamond elites = 2 suite upgrade free nights with the exception of Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, Park Hyatt Sydney, Hyatt Regency Kyoto and Hyatt Regency Paris Madeleine that do not participate in confirmed suite upgrades.
• Earning rate = 3 points per dollar at Hyatt,
• 1 point per dollar for other transactions.
• No foreign exchange fees.
• complimentary Platinum elite status while a Hyatt Card member.

Which Hotel Credit Card is Best?

Hyatt ranks as one of the best hotel credit cards for persons who do not charge tens of thousands of dollars to a credit card. Ben Schlappig, Lucky at One Mile at a Time recently ranked best hotel credit cards and placed Starwood Preferred Guest American Express as his top pick followed by Hilton HHonors Surpass. The Points Guy surveyed hotel credit cards last week and based his analysis on $30,000 in credit card spend.

I see $30,000 on a credit card and think that might happen in five to eight years with my spend pattern. I could care less about SPG Gold elite after spending $30,000 in a year on the SPG American Express. I have been SPG Platinum for nearly a decade and rarely spend more than $3,000 a year at Starwood Hotels. Earning SPG Gold from hotel stays is something I can achieve for under $1,000 annually.

HHonors Surpass Diamond for $40,000 in credit card spend is an elite status I also held for many years with under $3,000 in spend per year at Hilton brand hotels. That is a more attainable route to HHonors elite for me.

5-Star Living on a 2-star Budget

For the low spender there is little benefit to the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express card despite it being exuberantly touted across the blog world.  Sure the SPG AmEx card currently has a 30,000 points enrollment bonus. Read the fine print and the actual enrollment bonus is 10,000 points with an additional 20,000 points for charging $4,500 in the first three months.

The SPG AmEx does not confer instant elite status which is a standard benefit for most hotel credit cards. You have to spend $30,000 a year on the SPG AmEx to receive complimentary SPG Gold elite.

Complimentary Elite with Hotel Credit Cards

• Hilton HHonors No fee Visa or no fee American Express = Silver 15% bonus points (normally requires 4 stays or 10 nights).
• Hyatt Visa = Platinum 15% bonus points (normally requires 5 stays or 15 nights in a calendar year).
• IHG Priority Club = Gold 10% bonus points (normally requires 15 nights or earn 20,000 points or pay $50 in a calendar year).
• Marriott Visa (Signature or Premier) = Silver 20% bonus points (normally requires 10 nights in a calendar year).

Low Credit Card Value for Low Spenders

SPG American Express is a popular card for the versatility of Starpoints conversion into airline miles at the rate of 1 point = 1 mile for about two dozen airlines. I argue this is a minor benefit for a person charging less than $5,000 per year on a credit card. The points-to-miles exchange feature of SPG is a great program benefit, but there is no need to have the SPG AmEx for that benefit.

SPG has a minimum transfer requirement of 2,500 points for SPG members without Gold or Platinum elite status when exchanging points-to-miles. At the rate of 1 point earned per dollar charged to the SPG American Express (2 points/$1 for Starwood Hotel charges), the low spending consumer needs $2,500 in spend to make the minimum transfer of Starpoints to miles.

Earning 20,000 points for airline miles with a 25% bonus (20,000 Starpoints = 25,000 miles) may be a goal that takes years of credit card spending to reach. In contrast to credit card spend,  I estimate I earn  about 50,000 Starpoints per year with $2,000 in hotel stays and often I earn the equivalent of many more points through SPG free night promotions.

Even though the SPG AmEx has one of the best earning rates in terms of point value per dollar charged to the credit card, the card member charging less than $5,000 per year is not getting that much benefit compared to the value of points in other hotel credit cards after spending $5,000.

$5,000 = 5,000 Starpoints = about $125 to $200 in hotel value when used for a Category 2 hotel night (3,000 Fri/Sat or 4,000 points weekday.) Use 4,800 points for Cash & Points Category 5 hotel with $90 cash and the value might be $200+ in savings for a $300 a night Starwood Hotel.

$5,000 = 5,000 Starpoints = 5,000 frequent flier miles = $50 to $100 value.

