Just received in the mail today .... notification from chase that benefits on the chase marriott business card will be changing automatically (effective august 26th), and the 1 elite night credit per 3k in spend will be eliminated. This is some pretty bad news for those of us who relied on cc spend to make our yearly status.
See attached!
Does anyone know if the personal Marriott card is also forcing you to upgrade on August 26th?
As of now, no it is not, however, you can no longer apply for the old Marriott Rewards Premier Visa, but keep an eye out for that card being discontinued at some point and/or slight benefits change.
I would imagine that card is next on the chopping block.
I had the same thought. I didn't upgrade (was offered 10K points). I am willing to forego my upgrade offer to hang onto the free (cat1-4) night for $85 each year instead of paying $95 each year for the free (cat1-5) night. That's good enough for me.
I was offered 30k and didnt upgrade either. Let's see what happens. If they chop the elite night on that one, then we made a bad call. you win some and lose some in the points game.
They've downgraded it slightly by eliminating cat 5 hotels. I'm guessing that the good folks who've been figuring stuff for the new rewards program have drawn the line there to account for the lower AF. I'd be surprised if they chopped the free night certificate on this card entirely. I'm calling it a win for now.
I'm glad for the change and have been anxiously looking forward to it, the 4 point category for gas, restaurants, cable, internet, etc is worth more to me than the 1 night per 3k spend, as is the extra point for Marriott spend (6 vs 5).
After booking my first meeting this year and realizing how easy and inexpensive it is (~ $100) to get 10 nights to help make status, I wish I had just done that in the past years rather than stress about the 3k spend. Really it takes $30,000 on that card to achieve the same number of elite nights you can get in an hour for $100 with one meeting.
Approximately $100!? So you pick out a dinky location, say a Fairfield Inn near the airport, and book a “meeting” over x hours in a day for whatever rate quoted? You’re saying you can pay as little as $100, and you’ll pick up the ten nights?
Yes, $102 including taxes and fees to be exact in my case a few weeks ago ($75 base rate). There are 2 or 3 extensive threads on here with recent posts that include pretty detailed instructions and people relating their personal experiences with this practice.
I'm not following this logic so much. With cc spend, I was getting elite credits for money I was anyway spending. With making meetings, are you anyway doing that or are you spending money to chase credits?
Also, wmrobins are you convinced that the 10 elite night credits per meeting is going to remain post august? It's not clear.
Agreed, you were spending money you were already spending and booking a meeting in some peoples cases is not necessary for the meetings sake so in a way wasting money, but if you determine its worth it then its not "wasting". Also, for just the extra 1 point alone for 2 points on every day spend, 6 points Marriott (one extra point in each case), that is an extra 30k in points on 30k spend over the old card, and most would value that over the $100 spend for a meeting. And if you use the new 4 point category often then that's even more points that you wouldn't earn on the old card.
Am I convinced the 10 credits will remain post August? - Yes I am convinced it will, but many are unsure because the wording on the new policy; see this link if you have not seen the thread already - Rewarding Events Where are we moving forward to August 1?
If you are worried about it changing, everyone seems to be in agreement that if you get the meetings under contract before August 1 you don't have to be concerned about if it changes.
wmrobins you make a fair point regarding spending $100+- vs earning the additional 30k points with the new card. I guess the counterpoints are as follows:
1. We dont yet know if the event situation will remain the same.
2. Buying platinum status each year for $800 via sham meetings seems _______. But whatever, I hear you.
3. At the end of the day, it's still spending money that wouldn't be spent otherwise. The only winner in that is marriott. But again, I hear you.
Fair enough, and those are valid points. Just to be clear, I don't advocate every year doing 8 meetings to get over the 75 night hump to reach platinum or spending 800 bucks, just pointing out what it costs to get 10 nights by meetings ($100) vs 10 nights by cc spend ($30,000), and that in my opinion the additional points earned by the new card outweighs keeping the old card solely for the elite nights.
If in any given year I was sitting at ~65 nights that I'd made organically through usual stays and wanted to make platinum I would have bought a meeting for 100 bucks and not struggle with the cc spend.
In previous years I strove to put every dime I spent on the Marriott card for the 3k/elite night when there's more valuable points in my opinion (chase ultimate rewards for example) that I could have been earning.
