Targeted: 3 Free Nights With the Chase Marriott Card – But You Should Probably Skip It

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There’s a new targeted offer to earn 3 free award nights (up to a value of 35,000 points each) with the Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card after meeting minimum spending requirements.  The current public deal is for 2 free nights, also capped at a value of 35,000 points per night.

The total value of the 3 free nights is worth up to 105,000 Marriott points.  But if you were targeted for this offer, you should consider the flexibility you’d give up.

Instead, I recommend holding out for another 100,000-point offer.  Or find an even better deal with the best travel cards.  Here’s why!

Chase Marriott Card’s Targeted 3-Night Offer Is Better, but Still Not Great

Folks report getting a targeted email to earn 3 free award nights (up to a value of 35,000 points each) after opening the Chase Marriott card and spending $3,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.

That’s 1 night more than the current public offer to earn 2 free award nights with the same amount of spending.

And if you stayed 3 nights at hotels that cost 35,000 points per night, you’d get a value of 105,000 Marriott points.

With this card, you also get:

• Free night award (at hotels costing 35,000 Marriott points or less) every year after your account anniversary
• 6 Marriott points per $1 spent at participating Marriott hotels
• 2 Marriott points per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Automatic Silver Elite Status (10% bonus points on paid stays, late checkout when available)
• Gold Elite Status (25% bonus points on paid stays, lounge access / free breakfast, guaranteed late check-out, room upgrades when available) when you spend $35,000 on purchases each account year
• Starting in 2019, 15 elite night credits each calendar year
• Points in your loyalty account never expire as long as you make a purchase with the card every 24 months
• NO foreign transaction fees

There’s a $95 annual fee.

But Lots of Folks Can’t Even Get Their Foot in the Door

This card is restricted by Chase’s 5/24 rule, which means if you’ve opened 5+ credit cards from ANY bank in the past 24 months (excluding certain small business cards and Chase business cards), Chase will NOT approve you for their best travel rewards credit cards.

You also can’t earn the bonus if you:

• Currently have the card
• Earned the bonus on the card within the last 24 months
• Had the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express within the last 30 days
• Earned a welcome offer or upgrade bonus on the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express or Starwood Preferred Guest^® American Express Luxury Card in the last 24 months, or opened one of these cards in the last 90 days

So if any of these apply to you, you can’t get this offer.

But You Should Probably Skip It Anyway

Marriott points transfer to 40+ airline partners, with most of them at a 3:1 transfer rate (exceptions are noted in the table below):

When you sign-up for a deal for 3 award nights, you can only use them for free nights at an eligible Marriott hotel.  Whereas if you earn points as a sign-up bonus, you have the flexibility to transfer them to airline partners.  A few partners exclusively have Marriott as a travel partner, including Alaska Airlines, Japan Airlines, and Korean Air.

Plus, Marriott gives you the 5th night free on award stays.

With a 3-night offer, you couldn’t get anything beyond 3 nights.  But if you earned points, you could stretch them by staying at a lower-tier Marriott hotel and getting a free night.

A big part of why Marriott points are valuable is their flexibility.  And with this deal, you give that up.

So Who Should Consider This Deal?

Assuming you’re eligible to apply, you might consider this offer if you have a plan to stay at a Marriott Category 5 hotel for 3 nights, and don’t mind giving up points transfers to partners, or the 5th night free on a lower-tier award stay.

This deal is better than the card’s public offer because you’ll get an extra free award night.  But if you can wait, I recommend hanging on until another 100,000-point offer rolls around.

Sure, that’s 5,000 points less than the maximum value of 105,000 Marriott points you could potentially get with 3 free award nights, but I think it’s worth taking a hit to have more options and flexibility.

And if you’re ready to add a new card to your wallet to earn award travel, take a look at the best travel reward cards.

For those targeted, will you apply for this offer now, or wait for one that earns points instead of free nights?