If you have an upcoming vacation in a Marriott Hotel or a participating resort Marriott Bonvoy programWhat is the best credit card to use for your vacation? should you use a Marriott co-branded credit cardOr is another one best for your stay?
With Marriott launches two new credit cards and makes other big changes in September 2022, has the answer to this question changed in the past year? Here are some popular credit cards you can use to pay for your next Marriott stay and what they can do for you in terms of return on spending and perks during your stay.
Compare credit cards when staying at Marriott hotels
In addition to using a Marriott co-branded credit card, you may also consider using a travel rewards card that earn Points are transferable. Let’s look at some of the popular options and what you can get with these cards.
*Bonus value is an estimated value in TPG not the card issuer.
Information about the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful card has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Which card should you use?
There are two parts to this conversation: the benefits you get during your stay and the points you earn on the card when you pay for your stay.
For the first part, it’s relatively simple. Your elite status perks will apply regardless of whether or not you use a particular pass for your stay. For example, you don’t need to pay in Bonvoy Brilliant Card for your enjoyment Elite Platinum Status benefits on your next stay at Marriott.
(One exception is booking a Marriott vacation paid for using Sapphire Reserve through the Chase travel portal. Normally this will count as third party bookingso while you’ll earn 10 Ultimate Rewards points for every dollar spent on a purchase, you may be giving up any Marriott elite status perks you may have .)
your use Marriott co-branded credit card may not be your best bet for earning points from spending money at Marriott Bonvoy properties. That’s because some cards are earned Points are transferable can provide a better rate of return on spend on your hotel stays. In addition, you will be able to use these points for many purposes other than upcoming hotel stays.
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When earning points with American Express Membership Rewards or Chase the ultimate rewardyou can convert them to Marriott Bonvoy if you want to use them to redeem hotel points, but you can also redeem these points in other ways, such as to flight or Cruises. If you pay with a Marriott co-branded card, you’ll earn Marriott Bonvoy pointsthere are fewer redemption options.
One caveat to this is if you’re trying to spend your way to a higher level of Marriott Bonvoy status or trying to hit the annual selection benefit. You will need to pay in Bonvoy Brilliant Card to meet the spending requirements for a annual selection benefits and will need to pay with your Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card if you want to achieve Gold Elite status through spending. That requires $35,000 in purchases on your card each year.
Related: Here’s everything you need to know about using Marriott’s Suite Night Rewards
However, you may be able to achieve Platinum Elite status without spending too much on the hotel credit card. For most people, it is cheaper to achieve Marriott Bonvoy status by staying at inexpensive hotels and hold both personal and small business Marriott credit cards.
bottom line
The credit card you should use for an upcoming trip may not initially have the answer you expect. Usually, using a credit card in the name of a hotel or airline is not the best card for that purchase. Instead, you can earn more (or more) valuable rewards using a different card. That is because Transferable points are more valuable than points belonging to only one rewards program.
Fortunately, credit card payments are not attached to Marriott Bonvoy program doesn’t mean you’ll sacrifice Marriott elite status benefits (if you have one). Therefore, you should pay with any card in your wallet to get the most valuable rewards.
Also in this series:
For Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card prices and fees, click This.
For prices and fees for the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card, click This.
For Marriott Bonvoy business card prices and fees, click This.
For Amex Green card rates and fees, click This.
Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox.
