SPG vs Marriott Rewards

Update: The SPG card has been updated due to Marriott Reward merger.

Rank	Credit Card	Bonus	Rating	Apply
1		4 Free Nights!!!		Apply NowReview
2		50,000 Bonus Points, Annual Free Night & More		Apply NowReview

Compared the Marriott Premiere Visa and the AMEX SPG

The Marriott team is so sure you will love their Marriott Premier Visa Card they will give you points and bonuses redeemable for up to five free nights at no cost. All you must do is charge one morning coffee on the card (or anything, but coffee seems ubiquitous enough) and you are sorted.

If you are planning a big purchase in the near future, you can double that amount with the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card from American Express. $1,500 in the first three months gets you 50,000 bonus points – though you will need to fork out $120 in annual fees.

Did we mention that Marriott has waived the annual fee for your first year? Sickeningly good value for nothing.

How it Works? Here is how the Bonus Amounts Stack up

So your choice is between a free card offering 30,000 points for basically nothing, or a card offering ~1.6 that if you can spend $1,500 in three months and pony up the $120 annual fee. Marriott and SPG AMEX put their hotels into particular categories which cost different point amounts per night’s stay:

So do the math. You can get 4-8 nights in a category one hotel or, if you can’t find something there, 3 nights in category 5. You’ll also get an additional night from both SPG card Marriott rewards card every year on the anniversary of your card opening at eligible locations.

And to be clear – category one hotels aren’t fleabags. Marriott has a reputation to uphold, it is not as if you’ll ever need to bring your own mousetrap. The hotel tier is based on a few different parameters like location, hotel type and brand. You’ll find more motel-esque lines like the Towneplace Suites and Courtyard in lower categories and more boutique / luxury hotels in the higher ones, like the Autograph Collection for instance.

Earning and Spending Points

As described above, not all points are created equally – one of the major downsides of the Marriott Card is that points may only be spent on hotel stays; however, the ability to transfer points to the SPG program mitigates the issue. Starpoints may be transferred to more than 30 different airline frequent flyer programs – generally at a 1:1 rate – which allows for the card to function like a pretty flexible travel card. Moreover, if you transfer 20,000 points at a go, you will earn 5,000 bonus points – pretty incredible when you consider that is enough, again, to get two free nights at a category one hotel. Alternatively, you can simply use Starpoints to book flights with over 150 airlines – without blackout dates.

These cards are really hidden gems in the Canadian market. There is a stigma against hotel cards because the redemption value is seen as limited; however, as shown above, the merger between SPG and Marriott has opened up a host of opportunities to use points against flights. As a matter of fact, the Aeroplan redemption rate, if 20,000 points are transferred, comes to a 1.25% rate due to the 5,000 point bonus – this is a very good rate against even standard Aeroplan cards.

The Marriott Premiere card gets the coveted Checkrate Checkmate designation: get the Marriott card FOR FREE, make any purchase at all, and get yourself four free nights in a Marriott hotel. Every year you stick around, get an additional night in a category 5 hotel – for free. Alternatively, get ~1.6 points with the SPG AMEX card if you can spend $1,500 within the first three months and fork out the $120 annual fee.

Rank	Credit Card	Bonus	Rating	Apply
1		4 Free Nights!!!		Apply NowReview
2		50,000 Bonus Points, Annual Free Night & More		Apply NowReview

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