Since acquiring the Starwood hotels brand, Marriott is now the largest hospitality chain in the world. The combined group now boasts over 6,700 properties in over 130 countries and territories, as well as a staggering 1.2 million rooms. So it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that there’s not just a single Marriott credit card, but there are multiple cards offered to Americans from two separate card issuers.
If you are a frequent Marriott guest, you should definitely be using one of these cards to earn the most rewards from your stays. Let’s take a look at some of these options, and see which one is best for you.
Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase
This card offers new applicants 75,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 within three months of account opening. You also earn 6x points per dollar spent at participating Marriott Rewards and SPG hotels, and 2x points on all other purchases. Other benefits include a free night award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year on your account anniversary, and automatic Silver Elite Status. You’ll even earn Gold Status each year that you use the card to spend $35,000 on purchases. And starting in 2019, cardholders will automatically receive 15 elite night credits each year. There’s a $95 annual fee for this card, and no foreign transaction fees.
Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
This venerable card has been around a long time, but it still offers strong value. New applicants can earn 75,000 bonus points after using their card to spend $3,000 in new purchases within three months of account opening. You also earn 6x points per dollar spent at participating Marriott Rewards and SPG hotels, and 2x points on all other purchases. Benefits include a free night award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year on your account anniversary, and unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi on up to four devices at more than 1,000,000 Boingo hotspots worldwide (enrollment required) . It comes with Silver status and you can earn Gold Status each year that you use the card to spend $30,000 or more in elligible purchases on your card in a calendar year. That spending threshold will increase to $35,000 per calendar year as of January 1, 2019. There’s a $95 annual fee for this card that’s waived the first year, and no foreign transaction fees.
Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
The small business version of this card offers an increased 100,000 bonus points after using their card to spend $5,000 on new purchases within three months of account opening. Offer ends October 31, 2018. You also earn 6x points per dollar spent at participating Marriott Rewards and SPG hotels, 4x points at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, and on U.S. purchases for shipping and 2x points on all other purchases. Benefits include a free night award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year on your account anniversary at participating hotels, and unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi on up to four devices at more than 1,000,000 Boingo hotspots worldwide (enrollment required). It comes with Silver status and you can earn Gold Status each year that you use the card to spend $30,000 or more in eligible purchases in a calendar year. There’s a $95 annual fee for this card that’s waived the first year, and no foreign transaction fees. That spending threshold will increase to $35,000 per calendar year as of January 1, 2019.
Above image by Dmitry Kalinovsky via Shutterstock
