Here’s a common question I receive, which I figure is worth addressing in a post — if staying at a Marriott property, which credit card should you pay with? Should you use a co-branded Marriott credit card, or are you better off using another credit card offering bonus points on travel?
Continue reading: Marriott Hotel Stays: Which Credit Card Should You Pay With?
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Does Chase Sapphire Reserve give 4x points on hotel stays for existing card members, or does this new earning rate only kick in with the higher fee on October 26, 2025?
This is a good point. The legacy CSR doesn’t roll from 3X to 4X until October to the best of my knowledge.
Ben - are you going to write a similar piece for Hyatts? Your calculus was the same as mine on Marriotts and I recently pulled the plug on my co-branded AmEx. I love the Hyatt program, but I think the CSR is better for spend on that program as well. I’ll hang onto the card to rack up elite nights at the start of the year, but hotel spend will be on CSR.
@ Voian -- Indeed, that reflects the new earnings rates, so for some people, it'll be a few more months before that's rolled out.
If you are making it to 60 nights without the cc spend, then the csr is probably the best choice. Otherwise you should be spending on the Hyatt card, at least until you hit the 15k mark.
That said, Hyatt is probably the csr’s most valuable transfer partner, so this could end up a wash either way.
I think an important part of the calculus is how many of your Marriott points are you earning from travel.
When I was a road warrior I was earning enough points through stays that I followed your logic to maximize ROI.
But now that I don’t I still want to be able to earn some Marriott points for redemptions and the opportunity cost is much better to earn it on credit card stays + spend (vs not earning enough points for redemptions or god forbid transferring chase points over to Marriott haha)
No one ever mentions the Chase Ritz Carton card. Other then it not being publicized it is still available and has some great perks.
It earns the same 6X on Marriott stays as the other cards but yes it can be good as a product change from the Boundless if you value Sapphire Lounge access and/or the $300 airline credit.