Best Credit Cards for Low Spenders Offer Annual Free Night

Priority Club Visa = 1 free night every anniversary year good for any IHG hotel globally. 30,000 to 80,000 points enrollment bonus has been offered in past year. I received the 80,000 points offer several times.

Hyatt Visa = 1 free night every year for a category 1-4 hotel. Enrollment bonus is two free nights at any Hyatt.

Marriott Rewards Premier = one free night every year for a category 1 to category 5 hotel. Enrollment bonus is a certificate good for just category 1 to 4 hotels and 50,000 bonus points which are sufficient for any top-tier category 8 Marriott globally and almost any Ritz-Carlton Hotel. One drawback of the free night certificates compared to Hyatt and Priority Club is a six month expiration after certificate is issued.

The value of a free night is worth more than the annual fee for these three hotel credit cards. There is no requirement to be a big spender to get good value from the Priority Club Visa, Hyatt Visa or Marriott Premier Visa cards. The fact that the earn rate in hotel points for general spend categories with these three cards is less than the value of general spend points for the Hilton American Express Surpass or HHonors no fee cards and the SPG American Express card is not a significant factor for a person who spends less than $5,000 per year on a credit card.

Comparing credit cards based on $3,000 in hotel spend annually

• HHonors Surpass = $3,000 x 9 points = 27,000 HHonors points (one category 3 hotel night)
• SPG American Express = $3,000 x 2 points = 6,000 Starpoints (two category 2 weekend nights or two category 3 Cash & Points nights).
• Hyatt Visa = $3,000 x 3 points = 9,000 points (one category 2 night).
• Priority Club Visa = $3,000 x 5 points = 15,000 points (one Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express night or 3 PointBreaks nights)
• Marriott Premier Visa = $3,000 x 5 points = 15,000 points (one category 3 night).

There really is very little difference in the value of points based on $3,000 of hotel spend on the hotel chain’s cobranded credit card. It is hard to argue any of these point values are significantly better than another in terms of the value of the free night earned from credit card spend.

Comparing credit cards based on $5,000 annual spend in general categories

• HHonors Surpass or no-fee AmEx = $5,000 x 6 points (cable, wireless, internet, gas, groceries, drugstores = 30,000 HHonors points (one category 4 hotel night, about $150 to $200 value).
• SPG American Express = $5,000 x 1 points = 5,000 Starpoints (one category-5 Cash & Points nights, about $200 value).
• Hyatt Visa = $5,000 x 1 points = 5,000 points (one category 1 hotel night, about $100 to $150 value).
• Priority Club Visa = $5,000 x 2 points (gas, groceries, dining) = 10,000 points (2 PointBreaks nights or Points & Cash, about $100 to $200 value).
• Marriott Premier Visa = $5,000 x 2 points (airline, dining, rental car) = 10,000 points (one category 2 night or category 3 PointSavers, about $100 to $150 value).

Final Word: There are some great value credit cards for the low spender. Hyatt Visa ($75), Priority Club Visa ($49) and Marriott Premier Visa ($85) are three cards that provide a high value annual free night incentive that more than pays for the credit card annual fee. Big spenders may find great value in SPG and Hilton HHonors American Express, but these three Visa hotel co-branded credit cards will give you a hotel free night value every year for a small fee.

Marriott has a limited time offer giving 10 points per $1 for Marriott gift card purchases made between October 25 and December 31, 2010. Members may earn up to 25,000 bonus points for $2,500 in gift card purchases.

Marriott gift cards have a minimum $50 purchase level and maximum $9,999 per gift card.

This offer is essentially double points for Marriott hotel stays since the Marriott Rewards member earns 10 points per dollar for gift card purchase, as well as the regular 10 points per dollar when paying for Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Autograph Collection and SpringHill Suites hotel stays using the Marriott gift card. Marriott hotel brands Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites earn 5 base points per dollar for hotel stays.

Another feature of the Marriott gift cards is they work as a Visa card for Marriott promotions like the current MegaBonus requiring Visa card payment to earn two free nights after four hotel stays by January 15, 2011.

