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? Let’s take a closer look, because my answer defies my typical valuation of points.
In this post:
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.
Nowadays there are several cards earning 3x transferable points currencies on hotel spending, including products like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (review), Citi Strata Premier® Card (review), etc. Personally I value the points currencies on these cards at 1.7 cents each, so to me, these cards offer a 5.1% return on Marriott hotel spending, since you’e earning 3x points.
The card I use for Marriott hotel spending
Here’s where it gets interesting. I have my valuation of various points currencies, and I have many of the cards listed above. Based on my valuation of these points currencies, you’d think that I would use a transferable points credit card for my Marriott spending, rather than a Marriott credit card.
However, I generally don’t, and that’s despite the fact that I value the return on a non-Marriott card at higher than the return on a Marriott card. Instead, I typically use the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card for my Marriott spending.
Why do I choose to earn 6x Marriott Bonvoy® points (which I value at a 4.2% return) rather than 3x Chase Ultimate Rewards points (which I value at a 5.1% return)? 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 Marriott Bonvoy® points, short of staying at Marriott properties. As much as I’m not some massive Marriott loyalist, I do consistently get big value when redeeming Marriott Bonvoy® points, especially at luxury 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 is one of those cases, at least for me.
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 Marriott, I think deciding which credit card to use is especially complex.
You can use a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, offering 3x Ultimate Rewards points, which I value at a 5.1% return. Or you can use a card like the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, offering 6x Bonvoy points, which I value at a 4.2% return.
So while I value the return on a non-Marriott card more, I still use a Marriott credit card for my Marriott hotel spending, given how much harder the points are to earn. Others will no doubt have a different take, but hopefully that’s a useful explanation as to why I’m not necessarily objectively maximizing value on this spending category.
Which credit card do you use for Marriott hotel spending?
Are you still charging in hotel bar/dining tabs to the room or using Amex gold for 4x
In my experience, AmEx Gold does not earn 4x for spend at restaurants attached to hotels. CSR usually earns 3x at such restaurants and is a better bet.
I have a RC card that I use for Marriott stays, I have thought about the CSR but I'd rather use my CSR points on Airline transfer or Hyatt points. Similar to Ben, I find the transfer options to Marriott unappealing compared to other options to use my Amex or Chase points.
Do you think the RC card is worth it for the benefits despite the high annual fee?
I think Ben’s post implies that his valuation is wrong at least for people who regularly do get outsize value for Marriott stays. I find myself outright buying their points a bunch to top up for an award even at 1.25 cents each (and I certainly max out any purchase points promotions). I think what Ben’s valuation captures is that if you’re looking at a run of the mill hotel that costs say $100-$250 a...
I think Ben’s post implies that his valuation is wrong at least for people who regularly do get outsize value for Marriott stays. I find myself outright buying their points a bunch to top up for an award even at 1.25 cents each (and I certainly max out any purchase points promotions). I think what Ben’s valuation captures is that if you’re looking at a run of the mill hotel that costs say $100-$250 a night you should only value Marriott points around his valuation because chances are you won’t capture more value than that. But if you’re someone who would sometimes splurge out on a much more expensive hotel even with cash (say $600 a night or up), then suddenly the Marriott points become much more valuable since the points price doesn’t seem to increase in lockstep with the cash price and at the high end you can get points bookings that deliver outsize value.
Personally I find I’m constantly burning through points for Marriott and Hyatt (and Chase/Bilt points which transfer to Hyatt) — whereas other transferable points don’t get used up nearly as quickly. So I think Marriott points may be worth more like 1.2 cents each, and Hyatt (and Chase/Bilt) like 2.1 cents each. On the other hand I feel AmEx/Citi points are worth more like 1.5 cents because it’s hard to get a truly amazing value on an airline award; maybe you can get up to Ben’s 1.7 valuation if you’re better than I am at maximizing transfer bonuses.
Ben’s valuation is probably right for average consumers but definitely some of us should use different valuations.
Caveat Emptor:
The Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card may claim that the hotel, which was booked and paid for via marriott.com, has submitted in the wrong MCC (merchant category code) and only provide 2X points instead of 6x.
Their customer service told me to contact the hotel and get them to change their MCC :)
Marriott Platinum support basically told me it is an Amex issue.
I had that happened a few times with Chase and IHG, but Chase was able to help fix it if you can submit the necessary documents including your folio. Amex customer support should be able to tell you what they need from you in order to correct the points for your stay.
Agree completely, but I switch among all my Marriott cards.
5x points on all hotel with the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey. Points can be transferred to Flying Blue, several versions of Avios, and LifeMiles.
