I have recently been in discussion with a few people to get there thought process on my travel "situation"

I just switched companies after 10.5 years and I have 4 weeks of travel between now in May 8th.
The good... I can book my own hotel at govt per diem and use my personal card.
The bad... I cant book my own airfare ha bummer..

I am a SWA junkie... I am ALP and have CP... For those that dont know what it is... ALP basically checks you in 48 hours before your flight and CP allows you to take anyone you want for free anywhere you go, for 5.60 one way (9/11 fees).... Pretty badass.. thats 110k points a year... Its quite steep..... What I do thought is pay out of my pocket the business select upgrade piece and get a shit load of points

I use to stay in all Hiltons... this client for the next 3+ years we will be staying Marriotts...

Do I get a Marriott CC and get 5 points for every dollar staying at Marriotts, or keep using the SWA card and get 2pts for every dollar...

Just to give you some info, I have about 290k points in SWA, and 160k with Marriott...
I would prefer to have free flights over hotels, but the thought of more hotel points is nice.

Example: Hotel in Phx is 161... so Marriott I would get 805 bonus points just for using the card versus 322 for SWA.

I know most say CHESS wtf are you thinking go with the MC, I just want to hit my SWA threshold as well...

Fire away grasshoppers

 

I always base my use of travel credit card on what reward will give me the most bang for my buck. That is, if I were to book my flight and pay for it, would it cost more than paying for my hotel? Lately, I've been able to get really good hotel rates compared to flights. Flying UA out of IAH is just a clusterfuck. So we use the United Club Card and try not to pay for airfare at all, which ends up being cheaper than paying for airfare and using points on hotel. So that's how I run my calculus. It is nice to have the airline status ...

 

I'd get the ritz Carlton card.. You will still get the 5x points at marriot, but you will have the free nights and benefits at the ritz for your leisure travel..

 

does it give you the 80k points if you spend 3k in 3 months though ? I dont think it does.... I never can get a Ritz within per diem ever

 

Chess, I have both cards you mentioned, and try to use each card for each type of travel / stay. I am A list on SWA with around 200k points as well (but not yet CP), and am Platinum with Marriott due to stays / use of card. I think the extra bonus of using each type of card for their own brand / use gets you more overall benefit than using say the SWA card for the Marriott stay. At least in my opinion.

 

I think the current ritz offer is 2 free nights for 4K spend.. I guess there used to be. 140k points offer but that not current

 

@VEGASBJ thats good to know... I think I am going to say F it and go ahead and get the Marriott Card honestly... Its almost a no brainer for me, and if I am going to be gone on travel for 4 weeks not total, but just in general for site surveys and I know there will be more throughout the year its almost like a DUH WHY NOT....
5pts per dollar is insane.

 

Yes, it's a good value as well as some like 40-50k bonus for minimal spending in the first 3 months

 

Marriott is doing 80k bonus which is INSANE honestly....I know within the first 3 months I will have way over 3k... LOL

 

That is crazy. I would do that as its a no brainer