Marriott Rewards Gift Card Offer Terms and Conditions

To earn points, you simply add your Marriott Rewards number at check-out.

Offer valid on purchases of GiftCards and Certificates made online at gifts.marriott.com and Marriott reservations from October 25 – December 31, 2010. Offer not valid on Marriott GiftCards and/or Certificates purchased via other channels (IE: cards purchased at a hotel or third party channels.) Marriott Rewards members earn 10 point per dollar for each GiftCard and/or Certificate purchase made online at gifts.marriott.com. Points are earned on card and certificate value only and not on shipping or packaging. A maximum of 25,000 Marriott Rewards Points may be earned per member. Points will be posted to your Marriott Rewards account within six weeks after the promotion ends on December 31, 2010. Marriott reserves the right cancel this promotion at any time without notice. For all other terms and conditions of Marriott Rewards membership, visit marriottrewards.com.

https://gifts.marriott.com/promo_terms.aspx

TMTravelWorld blog directs you to a FatWallet.com link for 2.5% cash back on the cost of Marriott gift cards. This is not considered a third-party channel since the FatWallet.com link directs the purchase back through gifts.marriott.com.

20 bonus points per £ for Marriott UK gift card purchases

There is an additional offer through the Marriott UK site for 20 bonus points per GBP gift card purchases. This offer also has a 25,000 bonus points limit. You can earn bonuses through both the U.S. purchase site and the U.K. purchase site.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:

Getting a cash equivalent value of more than $10 per 1,000 points is common with Marriott Rewards hotel nights using points. Many upper upscale hotels are available for 20,000 or 25,000 points when the nightly rate can be $300+ per night. Even more common are 15,000 point Category-3 Marriott brand hotels with room rates over $150 per night.

• Buy $2,500 in Marriott gift cards.
• Earn 25,000 bonus points for purchase.

Assume 25,000 points can be redeemed for $250 as Marriott hotel night reward. There are many opportunities to get this cash equivalent value by redeeming points rather than pay for the hotel room.

You earn an additional 10% savings through the cash equivalent value of points earned on your overall Marriott hotel spend when buying gift cards. You also can receive 2.5% cash back by purchasing Marriott gift cards through FatWallet.com.

$2,500 in Marriott hotel spend can reasonably earn an additional 75,000 points with recurring promotions like Marriott MegaBonus or perhaps another $500 to $600 in Marriott hotel credit through Marriott’s frequent Bonus Bucks promotions offering $25 to $100 future hotel stay credit.

Three situations using these cards: 

Situation 1:

Marriott Rewards frequent guest on the cheap stays 25 times on $100 per night hotel stays averaging one-night. This Marriott Rewards member earns 25,000 base points from the hotel stays, at least 7,500 elite bonus points as Marriott Silver after 10 hotel nights and status earned in 2011 will last through February 2013. Possibly the member will earn a free night or two from ongoing promotions during the Marriott gift card paid hotel stays or perhaps earn an extra 25,000 points from promotions.

Assume 25 paid nights at Marriott brand hotels in one year paying with $2,500 in Marriott Hotels gift cards. You will likely earn 75,000 to 100,000 or 3 to 10 free nights in Marriott Rewards points cash equivalent value, depending on how you spend your points.

This can be a great offer if you plan your hotel stays to maximize the Marriott promotions.

Situation 2:

Marriott Rewards member is going to Hawaii for seven days and will have a projected $3,000 check-out bill. She wasn’t even a member of Marriott Rewards before booking this trip, but figured earning 30,000 points from the Hawaii trip is essentially a free hotel night rebate.

She buys $3,000 in Marriott gift cards and in addition to earning 30,000 points from the  hotel stay, there is the 2.5% FatWallet.com cashback on the gift cards purchase and an additional 25,000 points earned buying gift cards. That $3,000 Marriott Hawaii vacation price tag just dropped by $75 and she will have enough points after the trip for another two to five free hotel nights with Marriott.

Situation 3: 

Of course you do not need to max out this offer with $2,500 in gift card purchases. This can be a good deal even if buying $400 in Marriott gift cards. That is an extra 4,000 bonus points and after $400 in hotel spend on four hotel stays you may have  earned two free nights from the current MegaBonus and enough points for another free Marriott rewards category 1 hotel reward night at 7,500 points. Seven nights with Marriott for $400 is a Priceline priced deal.

