What does this mean for recent applicants & existing cardholders?
For those of you who don’t remember or aren’t aware of the Chase Marriott Rewards card (R.I.P.), here’s a quick rundown of what it was all about and why Canadians are up in arms over losing out on its benefits:
- The Marriott credit card came with a tremendous welcome bonus. New members got 30,000 points just for using their cards once without any minimum spending. That’s about equal to a four-night stay in a tier 1 hotel!
- Absolutely no foreign transaction fees; a major boost for travelers and international shoppers.
- Yearly free night anniversary present
- Annual fee waived for the first year
- Elite status
- 5 points for every $1 spent at Marriott locations, 2 points at select locations, and 1 point everywhere else
As you can see, that was a pretty juicy offer, and if Chase does end up abruptly cancelling all of its Canadian accounts, card swipers everywhere will be anxious to fill the void. Here are some alternatives to the Chase credit card that offer similar benefits:
The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card (SPG)
The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card is a good starting replacement for the Marriott Rewards card. It offers great incentives for travelers including:
- $250 statement credit for purchasing $1,500 for the first 3 months and $200 for Starwood and Mariott purchases on your card for the first 6 months.
- 2 points received for every $1 spent at participating locations and 1 point for everything else
- An annual free night upon hitting the $40,000 spend mark
- Upgrade to the Gold status when you hit the $30,000 annual spending mark
- 10,000 points for referring a friend
Some of these benefits aren’t as exciting as the Marriott card, while others outshine it by a lot.
MBNA’s Best Western Rewards Mastercard
MBNA’s Best Western Rewards Mastercard also has some great benefits that make it a hot pick for Canadians. Sign up and receive:
- No annual fee, ever!
- 5 points for every $1 spent at Best Westerns and 1 point everywhere else
- 20,000 in welcome bonus points just for signing up and making any purchase. We’re talking a package of Rolos. A package of Rolos is enough to stay totally free overnight at the tier 3 hotel of your choice (or longer for lower tier accommodations).
- Upgrade to Gold status
These perks, in addition to a super-low balance transfer rate of 1.99% for the first 10 months, will make a transition over to the MBNA card very profitable.
Will Amex scoop its own Marriott partnership?
We can’t help but wonder if American Express will capitalize on this opportunity to grab many of Chase’s forsaken Canadian cardholders, who rely on the hotel-credit card partnership for major savings on travel expenses. This is more than a random guess given Amex’s latest business dealings, which appointed the credit card company as the sole distributor of Hilton cards starting in January.
And let’s not forget that last year American Express launched the Starwood Preferred Guest card after Starwood was bought by Marriott. So it’s a seemingly natural move for Amex to scoop up the vacant Marriott partnership in Canada.
Even if Chase decides to pull the plug on Canadian account holders, Canadians aren’t up the creek without a paddle. There are plenty of great card options out there.
American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply link.
