THIS OFFER HAS NOW EXPIRED
In a little over a week the Chase Marriott Visa card will come to a complete end. Now, there are two main types of people who have this card. Those who are Marriott Rewards members and were using it for the points and benefits that came with the card or those who got it for the no foreign transaction fee. If you are in the Marriott Rewards camp you may be asking how will I be able to earn points outside of Marriott stays after March 15? Well the answer to that is the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express.
If you have been collecting Marriott Rewards points and the program is your hotel program of choice then you should already know that Marriott owns Starwood and that you can link and convert points between the loyalty programs of both chains. This means you can use the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express to actually earn Marriott Rewards points. How so? The American Express card will earn Starpoints for your purchases and then you can link your Starwood Preferred Guest account with your Marriott Rewards account. Once you do this you can convert the SPG Starpoints to Marriott Rewards points at a rate of 1 to 3. That’s right you are technically earning three Marriott Rewards points for every one Starpoint earned on the credit card.
So what should I do if I have the Chase Marriott Premier Visa Card?
The good news is if you have the Chase Marriott Visa card, American Express has come out with an exclusive offer for you for the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card as long as you have not had it before.
The offer sees the sign up bonus boosted by 5,000 Starpoints to 25,000
Starpoints (non-Marriott cardholders are offered 20,000 Starpoints) after meeting the minimum required spend on the card as well as a
8.99% balance transfer for the first 12 months, the latter of which I guess makes
sense for anyone who has been carrying a balance on their Marriott Visa
card.
Starpoints, the currency of Starwood Preferred Guest is one of the most
valuable loyalty currencies on the market today and that extra 5,000
points is a sweet deal, adding at least $150 in value to the card.
As we mentioned already, Starpoints easily convert to Marriott Rewards points, all you have to do
is link your Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest accounts and
then the transfers are easy. One Starpoint is worth three Marriott
Rewards Points. What does that mean with the SPG Credit Card? That means
the sign up bonus is equivalent to 75,000 Marriott Rewards points, the
standard earn of 1 Starpoint per dollar spent is equal to 3 Marriott
Rewards points and the 2 Starpoints per dollar spent at participating Marriott and
Starwood Hotels is worth 6 Marriott Rewards points. The last offer of
spend at their hotels has now been extended to July 31 from the previous
end date of February 15.
Just so you know 75,000 Marriott Rewards is a really good sign up bonus! What can those points get you? It can get you at least 10 free nights at a Category 1 hotel within the Marriott Rewards program or even 2 nights at a Category 8 hotel if you catch a PointSavers Reward! Here is the Marriott Rewards free night chart:
The points can also be used at the higher Ritz-Carlton Hotels and 75,000 Points can score you one to three free nights at these posh hotels:
You can search all Marriott Hotels and their respective category placements here.
Of course you don’t have to convert to Marriott Rewards right away, you can store the points in your SPG account for use at Starwood Hotels which once again, the sign up bonus of 25,000 Starpoints provides some huge value!
Recommended reading:
- Why you should still consider getting the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express
This offer is only available to existing Marriott Rewards Visa Credit
cardholders who do not already have the SPG card.
The Details of this specific offer are as follows:
• Applications accepted January 25 to April 18, 2018. Offer valid
for existing Marriott Rewards Visa Cardholders who do not already have
the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card and are residents of Canada.
• Receive 25,000 Starpoints after you spend $1500 CAD in the first three months after opening their account.
• 8.99% on balance transfers for the first 12 months.
Here are all the regular details of the card:
You can find out more and apply for the card via this link: www.americanexpress.ca/spgrewards
“This post was sponsored by Amex Bank of Canada. The views and opinions expressed in this blog, however, are purely my own.”