Knowing what I know now about how easy it is to book a meeting to close the gap for platinum I'd have done it differently the past few years when I was borderline making platinum.
In that case, we are on the same page. 100%
I would do the same thing to close a gap.
I may even do it this year to achieve the next lifetime status tier.
Cheers
Where do you all find meeting space for $100?! I would be all over that if I needed to hit a level.
AC Hotel Bellevue - $75 per hour. By contrast Marriott Redmond $250, 4 hr block minimum. Both were very functional, I actually used the spaces for a couple meetings (hotel was a block away from one of our construction sties) and once me and a couple buddies watched a hockey playoff game on the huge media screen in the room and drank beers and had food from the on-site restaurant before going out to see a concert.
For me one of the things I really like on the old card is the travel insurance. It can be pretty pricey and the Premier card has really good coverage. I really hope they do not discontinue this card!!!
travelergirl I just received my Chase Explanation of Benefits Guide for the New Marriott Premier Plus credit card. The new card does have the Travel Accident Insurance, Travel and Emergency Assistance Service, Rental Car Collision Damage Waiver, Purchase Protection, Extended Warranty Protection, Trip Delay Insurance, Lost Luggage Benefit, Baggage Delay Benefit, and Road Side Dispatch. Plus in 2019 you receive 15-elite night credits and 6x Points for Marriott purchases and a Free-Night Certificate on your Anniversary Date of the Credit Card. It costs $10 more a year, but seems to be worth it.
credit card benefit 15 elite night credits each year credit_card_free_night_certificate travel_insurance new marriott rewards credit card premier plus credit card
Thanks for the info. I will still keep the old card as long as I can, but its good to know they still have the travel insurance for when I do have to switch to premier plus.
It appears the new card, although they have some travel Insurance, did do away with the main ones. Trip cancellation and trip interruption. I can only hope they do not do away with the old card. It just seems like you get so much more for less money!!!
So both the old and new cards have 15 elite night credit aka automatic silver status.
Correct, both cards have the 15 elite night credits with automatic Silver, pathway to Gold.
In 2018 only... that changes next year, but ALL Marriott/SPG/Ritz cards will offer 15 elite night credits, but you can ONLY collect 15 TOTAL next year, no matter how many cards you have commie
Yup....dumping my business card afterwards and don't forget unable to 'stack' some nights as well.
702rugbyref, out of curiosity, with the 4 point spend category the business card offers that the premier plus does not have, if you were to dump a card why wouldn't you keep the business card and dump the personal card?
I believe they were both going to 6 pts spend...at least I thought. I will also dump one of my personal since I have both the MR (old) and SPG personal. Then I will apply for the personal NEW MR this winter once they create another personal offer.
They are both going to 6 pt for Marriott and 2 point everyday spend, but the business card has a 4 pt category for things like gas, restaurants, cable, internet, etc., the personal card does not.
The free night for every $3,000 was a great perk for me. I would never have reached Platinum without it. Being LT Plat now, I don't miss it and prefer getting extra points with the new card. Nevertheless, I understand how this reduces the value of the card for those without LT status. I guess I got my LT status,. just in time.
Is the free night for every $3,000 spent perk going away for the personal card or is it only the Business Premier?
skell as of this moment in time , the personal card has not removed the elite night credit per 3k spend "perk". But, the business card gave no advance warning before removing it. So, the concern is that the personal card is next on the chopping block. That said, it is all speculation. I have not heard any compelling "insider" information one way or another.
There was about a 2 month advance warning that it was getting removed. This info was "out there" in June, but it's only unfortunately getting emailed/mailed to cardmembers with a month to go. I wouldn't expect it to stay on the personal card beyond this year, and I'm not so sure the personal card itself will stick around much longer either.
For a moment, I thought they were going to physically replace the "black" card as I got the following email:
We wanted to let you know that we mailed you a new credit card yesterday, and it should arrive in 3-5 business days. For security purposes, it will be in a plain, unmarked envelope. Once you receive your card, please visit chase.com/verifycard to confirm that you got it. While you're there, you can also manage your account and personalize your alerts.1 Don't remember why you would be getting a card from us? Here are some reasons:
- Your current card is about to expire
- You were approved for a new account
- You accepted an offer to upgrade to a different rewards program
- You reported your card as lost or stolen, or requested a new card
- We are sending you a new card with updated features or benefits
Then I realized my card expires in 09/2018. Whew!
