Given how much consumer behavior has changed in the past several weeks, suffice to say that many credit card bonus categories aren’t as useful as they used to be. For example, at this point I think many of us would trade in bonus points on airfare and hotels for bonus points on toilet paper.
Along those lines, we’ve seen some card issuers get creative with bonus categories. Now we’re seeing something new on co-brand Marriott credit cards.
Marriott cards offering 6x points at grocery stores
All personal US Marriott co-branded credit cards will be offering 6x points at grocery stores between May 1 and July 31, 2020. This applies to a total of up to $5,000 in purchases.
This includes Marriott’s American Express and Chase cards, including the following:
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card
- Other Marriott cards that are no longer open to new applicants
- This does NOT include the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex
Marriott notes that studies show that people are spending up to 30% more on groceries than in the past, which is the motivation for this bonus category.
Separately, between July 15 and September 15, 2020, select Marriott Bonvoy cards are offering 10x points on dining and gas.
Is 6x Marriott points on groceries a good deal?
Ordinarily the above cards offer anywhere from 1-2x Marriott points per dollar spent at grocery stores, so the increased earnings rates are 3-6x better. Should you be shifting your grocery spending to a Marriott card?
- I value Marriott points at ~0.7 cents each, so to me this is like a ~4.2% return on grocery spending
- See this post for a rundown on what the best cards ordinarily are for grocery store purchases
- There are some cards offering better returns on grocery store spending; for example, the Amex Gold offers 4x Amex Membership Rewards points, which I value at 1.7 cents each, for a 6.8% return
Bottom line
For the next few months, co-brand personal Marriott credit cards are offering 6x Marriott points at grocery stores, which is in line with what you’d usually earn at Marriott properties.
This is a nice added bonus, and for many this will be a good option for earning Marriott points. However, personally there are other cards that I would still prefer to use.
I’m still hoping we see some more significant perks from some card issuers, as Amex is expected to announce something in early May.
Will this promotion cause you to switch grocery store spending to a Marriott card?
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