Marriott Hotel Stays: Which Credit Card Should You Pay With?

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?

Which credit card to use for Marriott stays

I’ve written in the past about the best credit cards to use for hotel stays. However, more specifically to Marriott, which credit card should you put all of your Marriott spending on? Let’s take a look at the various approaches that you can take.

Let me start by acknowledging that we all value points currencies differently, so you should apply your own valuation to the math. My below analysis is based on my own valuation of various points currencies.

I also want to emphasize that the credit card you use won’t impact your ability to earn elite qualifying nights, take advantage of elite perks, and accrue the standard points that you can earn with the Marriott Bonvoy program. The credit card rewards offered when paying for your Marriott hotel stay are incremental.

The value of using a co-branded Marriott credit card

Marriott has co-branded credit cards in the United States that are issued by both American Express and Chase. All of these credit cards with annual fees have the same rewards structure for Marriott spending, as they offer 6x Bonvoy points on all eligible Marriott spending.

This includes cards like the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card (review), Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (review), and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (review), just to name a few. Personally, I value Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, so to me these cards offer an incremental 4.2% return on that spending.

I think the one thing worth pointing out is that the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card offers 1,000 Bonvoy bonus points per Marriott stay when paying with the card, in addition to the rewards that you usually earn.

Technically that would be the best co-branded card for Marriott spending, since you earn 6x points, plus 1,000 bonus points per stay. That being said, I’d otherwise consider this to be one of the less compelling Marriott cards in terms of the overall value proposition.

The best non-Marriott credit card to use

I generally recommend putting most of your spending on cards earning transferable points currencies, given that they offer the most flexible rewards, and also have excellent bonus categories.

I’d argue that the two best cards for hotel spending are the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (review) and Sapphire Reserve for Business^SM (review), as they offer 4x transferable points for direct hotel purchases. Since I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, that’s like a 6.8% return on that spending, which is excellent.

It’s worth noting that there are other cards earning 3x points on hotels, like the Citi Strata Premier® Card (review), and I’d value that at a return of 5.1%. Lastly, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card (review) actually offers 5x points on hotel purchases, which is excellent, though I don’t value those points as much as other transferable points currencies.

The card I use for Marriott hotel spending

Thanks to the recent refresh of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card and introduction of the Sapphire Reserve for Business^SM, these are now my go-to cards for hotel spending. Simply put, I can’t turn down 4x Ultimate Rewards points, in comparison to earning 6x Bonvoy points with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card for my Marriott spending.

The difference in math is just too great, since I value 4x Ultimate Rewards points at way more than 6x Bonvoy points. But this also brings me to a related topic of how points valuations sometimes don’t dictate my consumer behavior. For example, previously the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card offered 3x Ultimate Rewards points on hotel spending.

So I valued that at offering a 5.1% return, rather than a 4.2% return on a Marriott credit card. Despite that, I’d use a co-branded Marriott card for my Marriott spending. Why? Well, this gets at a consideration that’s hard to factor into my valuation of points. I’m talking about the ease of earning various points currencies.

I can earn transferable points currencies in all kinds of ways, including with my everyday spending. However, there aren’t many ways to efficiently earn Bonvoy points, short of staying at Marriott properties. As I often talk about when sharing my points strategy, there’s merit to collecting points that are harder to earn, even if they’re not the points currency that you necessarily value the most. This was one of those cases, at least for me. However, with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card moving from 3x points to 4x points, my logic on that has evolved.

Bottom line

Everyone has their own credit card strategy, and at times it can be tough to decide which card is the best for a particular spending category.

In the case of spending at Marriott properties, I’d argue that the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card and Sapphire Reserve for Business^SM are nowadays the most lucrative, given that they offer 4x Ultimate Rewards points on that spending, which I value at a 6.8% return. I’d say that beats the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, offering 6x Bonvoy points, which I value at a 4.2% return.

Which credit card do you use for Marriott hotel spending?