I do the same as Ben, for the same reason, unless I'm working on reaching a goal in EVA points. I'll pay for a Marriott stay with Citi Strata Premier if I'm in a hurry to get EVA points, which are even harder to earn efficiently than Marriott points and which can only be earned by transferring from Citi ThankYou. EVA points provide far better availability on EVA flights than partner points do. If I'm...
I do the same as Ben, for the same reason, unless I'm working on reaching a goal in EVA points. I'll pay for a Marriott stay with Citi Strata Premier if I'm in a hurry to get EVA points, which are even harder to earn efficiently than Marriott points and which can only be earned by transferring from Citi ThankYou. EVA points provide far better availability on EVA flights than partner points do. If I'm happy with my EVA balance, I'll use my Marriott Bonvoy Business card to pay for Marriott stays. I miss the days when EVA was adequately available from StarAlliance partners like LifeMiles and Aeroplan.
The math is totally wrong because it is yet another case of comparing or mixing apples and oranges.
It is not at all true that the return on...
The math is totally wrong because it is yet another case of comparing or mixing apples and oranges.
It is not at all true that the return on the dollar is higher for paying for stays at Marriott hotels with the CSR (3x) than with a co-branded Bonvoy CC that earns 6x, because in the latter case one must take into account the total earn per $ per elite status, which, for Bonvoy Plats and higher, is 23.5x (i.e., 17.5x base + 6x from CC).
Valuing Bonvoy points at 0.7 cent each (actual value is 0.68 cent), we get a return on the $ of
0.7 cpp (or 0.68 cpp) * 23.5x = 16.5% (or 16%.0)
Now let's do apples vs. apples comparison:
The CSR earns you 3x UR points for hotel stays, which transfer 1:1 or as 3x to Bonvoy points, meaning that Bonvoy Plats and higher get a return of
(3x + 17.5x) * 0.7 cpp = 20.5x * 0.7cpp = 14.4%
from the CSR, which is less than the ~16% they would get for paying with a co-branded Bonvoy CC.
Therefore, when staying at Marriott hotels you pay with your co-branded Bonvoy CC that earns 6x to get the maximum return. The same logic applies to paying for revenue stays as a top elite at Hyatt, Hilton, IHG Radisson (USA) hotels. You pay with your highest earning co-branded CC for that hotel to earn the biggest return on your buck.
Q.E.D
Glad you're still around.
Now I'm going to disagree on the apples vs apples part.
I get where you're coming from. But essentially we don't need to be comparing apples because we're not trying to compare replacement cost.
You are mixing cost and return, which is a completely different concept.
However, I think what you're thinking or should be thinking is the opportunity costs. Which is what Ben is doing but he just didn't quantify with math or science yet.
You make no sense, just like @Ben's math doesn't. Costs are needed to calculate returns.
Value of a point = RoD/Cost
where "RoD" is the 'return on the dollar', and "Cost" is the base earn rate of points or how much it costs to earn points (varies per elite status in each program).
With just that one equation, one can calculate...
You make no sense, just like @Ben's math doesn't. Costs are needed to calculate returns.
Value of a point = RoD/Cost
where "RoD" is the 'return on the dollar', and "Cost" is the base earn rate of points or how much it costs to earn points (varies per elite status in each program).
With just that one equation, one can calculate (and I have calculated in this very space) the "face" values of all the major hotel loyalty points currencies.
More to the point (pun intended) is that you cannot compare the "return" on spend for or "values" of different hard or points currencies without doing a currency conversion that puts the currencies on the same scale to make them directly comparable, but that is what self-anointed "travel gurus" have been doing for years. It is what led them to claim the starpoint or the Hyatt point to be more "valuable" than any other hotel points currency.
I do not have the time to teach you kindergarten-level math.
G'day.
Here we go again ;)
I probably have said it somewhere before.
But basically we're looking at different things, technically you vs rest of us.
The self-anointed "travel gurus" have been using a different equation from you for years.
And the day that this makes sense to you, you'll understand what I mean.
It's not that you're wrong, but it's you not us.
The part I agree, I do not have the time to teach you kindergarten-level math too.
You might have said it before,...
You might have said it before, but you were wrong then and are wrong now, and will always be wrong because there is no "YMMV" about it. It is simple and exact math, which you are not addressing because you are clueless.
