[Update 2019.7] According to DOC, some cardholders have recently received emails asking them to upgrade to the new Bonovy Boundless card (formerly Premier Plus). After upgrading, you only need to make one purchase to receive 2 Free Nights, which can be used at Marriott hotels costing up to 35,000 points (the same level that came with the SPG Luxury card). That is effectively like getting 70,000 points for upgrading. If you have not upgraded yet, you may want to check the link below. If you are targeted, this is an easy decision. I upgraded when my offer was only 20,000, and now I really regret it.
[Update 6/1] Quite a few people have already upgraded this card to the Marriott Premier Plus credit card. Based on online reports, here is a summary of the details and issues people have run into:
- How to find out how much your upgrade bonus is: A few days ago, Marriott sent emails mentioning how many bonus points cardholders could get for upgrading. If you did not receive the email, you can also check at this link (old version -> new version upgrade link). Current upgrade offers range from 10,000 to 50,000 points, and 20,000 seems to be the most common offer for people who have held the card for 1-2 years.
- When the upgrade bonus posts: According to the terms of the upgrade offer, you only need to make one purchase to receive the upgrade bonus. In practice, some people upgraded and made one purchase on the old card, but only received 10,000 points from the bonus. After receiving the new card and making one more purchase on the new card, they then received the rest of the bonus. After making a purchase, you can contact customer service, and they may be able to see pending points. Marriott points generally post to your Marriott account after the statement closes.
- Whether upgrading resets the card's anniversary date: At your anniversary date, holding either this card or the Premier Plus can earn you a free night certificate. The general consensus is that upgrading does not affect this date. So in theory, the date you receive your Free Night should not change because of the upgrade.
- Whether upgrading affects your ability to churn this card later for a bonus: According to a Secure Message reply from customer service, this upgrade bonus does not count as a sign-up bonus. Therefore, it also does not affect the timing of your previous sign-up bonus. As long as it has been 24 months since you received the previous sign-up bonus, you can close this card and apply again for the new card and still be eligible for the sign-up bonus.
- How the annual fee is handled when upgrading: After you choose to upgrade, your card will receive a prorated refund of the previous annual fee. For example, if you have used the card for 6 months, you would first get back 85*6/12=42.5. After that, the new $95 annual fee applies. It is similar to when Chase upgrades a CSP to a CSR: they refund the old annual fee first and then charge the new one. My guess is that the new annual fee is charged around three months after the upgrade.
- Whether your original offer still remains after upgrading: Some people originally applied under an offer that gave 120,000 points after spending 12,000 within one year. After upgrading, that offer still remains. In other words, spending 12,000 within one year across both the old and new cards can still earn the full 120,000 points.
- What happens if the card is less than 12 months old: If your card is under 12 months old at the time of upgrade, then under certain banking regulations, the first-year annual fee cannot be changed. So if you had a first-year waived annual fee offer, Chase will add $95 to your account to offset the first year's annual fee.
Please note that the summary above is based on reader DP and cannot be guaranteed to be completely accurate. If you choose to upgrade and have new DP to share, please leave a comment. Thank you!
[Update 5/4] This card has officially been discontinued, and none of the previous application links for various offers work anymore. Existing cardholders can choose to upgrade to the updated version of this card. Depending on how long you have held the card and how much you spend, making one purchase after upgrading can earn 0-50,000 points. Upgrading does not change your card number, but it does change the CVV and expiration date. The upgrade also does not result in a Hardpull and does not create a new account.
- Old version -> new version upgrade link (you need to enter the last four digits of your card and your personal information)
Personally, I think upgrading is pretty attractive. Although the annual fee goes up by $10 after the upgrade, the extra 20,000-point bonus is worth about $160, not to mention that the annual FN goes from being usable at properties up to 25,000 points to properties up to 35,000 points. However, if the upgrade bonus you see is not very appealing, you may want to wait a few more months, put some spend on the card, and see whether the upgrade bonus improves. Here is a comparison between the old and new versions of the card:
Contents [Hide]
Chase Marriott Premier Credit Card Review
Application Link:
None
Key Features
- Sign-up bonus: 75,000 Marriott points (after spending $3,000 within the first 3 months)
- Earn Marriott points on spending: 5x at Marriott/SPG/Ritz-Carlton hotels; 2x on airfare, car rentals, and dining; 1x on everything else
- Point redemptions: redeem for free hotel stays or Marriott Travel Packages
- No foreign transaction fee
- $85 annual fee, waived the first year
Highlights
- Annual free night certificate: Starting in the second year, after paying the annual fee each year, you receive one free night certificate valid at Marriott category 1-5 hotels (expires in one year). Higher-end category 5 hotels often cost about $200 per night, so this benefit can easily justify the annual fee if you keep the card long term.
- Marriott points: awards start at 7,500 points for one night at a category 1 hotel and go up to 25,000 points for one night; average value is about 0.7 cent per point. You can also share points with others and combine points over the phone when redeeming (50,000 per year).
- Marriott Travel Packages: Marriott points can get maximum value when redeemed for Travel Packages. These packages can convert part of your points into airline miles plus a 7-night free stay certificate. For more details and tips, see: Marriott Travel Package Analysis 1, Marriott Travel Package Analysis 2
- Marriott elite benefits: Cardholders automatically get Silver status: official introduction; the card also gives 15 elite nights, which help toward Gold status (50 nights); for every $3,000 spent on the credit card, you earn one additional night.
- Metal card: This is a metal card and feels great in hand.
Drawbacks
- For everyday spending, this card only earns 1x. You may be better off using Chase CSP, AMEX SPG, or AMEX EDP for spending, since the points earned there can be more valuable (1.5x).
