5 Marriott Points Cards & ~2 Weeks Before New Restrictions Begin – Plan Your Strategy NOW!

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Starting August 26, 2018 (~2 weeks from now!), AMEX and Chase will have new rules about who can apply for Marriott points-earning cards.  And the 2 banks will even share data to make sure no one gets around the restrictions.

But until then, current rules are in place.  So you have ~2 weeks to plan which Marriott cards you want.  Plus, there’s a brand new AMEX Starwood Luxury card expected August 23, 2018.  So if you want that one, be sure to include it in your strategy!

The information for the Marriott Rewards Premier Business Credit Card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets.  The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

I’ll go over the current rules.  And remind you of the welcome offers to help you decide!

You Have ~2 Weeks Before New Restrictions Make It Harder to Get Marriott & Starwood Cards

Link:   New (Harsh!) Restrictions Coming to Marriott and Starwood Cards, and Info on Marriott Travel Package Changes

The key date to remember is August 26, 2018.  Starting then, AMEX and Chase will have much tighter application restrictions if you’ve had other Marriott or Starwood cards in the past.

The new rules include:

• 30 or 90-day wait times, depending on when you opened other cards
• 24-month wait time, if you’ve earned certain bonuses on other cards
• Ineligibility to earn all AMEX welcome offers a second time on the same card

Even worse, the rules vary depending which card you want – and which ones you have or had.

Until then, you can apply for new cards under existing rules, which are much easier to navigate.  Right now, there are 4 cards that earn Marriott points (2 from AMEX and 2 from Chase).  And on August 23, 2018, AMEX will introduce the new AMEX Starwood Luxury card.

Here are the 5 cards and their current application rules.  But all this changes in ~2 weeks!

1.   AMEX Starwood Personal Card

Apply Here:   Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express

The welcome bonus on the AMEX Starwood personal card is 75,000 Marriott points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. 

• 6 Marriott points per $1 spent at Marriott and Starwood hotels
• 2 Marriott points per $1 spent on other purchases
• 1 free night (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after your account anniversary date

There’s a $95 annual fee, but it’s waived the first year. (See Rates & Fees)

Like all AMEX cards, if you’ve ever had this card before, you are NOT eligible to earn the welcome bonus.  Keep in mind, AMEX now tells you during the application process if you can earn a welcome offer or not.  Plus, we still don’t know if AMEX will offer this card long term.  So it’s best to grab it now if you’re interested!

Opening this card will count against your Chase 5/24 status.  So make sure to consider which Chase cards you want first if you’re starting with miles & points!

2.   AMEX Starwood Small Business Card

Apply Here:   Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express

Through October 31, 2018, you can earn 100,000 Marriott points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening the AMEX Starwood small business card.

This card earns:

• 6 Marriott points per $1 spent at Marriott and Starwood hotels
• 4 Marriott points per $1 spent at US restaurants, US gas stations, US shipping purchases, and wireless phone service from US carriers
• 2 Marriott points per $1 spent on other purchases
• 1 free night (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after your account anniversary date

There’s a $95 annual fee, which is waived the first year.

AMEX small business cards do NOT count against your Chase 5/24 status.  But, if you’ve had this card in the past, you can’t earn the welcome bonus.

Keep in mind, AMEX does NOT have strict income requirements for small business cards.  Here’s our application guide for AMEX small business cards.

3.   AMEX Starwood Luxury Card

This card is expected to launch on August 23, 2018.  The welcome offer is rumored to be 125,000 Marriott points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account.  This will be a premium card with a $450 annual fee, but you’ll get:

• 6 Marriott points per $1 spent at Marriott and Starwood hotels
• 3 Marriott points per $1 spent on airfare purchased directly from the airline
• 2 Marriott points per $1 spent on other purchases

It will also have a free award night each account anniversary year (worth up to 50,000 points) and $300 to spend at Marriott or Starwood hotels each cardmember year, along with other benefits.  We’ll have a full review once we can confirm the details!

If you like staying at Marriott or Starwood hotels, this card can easily pay for itself.  Especially when you include the welcome bonus the first year!

Because this is a brand new card, everyone is eligible to earn the welcome bonus – with one huge caveat.  You only have 3 days to apply before approval restrictions kick in!

Also, this card is only rumored to launch on August 23, 2018.  AMEX could push back the date.  But for now, it looks like that will be the first day it’s available.

4.   Chase Marriott Premier Plus Card

Apply Here:   Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card

With the Chase Marriott Premier Plus card, you can earn 75,000 Marriott bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.  You’ll also get:

• 6 Marriott points per $1 spent at Marriott and Starwood hotels
• 2 Marriott points per $1 spent on other purchases
• 1 free night (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after your account anniversary date

The annual fee is $95.