Marriott Rewards matches Hilton HHonors in offering top elite status through credit card spend, albeit, quite a bit more credit is required to reach Marriott Rewards Platinum compared to Hilton HHonors Diamond if relying primarily on the credit card for status.

Enhancements announced today for Marriott Rewards VISA credit card offered through Chase Card Services gives members the opportunity to earn one elite qualification credit night for every $3,000 in charges.

Marriott Rewards issues three cards which confer automatic Silver elite membership.

1.       Marriott Rewards Credit Card, $30 fee, guaranteed Silver elite with 10 complimentary elite nights credit every year of membership.

2.       Marriott Rewards Business Card, $30 fee, guaranteed Silver elite with 10 complimentary elite nights credit every year of membership.

3.       Marriott Rewards Premier Card, $65 fee, guaranteed Silver elite with 15 complimentary elite nights credit every year of membership.

Higher Elite Math: Card members start out with 10 or 15 elite nights. Additional elite qualifying nights can be achieved solely with credit card charges or a combination of hotel stay night credits and credit card night credits for a somewhat lower spending level on the card to reach higher Marriott Rewards elite membership.

Marriott Rewards Gold Elite = 50 nights in calendar year

Basic Personal Card or Business credits 10 nights and requires an additional 40 night credits = $120,000 spend

Premier Card with 35 night credits = $105,000 spend

Marriott Rewards Platinum elite = 75 nights in calendar year

Basic Personal Card or Business with $195,000 spend = 65 night credits

Premier Card with $180,000 spend = 60 night credits

Now of course there is no reason to have Marriott Rewards Platinum elite status if you are not staying in Marriott hotels. In practice, Gold or Platinum elite status will be bridged through a combination of your hotel nights and credit card spending.

If you earn 15 complimentary elite nights with a Marriott Rewards Premier VISA and you stay 35 nights in Marriott hotels, then you are Marriott Gold elite. But, Platinum elite is only 25 nights x $3,000 per night away from your reach. Spend $75,000 on your MR Platinum VISA and you are Platinum elite.

And for 2010, say you have 20 rollover nights from 2009 when you completed the year with 30 elite nights and Silver status. Between rollover nights, hotel stays, and credit card spending, Platinum elite is suddenly within reach of many more Marriott frequent guests who may be maxed out on their nights away from home, but not maxed on their capacity to charge.

Another enhancement for cardmembers is 15,000 bonus points when redeeming for a 7-night hotel stay in a Category 7 or 8 hotel. Essentially cardmembers get a rebate. I assume you have to guarantee the reward stay with your Marriott Rewards credit card. Details on the bonus points are not posted on the website.

Marriott link to Marriott Rewards VISA Enhancements

Loyalty rewards and elite status can be earned at a quicker pace if you have a loyalty program branded credit card to accompany your hotel stays with Marriott or Hilton. I rarely write about credit cards, but I took a look at the current offers recently when comparing Marriott Rewards and Hilton HHonors.

Heavy spenders may favor the Hilton Surpass American Express card for its instant Diamond elite membership offer if you are in a position to spend $40,000 per year.

Marriott Rewards Premier VISA Credit Card from Chase offers 15 nights toward elite status conferring instant Silver elite and reducing the annual elite qualification threshold for Marriott Rewards Gold to 35 nights and Platinum to 60 nights. This card is only available to US residents in the 50 states and District of Columbia.

One feature of the Hilton-branded American Express card is access to discount 4-night awards for 125,000 points at Category 5 hotels (AXON5) and 145,000 points at Category 6 hotels (AXON6). These American Express award offers will likely be amended for January 2010 since the current American Express member awards for Category 5 and 6 hotels will actually be offered at a lower rate to all HHonors members in the new HHonors Rewards chart in 2010. It seems HHonors and American Express will likely offer a discounted AXON6 and AXON 7 reward in 2010.