Points Program Overview
- Point value: Average value is 0.8 c/p, 100 Marriott points = $0.80 (Point value and analysis)
- Hotel redemptions: Marriott points can be redeemed for stays at Marriott hotels, Ritz-Carlton, and hotels that were previously part of SPG. Marriott now uses dynamic pricing, so the number of points required depends on the room rate. You can also redeem using cash+points. All-points bookings qualify for a stay 5, pay for 4 offer.
- Point transfers: Marriott points can be transferred to the following airline miles at a 3:1 ratio, with an additional 10% bonus when transferring to UA. In addition, every 60,000 points transferred earns an extra 5,000-mile bonus, which means a maximum transfer ratio of 3:1.25 for miles (eligible miles only). Air Canada Aeroplan (AC) miles (domestic U.S. flights, one-way economy tickets between the U.S. and China, emergency flights, and infant tickets on two-cabin itineraries); Alaska Airlines (AS) miles (domestic U.S. flights, U.S.-China flights, U.S.-China two-cabin itineraries, free one-way Stop Over); ANA miles (U.S.-China flights, round-trip economy for just 60,000, business class for 95,000); AA miles (U.S.-China CX and JL two-cabin itineraries, no fuel surcharges); BA miles (domestic U.S. flights and short nonstop flights between China and Japan, very low change/cancellation fees, emergency tickets); Delta miles (domestic U.S. flights, U.S.-China flights, can be redeemed at 1 c/p); UA miles (U.S.-China economy, domestic U.S.)
- Point characteristics: Points can be transferred between different accounts, with an annual limit of 100,000 points. When booking rooms, you can combine your family members' points with no limit. Points expire after 24 months with no activity.
- My quick take: Marriott inherited SPG's extremely strong flexibility and can be transferred to many very useful airline miles, with pretty good transfer ratios as well. Point value for hotel redemptions is not as high as Hyatt points, but it is still decent. The ability to pool points for the whole family is also a big plus.
- Detailed analysis: Marriott points guide
My Take
Because Chase’s “5/24 rule” now affects this card, I plan to keep it for the long term. First, the welcome bonus on this card is pretty good and can be redeemed for several hotel nights. After you build up a certain number of Marriott points, you can also redeem them for highly valuable hotel + airline travel packages. Second, after paying the annual fee each year, you receive a free night certificate, and that certificate is worth more than the annual fee. That said, the free night certificate is only average for use within the U.S., because Marriott cat1-5 properties are generally not that impressive. It tends to be a better deal when used at Marriott properties in Asia.
If you can’t make use of the annual free night certificate, it’s also fine to cancel the card after one year. After all, paying $89 for 87,500 Marriott points is still a pretty good deal.
Pattern of the welcome bonus: the timing gaps between the three stages of appearing and disappearing are usually 1-2 days.
- Appears: some people receive a high-offer email -> the official website publishes the high-offer link -> third-party affiliates publish the high-offer link
- Disappears: third parties pull the high-offer link -> the official website removes the high offer, but the original link still works -> the official link stops working
The welcome bonus may also be matched: quite a few people sent Chase a Secure Message and were matched to this 100,000 Offer. The conditions were that the account had been open for less than three months and that $5,000 in spending was required. If you can spend another $2,000 within the remaining time, you can try to match to the 100,000 welcome bonus using the following steps:
- Send Chase a Secure Message (how to send one) and attach a screenshot/image of the 100,000 welcome bonus
- You will usually receive a reply telling you to spend $5,000 first and then reply again to the Message
- Complete the spending within three months, reply to the Secure Message, and get matched to the 100,000 welcome bonus
Welcome bonus comparison
There is now another offer: 2 Cat 1-5 Free Nights + $200 + 7,500 + first-year annual fee waived. There is no need to use dummy booking; you can see it directly from the link. Here is an analysis comparing it with the other offers:
- 2FN+$200+7,500 link: requires $3,000 in spending within three months. The 2FN are worth at most about 50,000 points total (if used at Cat 5 properties). Compared with the extra 25,000 points from other offers, the remaining $200 is still slightly worse than 25,000 points. However, the biggest drawback is that the FN expire (one year after issuance). Also, if you stay at a property below Cat 5, you are effectively losing value, while if you want to book above Cat 5, these certificates cannot be used. Points are more flexible because they can be extended through promotions or stays, different Cat levels require different numbers of points, and if you do not have enough points you can still use Cash+Points. So in my opinion, this offer is not a good one for most people.
- 120,000 + 7,500 welcome bonus link: earn 10x points on the first $12,000 in spending within one year. This offer is suitable for people who do not have other cards with bonus-category rewards to use, while also having a large amount of spending they are willing to put on a Marriott credit card. One thing to note: if you have an SPG credit card or are willing to open a new SPG card, then choosing one of the first two offers + putting spend on an SPG credit card will earn more Marriott points.
Application
- Application difficulty: It is recommended to apply with at least 6 months of credit history. Once you are in with Chase, this card is relatively easy to get approved for.
- Application status: check online (log in with your Chase account); phone: 888-338-2586
- Note 1: Before applying, please read “Chase application rules” + “Chase 5/24 rule”; if you are not approved immediately, you can call 888-270-2127 to expedite reconsideration. For details, see “Reconsideration tips”.
- Note 2: Since this card is a co-branded credit card with Marriott, if you already have a Marriott account number, you can enter it when applying. If you have never registered for a Marriott account, you can register through our link and earn extra rewards on stays (there is no bonus if you register directly on the official site)
- Marriott account referral registration link (within one year after registering, each paid stay earns an extra 2,000 points. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email and your rewards number; after 48 hours you will receive a welcome email, and then you can register an online account)
Application link:
None