Like most Chase cards, this one is impacted by their 5/24 rule.  That means if you’ve opened 5+ new cards in the past 24 months (except certain small business cards), you will NOT be approved.

5.   Chase Marriott Premier Small Business Card

Apply Here:   Marriott Rewards Premier Business Credit Card

When you open the Chase Marriott Premier small business card, you can earn 75,000 Marriott points when you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months.  And you can earn:

• 6 Marriott points per $1 at participating Marriott locations worldwide
• 4 Marriott points per $1 spent on gas station, restaurant, shipping, internet, cable and phone service purchases
• 2 Marriott points per $1 on all other purchases
• 1 free night (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after your account anniversary date

This card is NOT impacted by Chase’s 5/24 rule.  But keep in mind, you need to have a for-profit business to qualify.  Here are tips for applying for a Chase small business card.

So, What’s Your Strategy?

Above all, remember:

• You can only earn the welcome offer with AMEX cards once per lifetime
• AMEX and Chase personal cards will count against your Chase 5/24 status
• AMEX and Chase small business cards will NOT count against your Chase 5/24 status

These rules matter, depending on which cards you want – and which ones you’ve had before.  Let’s look at a few scenarios.

If You’ve Never Had a Marriott or Starwood Card

The (Marriott points) world is your oyster!  As always, you should get any Chase cards impacted by the 5/24 rule first.  From the 5 Marriott cards above, only the Chase Marriott personal card is affected.  If you’ve opened more than 5 cards in the last 24 months, you won’t be eligible.  In which case, you can move toward the others.

If you want the AMEX Starwood cards, keep in mind AMEX will only usually let you open 2 cards within 90 days.  And you can only have 4 (or possibly 5) AMEX credit cards at one time.  All of the AMEX Starwood cards are credit cards.

And if you want either small business card from AMEX or Chase, you’ll need to show some sort of business income.  But you might already qualify and not even know it!

If You Already Have a Marriott or Starwood Card

Here’s your chance to get another before the restrictive rules begin!  Starting August 26, 2018, it’ll be harder (and more confusing!) to open these cards.

If you’ve ever had any of the AMEX Starwood cards, you can’t earn the welcome offer again.

And if you want more than one AMEX card, or if you think you want to get the new AMEX Starwood Luxury card when it’s expected to be released on August 23, 2018, remember to space out your applications by ~5 days.  Considering you have ~2 weeks, now is the time to send in those AMEX card applications!

And if you’ve had either Chase Marriott (personal or small business card), you can NOT earn the bonus again on the same type of card (again, personal or small business) unless it’s been 24 months since you earned your last one.

You also can’t earn the bonus on a new Chase Marriott personal card if you have a Chase Marriott personal card currently open.

The same applies to the Chase Marriott small business card.  You can’t have a Chase Marriott business card open and earn another bonus.

If You Want the New AMEX Starwood Luxury Card

This card will count against your Chase 5/24 status.  If you’re under 5/24, I’d recommend other travel credit cards first.  Unless you really want this one!  Or enjoy staying at Marriott or Starwood hotels.

Also, if you plan to open more than 1 new AMEX card, remember to space them apart by 5 days.  AMEX will only approve you for 2 new credit cards in a 90-day period.

Finally, if you’ve had all the other cards and want to earn more Marriott points, your chance is coming soon in the form of this new card!  Just be prepared to jump during the 3-day period between its expected release and when the new rules take place.

Bottom Line

In ~2 weeks, it will be harder and more confusing to open multiple cards that earn Marriott points.  So the time is now to plan your Marriott and Starwood card applications before new restrictions hit on August 26, 2018.

There are currently 4 cards that earn Marriott points:

• Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
• Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
• Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card
• Marriott Rewards Premier Business Credit Card

And on August 23, 2018, the new AMEX Starwood Luxury card is expected to launch.  So you’ll have a 3-day window to grab that one, too!

Keep in mind, you can only earn the welcome bonus on an AMEX card once per lifetime.  Plus, you can only open 2 cards every 90 days, with 5 days between applications.  And can only have 4 (or 5) credit cards at once.

Meanwhile, you can only earn the bonus on a Chase card if it’s been 24 months since you last earned the bonus and the card is closed.

The only card here impacted by Chase’s 5/24 rule is the Chase Marriott Premier Plus card.  The personal cards on this list will count toward your status, while the business cards won’t.

If you’re interested in any of these cards, I recommend applying ASAP!

What’s your plan for these cards while they’re still relatively easy to get?

For rates and fees of the SPG Amex Card, please click here.