Here is a table of the features for Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase Bank and the Hilton Surpass from American Express. While Hilton has a larger sign-up bonus and better earning on hotel and everyday spending, Marriott Rewards offers a free night every year of membership that equates to a 25,000 points annual bonus.

Marriott Rewards Premier Visa and Hilton HHonors American Express Surpass

Starwood Preferred Guest

New Members Offer for Instant SPG Gold Elite through February 2011 (normally requires 10 hotel stays or 25 nights in a calendar year), plus 1,000 bonus points per night through March 31, 2010.

Details:  http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/11/20/my-midas-touch-gives-new-spg-members-starwood-preferred-guest-gold-elite/

Hooray for Marriott Rewards. 

Just two months after increasing the rates across the board on virtually all multi-night hotel awards using your points, the marketing team has come up with a multi-night redemption discount – redeem a three night stay at the points level for a two night redemption for select resort properties globally.

The offer: Redeem points for a 3-night stay and only pay points for two nights at participating Category 4, 5, 6, and 7 Marriott properties.  Link to Marriott Rewards offer.

·         3 for 2 Resort Redemption Special at participating Category 4 resorts = 40,000 points

·         3 for 2 Resort Redemption Special at participating Category 5 resorts = 50,000 points

·         3 for 2 Resort Redemption Special at participating Category 6 resorts = 60,000 points

·         3 for 2 Resort Redemption Special at participating Category 7 resorts = 70,000 points

Promotion Dates: March 24 – September 7, 2009

Reserve your room and request your redemption certificate:

Call 1-800-MARRIOTT to make your hotel reservation at one of the participating resorts.  Inform the reservation agent that you are using a 3 for 2 Resort Redemption Special.

The 3 for 2 Resort Redemption Special will be issued electronically and will be available at the hotel upon check-in.

Participating Hotels: This promotion is limited to 55 Resort hotels globally, fewer than 10% of Marriott’s approximately 700 hotels globally in the category 4 to 7 hotel stay redemption range.  

Camelback Inn, JW Marriott Resort, Scottsdale, AZ

Promotion value

Essentially the 3-for-2 resort redemption special is the same discount a member would receive with a PointSavers rate of 33% off the regular per night redemption rate.  At this redemption rate you can stay at these resort hotels over the next six months for less than a 3-night stay would have cost at the regular redemption rate last year, before the Marriott Rewards changes.

Undeniably some resorts are a great value at this redemption price. Others will require a cost comparison since hotel rates have plummeted in many locations by more than 50%.

JW Marriott Ihilani Resort in Hawaii – 3 night award at this category 7 hotel is 70,000 points.

The lowest available rate is $249 per night for a stay May 12-15, 2009.

$750 room rate + tax or 70,000 points? This is a redemption value of a little over 1 cent per point.

How to get Marriott Rewards points if you don’t already have a stash

Marriott Rewards members can purchase up to 50,000 points per year at $12.50 per 1,000 points.  You need to compare the cost of a desired 3-night stay on points with the $625 cost to purchase 50,000 points if you choose this route.

The long duration of this promotion means you can apply for a Marriott Rewards Visa credit card and receive a signing bonus of 20,000 points in time to use for this promotion.

American Express Membership Rewards card members can transfer Membership Rewards points to Hilton HHonors, IHG Priority Club, and Starwood Preferred Guest, but not Marriott Rewards.

Diners Club Rewards 1,250 DC Rewards points = 1,500 Marriott rewards points.  This is a relatively poor exchange rate compared to using Club Rewards for airline miles:

1,000 DC points = 1,000 airline miles for most participating frequent flyer programs.

Is this Marriott promotion a good redemption value?

Certainly Marriott is offering members an olive branch after the outcry over the January 2009 changes to the Rewards free night redemption table changes making almost all hotel awards more costly in points in 2009.

This special redemption opportunity may be the incentive to pull some members into Marriott hotels over the next few months.  There is hope of earning sufficient points with paid hotel stays and promotional bonus points to get a real resort vacation with Marriott in 2009 rather than a staycation with the brother-in-law who has the pool and BBQ set-up in his backyard resort.

I just wish this promotion included more properties within the Marriott family of hotels.