Self-anointed "travel gurus" were not using "a different equation" when they claimed, wrongly, that the starpoint or Hyatt point was more "valuable" than the rest. They simply saw 'face values" of 2.5cents/starpoint or 1.5cents/WoH point vs. e.g., 0.5cent/HH point and thundered: "a starpoint is worth 5x more than a Hilton point" or "a WoH is worth 3x more than Hilton point". However, whatever "equation" they were using to come up with those claims was dead wrong and it still is, for the very same reason that @Ben (and you) keeps getting it wrong: failure to convert one points currency to another so that they are directly comparable. Y'know? Like one does with hard currencies? If I give you 100 euros, you won't know how much it is 'worth in US$ until or unless you do a currency conversion. Ergo, claiming "YMMV" won't save you because whatever you and the rest of you are doing is plainly wrong and nonsensical.
There is truly nothing relative or YMMV about this. The math is simple and exact. To suggest otherwise is to reveal oneself as clueless, which you keep doing. I suggest you give it a rest.
BTW, You must have missed the memo...
...because self-anointed "travel gurus" no longer make the claim about a Hyatt point being worth more than rest.
Therefore, contrary to your prediction, what's happened is that it's self-anointed "travel gurus" that have finally understood what I preached...
BTW, You must have missed the memo...
...because self-anointed "travel gurus" no longer make the claim about a Hyatt point being worth more than rest.
Therefore, contrary to your prediction, what's happened is that it's self-anointed "travel gurus" that have finally understood what I preached for over a decade.
Now it's you who needs to, at long last, "get it", but given how clueless you seem to be, I won't hold my breath...
@Eskimo You make very valid points. There really is just one self-anointed guru who has a me versus them mentality.
@Stanley C -- You would not know a "valid point" if it hit you in the face and the stupid comment proves it. In fact, I am sure that you are one of those who got gaslighted into believing in the utter metaphysical supremacy of the starpoint or Hyatt point and uncritically swallowed it hook, line and sinker.
Goodbye
@DCS Here you go again. You can’t stand the idea of anyone disagreeing with you. That speaks a lot about the type of person you are. You only know how to criticize and you are never able to write anything in a professional and kind manner even if a pot of rainbow and stars directly shot up your arse.
No, not at all. I do see value in Hyatt points but not in Star...
@DCS Here you go again. You can’t stand the idea of anyone disagreeing with you. That speaks a lot about the type of person you are. You only know how to criticize and you are never able to write anything in a professional and kind manner even if a pot of rainbow and stars directly shot up your arse.
No, not at all. I do see value in Hyatt points but not in Star Point. I see more value in IHG points as do you since you are a top tier member like you said. And I don’t just agree uncritically. Hilton points are worth less to me than Hyatt and IHG points. Funny at it may be since we just pretty much disagree with everything, I do agree with you about using the highest co-branded CC for the hotel stays like 14x points for a Hilton stay and that also applies to IHG and Hyatt. But, I agree with Eskimo and Ben as well because they find value in using other CCs to pay for their hotel stays. To each his/her own. Sometimes, I would switch it up if I want/need to accrue more points with something else. Value is how I see fit and not how you see it.
@Stanley C
Short explanation.
Compare flamingo and T-Rex.
Travel guru: One is much bigger.
DCS: Both have 2 legs.
DCS: But you can't compare size because they don't live in the same era, you have to convert Jurassic to Quaternary.
DCS: YMMV because size varies, will not save you in comparison.
DCS: Number of legs. There is truly nothing relative. The math is simple and exact.
Basically we're looking at different things.
@Eskimo I get what you mean. I immediately comprehend your analogy at Flamingo and T-Rex. It can explain a lot and it really does seem like you are talking to a brick wall when conversing with him.
That is what you keep hoping, but, no, we are not looking at different things. I quoted the claim in the post I intended to address and then I used simple, kindergarten-level math to prove my point, which I am still waiting for you refute coherently. However, all you've done has been to play silly word games. Well, the T-Rex was extinct because its brain was too tiny relative...
That is what you keep hoping, but, no, we are not looking at different things. I quoted the claim in the post I intended to address and then I used simple, kindergarten-level math to prove my point, which I am still waiting for you refute coherently. However, all you've done has been to play silly word games. Well, the T-Rex was extinct because its brain was too tiny relative its overall body mass, so I am afraid a similar fate awaits you unless you start using your head...
Sadly I cannot refute your equation because it's not wrong.
It's just different.
However, for years people have tried to explain that we're looking at different things.
If you're just able to understand miles and points like dinosaurs. Your theory how T-Rex went extinct have a good point.
The smartest dinosaur is still alive till this day. I just saw a Thesaurus yesterday.
I said you were clueless. Claiming a difference without providing any evidence for it proves the cluelessness.
Q.E.D.
We're done here.
G'day.
Do you have lifetime status with Marriott as well along with Hilton?
"... I value the return on a non-Marriott card at higher than the return on a Marriott card."
Seems like AT is an extra word here.
You should always pay using a Marriott Gift Card. *if you know it, you know it.