Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is happening now! Follow us as Greg, Nick, and Stephen compete to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines before November 23rd. Who will complete the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
A reader reported receiving the following offer to earn up to 120,000 points with a new Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card:
My initial reaction was that the offer was surely terrible. After all, I had previously reviewed and dismissed an advertised 150K Marriott offer. I figured that this one would be just as bad. But, I was sort-of wrong. Under certain circumstances this 120K offer may be worth pursuing…
Comparing the Marriott 120K offer to other offers…
One way to evaluate this offer is to compare it to the best public offer for the same card. The current public offer for the Marriott Rewards Premier Card is 80K bonus points after $3K spend (check this page for up to date offer information). After $3K spend, you would have 83,000 Marriott points, or more, since you’ll earn at least 3,000 points for that $3,000 spend (the card earns 1X for most purchases, 2X for airline, car rental, & restaurants; and 5X at Marriott & SPG properties).
With the 120K offer, you would have to spend $8,300 in order to earn the same 83,000 points. So, clearly, the public 80K offer is better if you don’t need additional points. That said, if you need 120,000 points, the public offer would require $40,000 of 1X spend (less if you spend in bonus categories). So, from that viewpoint, the 120K offer is better if you want or need that many Marriott points.
Another option for earning Marriott points is through SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest) cards. The current public offer for the personal SPG card is 25,000 points after $3K spend. Since SPG points transfer 1 to 3 to Marriott, you would have 28,000 SPG points or 84,000 Marriott points after meeting the card’s spend requirement. You would then need to spend $12,000 more to get to 120,000 Marriott points. Again, the Marriott 120K offer is better if you want or need that many Marriott points. Heck, it’s even better for earning SPG points if you need 120K / 3 = 40,000 of them. The math flips around, though, if you have a targeted SPG offer for 30K points after $3K spend. In that case, including points from spend, you would have 33K SPG points or 99K Marriott points after just $3K spend. If you really need 120K Marriott points, you can get there with $7K additional spend for a total of $10K spend. The targeted SPG 30K offer is better than the targeted 120K Marriott offer. And, obviously, the 35K targeted SPG offer that some have reported is even better.
Update: The following offer for the SPG Business Credit Card has expired. See the link to our SPG Business Card page below for more information on the current available offer.
Now let’s look at the current SPG Business Card offer: Earn 25K points after $6K spend in 3 months, and an additional 10K points after an additional $4K spend in first 6 months. In other words, you can earn 35,000 bonus points after $10K spend. When you factor in the points from spend, you’ll have at least 45,000 SPG points. If you transferred those points to Marriott, you’d have a total of 135,000 Marriott points after $10K spend. The current SPG business card offer is better than the targeted 120K Marriott offer.
Summary
For those who want or need 120K Marriott points, and are able to spend $12K (presumably you have a year to do so), the targeted 120K offer is better than the public 80K offer. Meanwhile, the SPG card offers (targeted personal offer and public business card offer) are even better than the targeted Marriott 120K offer.
Bottom Line
The first decision to make is to decide whether to go with Marriott or SPG or both. If you only want one new card, and you haven’t had it before, then I’d argue that the SPG cards offer the most bang for the buck.
If you decide you want a Marriott card (either because you can’t qualify for a new SPG card or you want both), then deciding between the public and targeted Marriott offers is essential: you can’t get both. If you’re looking for the best bang for your buck, go for the 80K offer. If you’re looking to earn as many Marriott points as possible, go for the 120K offer.
Note: If you’re interested in the 80K offer, you may find that you’re targeted for a better version of that offer by logging into your Marriott account. Then, go through the steps of booking a hotel (but don’t actually complete the final booking step) to see if you are presented with an even better offer.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
This does not address the value of the 3k spend towards 1 night towards the 75 night platinum or the value of points earned w/ credit card spend towards lifetime status w/ Marriot.
That’s true. That adds a bit to the value of the 120K offer
Depends how much you value MRs. If you value them at more than 0.318 cents per point (assuming you’re comparing this offer to the 80k/$3k AF not waived offer, can use the 7.5k authorized user bonus, and otherwise earn 2.25% on regular spend (CFU –> CSR), then the 120k offer is better.
Does the regular 80K offer also includes the elite credit for every $3000 spent?
Yes. That’s one of the standard benefits of the card. It’s not tied to the sign up bonus.
Assuming you would spend $3k to get 80k, the question is whether it is worth it to spend $9k more for 40k more points. Most likely one should go for that assuming they can meet the spend effectively.
[…] year. Greg previously wrote about this offer in comparison to other available offers — see The Marriott 120K Offer [targeted]. Is it any good?. The 80K after $3K spend offer is also still alive. We have added links to both offers on our Best […]
Ever heard of a similar offer on the Chase Marriott Business card?
No, but they did have a 100K offer last year if I recall correctly
Well seeing 1,000 Marriott points equals $6.90( that’s what Marriott pays for them) do the math. Also next time you have a problem with Marriott don’t settle for 1,000 points. They are worth $6.90. People hear 1,000 points and tthink it’s the best. No. Don’t settle a dispute for less than 7 bucks especially since the rooms are well over 100 bucks!
I thought it’s $12.50 per 1000 points, with a maximum purchase of 50,000 points a year… Was I misled?
I think she’s suggesting that’s the price that Marriott pays for them, as in the rate at which it reimburses hotels for awards stays. I don’t know that’s the case, but I take that to be what she means.
I would get the Chase Marriott Business card earning 80K points after $3k in spend, the SPG Business card but only earn the 25K points after $6K spend and also get the Chase Marriott personal card earning 80K points after $3K spend.
You’ll only have one card go against the 5/24 rule (Marriott personal), earn 235K Marriott points after spending $12K. Space the 3 cards out according to your ability to meet the spend requirements.
You would also earn points on the spend requirement, so add an additional 24K points to the total for 259K Marriott points after $12K in spend
@Greg – are we sure the 35k SPG offer is targeted? I’m fairly certain it’s public for the SPG Business card – I’ve referred a couple people for that already and I wasn’t under the impression one could refer a targeted offer…
The business card offer is public (I think that’s what the post says). It’s the personal one that’s targeted.
It’s also worth noting that the 120k offer waives the $85 membership fee for the first year, which improves the value of it slightly. With the 5/24 rule in place I’m tempted to go for the 120k points to squeeze every last cent I can out of those Chase cards even if it takes a bit longer.
The entire premise of this article makes no sense. Unless the min spend is outlandish, always go for the higher offer since, as you put it, you can’t get both.