Comparison of Hotel Loyalty Program Affinity Credit Cards

Over the years in my conversations with travelers it seems to me that many people develop hotel loyalty based initially on their acquisition of a hotel loyalty program affinity credit card.  I frequently state that I don’t consider credit card earnings in my analysis of hotel stay promotions. 

Loyalty Traveler took a look at hotel loyalty credit cards for the major upscale hotel programs of Hilton HHonors, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Priority Club Rewards, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest.  The new card member bonuses and interest rates are based on the affinity card offer presently shown on the hotel loyalty program website on 8-22-08.

My analysis shows American Express affinity cards for Hilton HHonors and Starwood Preferred Guest have the greatest earning power based on a sample scenario of $15,000 in annual spending.  The Hilton HHonors American Express card has the best earning power for non-hotel spending as it awards a generous 5 points per $1 for restaurants, wireless phone payments, groceries, and gas.

Hilton HHonors VISA  (no annual fee)  Signature card (14.99%); Gold Card (16.99%)

Automatic upgrade to HHonors silver elite membership

·         Earn 6 HHonors points for every dollar spent at Hilton Family hotels.

·         3 HHonors points for purchases made at grocery stores, drugstores, and gas stations.

·         2 HHonors points for purchases made at other sites.

·         Enrollment bonus of 15,000 points for a purchase within two months of card membership.

Hilton HHonors American Express (no annual fee) (14.99%)

Automatic upgrade to HHonors silver elite membership and cardholder will be upgraded to Gold membership if $20,000 is charged to card in calendar year.

·         Earn 5 HHonors points for every dollar spent at Hilton Family hotels.

·         5 HHonors points for purchases made at grocery stores, drugstores, gas stations, restaurants, US postal service, and wireless phone bills.

·         3 HHonors points for purchases made at other sites.

·         Earn 500 points online booking bonus when booking your stay on a Hilton website with your HHonors American Express.

·         10,000 points bonus for first purchase within the first year of card membership.

·         2,500 points bonus for each of first four Hilton Family hotel stays paid with Hilton HHonors American Express card.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Priority Club Rewards VISA (12.99%)

·         $29 per year after no-fee first year

·         Earn 3 points per $1 spent at IHG hotels

·         Earn 1 point per $1 spent at other locations.

·         Receive a 10,000 points bonus for first purchase made after spending $15,000 or more in the card member’s year.  [LT note: The card member’s annual year is based on the enrollment date as a card member and subsequent anniversary dates – not the calendar year.]

·         One-time upgrade to Gold membership (a $50 value) through December of the year after the year of card member activation.  [LT note: This rule favors waiting until the beginning of a calendar year for maximizing the length of complimentary elite status.]

·         One-time bonus offer of 30,000 points after first purchase for first-time card members with new accounts.

·         One-time $20 credit on statement after first card purchase.

·         Priority Club VISA Business Card has same earning power except the spending bonus is 15,000 points bonus for first purchase made after spending $20,000 or more in the card member’s year. 

Marriott Rewards VISA (14.99%)

·         $30 per year after no-fee first year

·         Earn 3 points per $1 spent at Marriott Family hotels

·         Earn 1 point per $1 spent elsewhere.

·         10 nights credit toward elite status every year of card membership.

·         One-time bonus offer of 20,000 points after first purchase or balance transfer for first-time card members with new accounts.

·         One-time bonus offer of 5,000 points after first purchase for first-time card members with new accounts.

·         One-time free night certificate valid for a Category 1 to Category 4 hotel property.

Starwood Preferred Guest American Express (14.99%)

·         $45 per year after no-fee first year

·         Earn 2 points per $1 spent at Starwood brand hotels

·         Earn 1 point per $1 spent elsewhere.

·         One-time bonus offer of 10,000 points after first purchase during first year of card membership for first-time card members with new accounts.

***********************************************************

Comparison of hotel points earned annually by a new cardmember

Assume annual spending includes $3,000 at the hotel chain, $6,000 at grocery stores, drugstores, and gas stations, and $6,000 elsewhere during the membership year.

