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Chase is currently targeting some cardholders with offers to upgrade their Marriott credit cards. There’s no guarantee that you’ll have a similar offer (I wasn’t targeted), but it’s worth checking anyway in case there’s a decent offer available.
The Deal
- Earn bonus points when upgrading an eligible Marriott credit card issued by Chase.
Key Terms
- Upgrade & make your first purchase by April 30, 2024.
Quick Thoughts
Nick came across this upgrade offer when logging into his Chase account and checking the ‘Just For You’ section (this can be found in the main menu).
He currently has an old Marriott Bonvoy Premier card which comes with a 25,000 point free night certificate at renewal each year after paying the $85 annual fee and also has the ability to earn one elite night credit for every $3,000 spent on the card. Chase is offering him 15,000 bonus points to upgrade that Premier card to a Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful card and making a purchase by the end of April. For someone who’s interested in the Bountiful card, that’s not necessarily a bad deal seeing as a card upgrade won’t have any impact on your 5/24 status versus applying for it as a new card.
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.
However, outside of the welcome offer when applying for the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful as a new card, it’s not a card I find particularly compelling. It has a high $250 annual fee, but unlike pretty much every other Marriott credit card that has an annual fee, the Bountiful card doesn’t come with an annual free night certificate. You can earn a 50,000 point free night certificate on the Bountiful card, but it requires $15,000 of spend in a calendar year. If you were to do all that spend at restaurants and grocery stores that’s not a bad return seeing as you’d also earn 4x Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar, but it’s not something I’d get excited by.
It wouldn’t be surprising if there are different upgrade offers out there giving a different number of bonus points or different upgrade options (e.g. from a Marriott Bonvoy Bold card to a Marriott Bonvoy Boundless), so it’s worth checking the ‘Just For You’ section if you have any interest in getting a different Marriott card than the one you have currently.
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If you are receiving these Marriott upgrade offers, you should also be eligible to upgrade to the JPMorgan Ritz Carlton CC that comes with a $300 travel incidental credit, an 85K Marriott Free Night Certificate, and Priority Pass with unlimited guests. Annual fee is $450.
I got something similar to upgrade my Southwest Plus to a Priority. Make a purchase, get 5k RR miles. Would anyone happen to know if this will reset the 24 month bonus calendar for SW cards?
They have been emailing me upgrade offers from Boundless to Bountiful what seems like every other week for months. And the offer was always a laughable 5000 points.
Instead I will close the account and sign up for a new bonus come August when my two years are up.
I took advantage of a similar offer to upgrade my United Gateway to an Explorer on 12/30. (my offer was due to expire on12/31).