I had the same email and momentarily thought the same thing. As pingreeman mentioned, my card was expiring. Double whew!
The thread indicates business card; I have the Marriott Rewards "personal" card. Is this card changing the "perks" of this card?? Anyone have any info? Thanks!
No info yet. See above
Have not received any notification to discontinue card. Current statement from Chase describes business-as-usual. C
Great information - thank you everyone. I enjoy the strategic thinking. Can someone please confirm my thinking is correct. With the new premier plus card, I automatically get 15 nights credit which gets me silver. Then, if I spend $35,000 on my card, I get gold status which would be the same as staying another 10 nights (15 +10 = 25 = gold). That part seems very clear. My question however is that if I stay another 25 nights do I earn platinum, assuming I've been credited with 25 above or do I need to stay another 35 nights since I only got credited 15 nights because of the card or do I need to stay 50 nights if neither the 15 from the card and the "10" from spending count?
It all seems clear until it isn't. I appreciate any of your thoughts and am really intrigued with the meeting idea.
Please see attached thread with documentation about the Platinum Premier VISA card. New Chase-Marriott VISA Premier Plus Card Information. Note that the Path to Gold (Note 3) does not say HOW the $35,000 spend will be applied to make you a Gold Member. It does NOT appear that it would add 10 Elite Nights to the 15 Elite Nights that come with the card to achieve Silver Status starting in 2019. It appears to just outright make you Gold much like a Status Challenge would. If that is indeed the case, then you would need to stay 35 nights to attain Platinum (which would be added to the 15 Elite Night credits you receive from the Card Annually starting in 2019 for Silver Status giving you the requisite 50 nights).
As far as I know, only the spg luxury card has a path to platinum by spending $75,000. And, I agree, card spend in these cases will not give you nights, it will simply give you status. Only the legacy chase card gives you nights. The sacrifice, of course, is the very limited amount of points it gives.
Actually no, it's not the only card - both the SPG Luxury AMEX & Ritz Carlton cards (the 2 premium cards) confer Platinum after $75k spend.
And to be clear, only the Chase Marriott Rewards Visa (the old card) gives 1 elite night credit per $3,000 spend - all Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Business cards were upgraded to Premier Plus Business cards on 26 August 2018.
No, if you get 15 elite night credits from any one card, you need to earn another 10 nights for Gold, another 35 nights for Platinum, another 65 nights for Platinum Premier, and another 85 nights for Platinum Premier + Ambassador. You cannot shortcut to Gold via awarded credit card status, and then earn the difference nights to shortcut again to Platinum.
I just received my newest Chase statement, and so far there is no change in benefits to the Chase Premier card, including the Elite night credit for $3k spending.
Got my elite night right on schedule, and hope it continues...
Yes, the personal Old Chase Premier Card has not changed, it was the Business Card that removed the $3K spend = 1 Elite Night Credit automatically. The New Premier Plus VISA also does not have the $3K spend = 1 Elite Night Credit, but does have the 15 Elite Night Credits for Silver Status and a path to Gold for $35K spending. Rumors are running around (nothing confirmed that I know of anyway) that the old Chase Premier Card will drop the $3K spend = 1 Elite Night Credit in 2019 once the new Premier Plus card kicks in with the annual 15 Elite Night Credits. I think you're safe for now to enjoy the Old Premier Card benefits as they have definitely changed under the New Premier Plus card as posted here New Chase-Marriott VISA Premier Plus Card Information.
I'm kind of hoping the 3k/1 night sticks around on the old premier card and that chase doesn't force an upgrade on Jan 1 2019 .I stopped using mine for this year as I'm at 72 nights now and there's no rollover and no chance of me hitting ambassador at 100 as my spend is so low 72 nights and $1723 spent, plus I've been putting everything on the spg lux card for the sign up bonus. But for next year it would sure come in handy.
Here here. I'm hoping the benefit will stick around for at least 2019. I need the requalify for Plat. for just one more year to hit LTP under the new program (along with a handful of additional nights in 2020). If They do force a change, I doubt I'll ever hit LTP. Fingers crossed!
Yes indeed!