Hilton HHonors VISA

63,000 points for new member; ($630 value based on $10/1,000 points)

48,000 points without new member bonuses ($480 value)

New member bonus = 15,000 points

Hotel stays = $3,000 x 6 points = 18,000 points

Groceries and gas = $6,000 x 3 points = 18,000 points

Other charges = $6,000 x 2 points = 12,000 points

Hilton HHonors American Express

89,000 points for new member;  ($890 value based on $10/1,000 points)

69,000 points without new member bonuses ($690 value)

New member bonus = 10,000 points

Hotel stays = $3,000 x 5 points = 15,000 points

Groceries, gas, restaurants, wireless phone bill = $9,000 x 5 points = 45,000 points

Other charges = $3,000 x 3 points = 9,000 points

First four Hilton Family hotel stays = 10,000 points

Priority Club VISA

61,000 points for new member;  ($610 value based on $10/1,000 points)

31,000 points without new member bonus and spending $15,000+ annually  ($310 value)

21,000 points without bonuses for $15,000 in spending ($210 value)

New member bonus = 30,000 points

Hotel stays = $3,000 x 3 points = 9,000 points

Other charges = $12,000 x 1 points = 12,000 points

Bonus points for $15,000+ spending = 10,000 points

Marriott Rewards VISA

66,000 points for new member ($660 value based on $10/1,000 points)

21,000 points without new member bonuses ($210 value)

New member bonus = 25,000 points

Hotel stays = $3,000 x 3 points = 9,000 points

Other charges = $12,000 x 1 points = 12,000 points

One-time free night at Category 4 hotel = equivalent to 20,000 points

10 nights elite credit may or may not have significant value depending on member’s hotel lifestyle.  Mid-tier elite status requires 50 nights for Marriott Rewards Gold membership.

Starwood Preferred Guest American Express

28,000 points for new member ($980 value based on $35/1,000 points)

18,000 points without new member bonuses ($630 value)

New member bonus = 10,000 points

Hotel stays = $3,000 x 2 points = 6,000 points

Other charges = $12,000 x 1 points = 12,000 points

This is a simple analysis of the different affinity cards currently being offered through links on the hotel loyalty program websites.  Please provide comments to enlighten the Loyalty Traveler readers to other considerations not addressed in this summary.

Frequent travelers know that staying with your preferred hotel loyalty program is difficult at times. Hotels may be sold out, some chains are not present in an area (the nearest Starwood hotel to Monterey is 75 miles away while two Hyatts are within a few miles of my home), or the price is just too high.

Over the past ten years I have earned somewhere around 4,000,000 airline frequent flier miles and 1,000,000 hotel points. I seldom write about credit cards as a means of earning hotel frequent guest points. I have never owned an airline frequent flier affinity card.
Less than 2% of those 5 million miles and points were earned from credit card activity. I do not have the kind of money passing through my hands to make the credit card option a major factor. Travel is the fastest way to earn miles and points, unless you are wealthy or have a way to funnel money through your credit card without going into debt.

I have used Diners Club as a credit card, however, for its versatility with points exchange from Diners Club Rewards points to another airline or hotel currency. I have moved hundreds of thousands of miles and points through Diners Club by moving one airline currency into the program and exchanging the Diners Club Rewards points to a different airline currency. It used to be possible until about 2004 to move American and United miles into Diners Club and back out for the same number of British Airways miles during the periodic promotions for double miles when exchanging Diners Club points. Diners Club still has high value for exchangeability options not provided by American Express or Starwood or any other card at a good exchange rate between loyalty programs.

Here is a brief Loyalty Traveler analysis of the value of credit card diversity for your hotel travel options.

Consider 3 credit card options for the Marriott Rewards member:

1. Marriott Rewards Visa offer on website gives 20,000 bonus points for initial purchase, 2 points/$1 on travel/dining purchases, and 5 points/$1 for Marriott-brand hotel purchases, 1 points on other purchases, and a free night certificate each year. Points are good for Marriott awards only.

2. American Express Membership Rewards offers exchange options for Membership Rewards points into Hilton HHonors, InterContinental Priority Club, or Starwood Preferred Guest. Members can also buy nearly unlimited amounts of Membership Rewards points. Not too useful for Marriott, but has options for three other hotel chains.

