I’ve been very impressed with Marriott’s acquisition of SPG so far, they allow you to transfer points at a fair rate and in both directions and also give instant reciprocal status. They’ve now added another benefit and that’s reciprocal earning on the three credit cards the offer. It works as follows:
- Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase Card Members can earn five Marriott Rewards points for each dollar spent using the Card on qualifying purchases made at participating SPG properties globally.
- The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card from JPMorgan Card Members can earn five Ritz-Carlton Rewards points for each dollar spent using the Card on qualifying purchases made at participating SPG properties globally.
- Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card by American Express Card Members can earn two Starpoints per dollar using the Card directly at hotels participating in Marriott Rewards globally.
[Read:Â Best Uses Of Marriott & SPG Points]
If you have all three cards then using the SPG card would make the most sense regardless of where you stay (you’d earn 6x Marriott points on SPG stays and 6x Marriott points on Marriott stays compared to 5x and 5x with Marriott or Ritz-Carlton). I’m surprised that Marriott was able to get this change made, but it’s possible they are simply paying the points difference themselves rather than amending existing contracts. It’s also possible that this is a sign that American Express will be able to continue to issue an SPG card, but it’s too early to make any sort of inference.
