Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Visa Signature (old review NOT being updated)

Updated August 19, 2018.  As of February 2019, this product has been rebranded as Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Visa Signature.
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The Facts
  • Annual Fee: $95
  • Signup Bonus: 75,000 points after spending $3,000 within 3 months of new account opening.  This bonus is not available if you currently have Marriott Rewards Premier Card or Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Card or have received a signup bonus for either of these two cards in the past 24 months.  As of 8/26/18, the bonus is not available if you have or had Amex SPG Card in the last 30 days, or if you have or had Amex SPG Business Card or Amex SPG Luxury Card in the last 24 months, or if you applied and were approved for Amex SPG Card, Amex SPG Business Card, or Amex SPG Luxury Card in the last 90 days.  Based on anecdotal reports, this card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (you won't be approved for this card if you have opened 5 or more new accounts within the past 24 months; any new account with any issuer will count, not just with Chase; new accounts include most credit cards and charge cards but exclude non-Chase business cards and store charge cards).  Historical best bonus of this card: 100,000 points when introduced in mid 2018.
  • Application Landing Page
  • Rewards: 6x points at Marriott and Starwood portfolio hotels (over 6,500 worldwide) and 2x everywhere else.
  • Best Use of Marriott points: (1) You may redeem points for hotel stays or upgrades at over 6,500 Marriott portfolio hotels worldwide, including Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, JW Marriott, EDITION, W Hotels, Marriott, Renaissance, Delta, Gaylord, Autograph Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels, Courtyard, AC Hotels, Fairfield, SpringHill Suites, Protea, Moxy, Four Points, element, aloft, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Marriott Executive Apartments, and Marriott Vacation Club.  (2) You may transfer points into airline miles of 30+ frequent flyer programs, mostly at 3:1 ratio.  If you transfer 60,000 points in a bulk you will get 5,000 miles as a bonus (60K points = 25 miles).  Please see our review on Marriott vs. MR vs. UR vs. TY vs. CR for details of the programs that allow frequent flyer miles transfer.  (3) You may also redeem points for Marriott Hotel+Air Travel Packages - you exchange a certain number of Marriott points for a certain number of frequent flyer miles plus a 7-night certificate for a Marriott portfolio hotel at a certain redemption level.  Generally, the new Travel Packages represent devaluation from the old Travel Packages before August 2018 - you will still save some points when use this option, but in our opinion most of the time the saving is not big enough for the hassle of finding a single hotel to stay seven nights in a row.
  • Marriott Benefits: (1) One free night at Marriott portfolio hotels with a redemption level up to 35,000 points upon each cardmember anniversary (the e-certificate expires 12 months after issuance).  (2) 15 night credits toward elite status each calendar year.  (3) Automatic Marriott Silver Elite status, the entry level status which isn't much.  (4) Upgrade to Marriott Gold Elite status, the third tier status, when you spend at least $35,000 per cardmember year.  Marriott Gold, normally achieved by stating at least 25 nights per year, is still nothing much.
  • Other Benefits: Waived foreign transaction fees with an embedded EMV chip.
  • Other Facts: This card contains quite bit of metal, just like Sapphire Preferred, so is heavier than regular plastics.
  • ​History: In anticipation of the new combined Marriott loyalty program, Chase introduced Marriott Premier Plus Visa ($95) in May 2018, replacing the Personal Marriott Premier Visa ($85).  The business version of Marriott Premier Visa ($99) remains the same.

The Math

As Marriott points are normally valued at less than 1 cent per point (0.75 cpp in our book), this card is decent for general spending.  Based on our value, this card returns 1.5% travel rewards and will be outshined by a 2% cashback card (such as Citi Double Cash or Fidelity Visa).  However, if you points valuation is higher or if you know how to maximize points value (especially when transferred to frequent flyer miles), you might still find this card better than 2% cashback cards.  In addition, 6x points at Marriott portfolio hotels may be another reason to spend on this card, because 4.5% travel rewards hold up well to the competition, especially considering the versatility and the large number of transfer partners of Marriott points.

Even if you don't plan to spend much on the card, you might still want to keep it after the first year thanks to the annual free night capped at 35,000 points level, as well as the 15 night credits towards elite status.  Actually, this is one of the few cards that you may want to pay annual fees happily but keep it in the drawer.  

The Conclusion
While Marriott Premier Plus Visa may be a good option for spending for certain Marriott customers, the card actually has a wider appeal due to the annual free night.