3. Diners Club/MasterCard Club Rewards points can be exchanged into the major loyalty programs of Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Priority Club, Starwood, and Choice or Best Western.

Marriott VISA card earns 20,000 point bonus, 5 points/$1 at Marriott and 2 points/$1 for travel/dining purchases, and 1 points/$1 on other purchases.
After the first year card-owner bonus, assume the second year spending is $18,000 on stuff (18,000 points), $5,000 on travel/dining (10,000 points), and assume $2,000 spent at Marriott (10,000 points) = 38,000 points.

38,000 Marriott Rewards points for $25,000 credit card spending with Marriott VISA..

Purchase value of 38,000 Marriott Rewards points at $12.50/1,000 points = $475.00 value

The question:

Can you recoup anywhere near the $475 value available from $25,000 spending on a Marriott Rewards card by earning points primarily with a Diners Club or American Express credit card and exchange these points into hotel program points?

Exchange options is the name of the game for the frequent guest.

American Express exchange rates
1, 000 Amex Membership Rewards points = 333 Starpoints
1,000 Amex Membership Rewards points = 1,000 Priority Club points
1, 000 Amex Membership Rewards points = 1,300 HHonors points

Diners Club exchange rates
1,250 Club Rewards points = 750 Hyatt Gold Passport
1,250 Club Rewards points = 1,500 Marriott Rewards points
1,250 Club Rewards points = 2,000 Hilton HHonors points
1,250 Club Rewards points = 1,500 Priority Club points
1,250 Club Rewards points = 750 Starwood points

A comparison of credit cards based on a simple analysis: $25,000 annual spending (calculation is based on spending after first year, so 20,000 Marriott Rewards points bonus does not come into play in head-to-head matchup.)

Diners Club Rewards $25,000 spending = 25,000 points

Exchange 25,000 Club Rewards points for:

30,000 Marriott Rewards or
17,500 Hyatt points or
30,000 Priority Club points or
17,500 Starwood points or
40,000 Hilton HHonors points or

AMEX $25,000 spending = 25,000 Membership Rewards points
Exchange 25,000 Membership Rewards points for

8,325 Starpoints or
25,000 Priority Club points or
32,500 Hilton HHonors

Here are some potential values for hotel points from an exchange of $25,000 in Diners Club Rewards points:

30,000 Priority Club points is sufficient for any Crowne Plaza in the world and most InterContinental Hotels. Typically a $300 value.

It may be possible to book 6 nights of PointBreaks awards through Priority Club that could have a $1,200+ value at certain locations.

17,500 Starpoints can be obtained with 25,000 Club Rewards points. This is good for a 4-night stay, midweek at a Category 2 hotel. This can easily be a $700 savings.

Also, Starpoints can be used for Cash and Points awards. 4,000 points and $60 for a Category 4 hotel or 4,800 points + $90 for a Category 5 hotel can mean a savings of $800 on the regular cash rate for hotel rooms. Category 4 hotels are often $250/night and a Cash&Points award can typically save over $200/night on room rate and tax savings when using Starpoints. A Category 5 hotel award can likely be a $300/night savings. 17,500 points may allow you to save $1,000 on hotel rooms at Starwood.

The purchase value for 1,000 Starpoints = $35.00, so 17,500 Starpoints = $612.50 and this is more than the value of the Marriott Rewards points using the Marriott card for $25,000 in spending ($475.00).

Another factor to keep in mind is when you have to stay in a hotel without elite status. The ability to transfer Diners Club points into hotel programs, along with the ability to buy points from the hotel programs, may make room upgrades using hotel points a high-value alternative to the cost of paying for a better room category at a hotel where you will not be upgraded on elite status.

Flexibility with hotel loyalty points is a high value opportunity and Diners Club provides many hotel brand options for your travels. AMEX is good for the option of purchasing points, but has fewer hotel loyalty partners than Diners Club. Marriott VISA is a good earnings card, but while VISA may be accepted everywhere you want to be, a good-value Marriott may not always be where you want to be.