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Bongiorno Marriott!
In case you missed the news, Marriott released an itemized list of how current hotels will be recategorized under the new program. The reason the news is getting so much hub-bub is that there is a window of opportunity from August 1st to December 31st upon which you can book rates for the whole of 2019 at substantially lower rates than you can book NOW, or starting on January 1st. The reason? Marriott’s implementing an 8th category on January 1st, as well as variable date pricing ( standard, off-peak, and peak), but neither of those elements will be in effect from August 1st until December 31st. What does this mean? It means, hotels that could cost you 90 points on July 31st or 100k points a night to book on January 1st could be booked for 60k from August 1st until December 31st.
I know. I’m like…
4 Iconic Italian hotels. Literally 10s of 1000s of points cheaper in Venice, Rome, and Florence. Don’t forget: Marriott offers a 5th night free when using points!
- Gritti Palace
- Hotel Danieli
- St. Regis Rome
- St. Regis Florence
While we didn’t put together an extensive list of Marriott’s footprint in Italy, we picked the top 4 hotels to book between August and December. Mainly they are in the biggest tourist hubs, offer the biggest discount compared to booking now/January, and offer access to aspirational hotels filled with Italian history and luxury. I highly encourage you to play around with the award chart as there are tons of hotels to choose, and some are even better deals booking now vs post August. ( Boscolo Rome, Rome Grand Flora, Boscolo Venezia, Boscolo Milano, Westin Excelsior Rome, etc)
If you’d like to see how I planned a trip to Italy in 2016 – go here
Back to Marriott. Here’s how it will look: Go here to play around with the chart
When you are playing around with the chart via the link above, if a hotel is saying that it will reprice at 85k points, or category 8, this is true. Starting January 1st. But, the chart takes effect on August 1st, and any of those hotels will be shoved into Category 7, which prices at 60k.
So from August 1st, until December 31st, you will be able to book those hotels at reduced rates.
Other bloggers have noted hotels like St Regis Maldives, Al Maha, St Regis Bora Bora, Bali as being incredible deals. THEY ARE!
However…while the they are deliciously Vision Board worthy…the vast majority of people just won’t go there. However…a lot of people will visit Italy, are planning to go to Italy, made plans to go to Italy, think they should be living in Italy, love Italian food, have heard of Italy, if you’re still reading this section I commend you 😉 Let’s continue on.
A bucket list destination with UBER HISTORIC and FAMED hotels is… Italy. So let’s take a look at a few spots that could save you a ton.
We took a trip there in 2016, and are headed back at the end of this year. PERFECT. I mean…we loved seeing the Coliseum, Pantheon, Trevi, Statue of David, stuffing our face with pasta and wine, and so will you! In addition to this, Italy is super accessible to those living in the States, Europe, Middle East, and is chalked full of tourist sites, and yummy food. Getting more value out of your hard earned points is just icing on the cake. Or biscotti in your espresso. Gelato in your cone. Ok…I’m clearly too caffeinated.
VENICE. You can stay at the famed Gritti Palace or Hotel Danieli before rates skyrocket.
Both of these hotels currently require 30k SPG points, or 90k Marriott Rewards. But, from August 1 to December 31st you can book them for 60k a night. An outstanding deal. Book in January, rates will range between 85k and 100k!
The Gritti Palace – 5 stars. Grand Canal. SUPER FAMOUS.
As you can see: Marriott will make this a category 8 hotel in 2019.
I picked a couple random days in June of 2019: rates were over 1000 Euro a night!
The Hotel Danieli : Another UBER FAMOUS ICONIC hotel.
A couple of random dates in June of 2019 yielded rates over 500 Euros
Let’s go to ROME! The St. Regis to be exact!
The St.Regis will go from being 60k to 85k a night. Meaning, you can book it now, or before and pay greatly reduced rate compared to 2019
A quick look and rates are over 800 Euro
Florence. Firenze! Michelangelo!
Bongiorno David!
The St Regis Florence is in a prime location, city center and full of history.
As you can see it is taking a major price cut between August and December. What once cost 90k Marriott Rewards and will cost 85k come January will be yours for 60k Aug-Dec!
This bad boy is charging over 600 Euros next June.
If you’re looking to add to your stash of Marriott Rewards I would consider the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Plus card. 100k after $5k
- 100k bonus points after $5k spend in 3 months
- Cat 1-5 night annually after account anniversary ( Cat 5s are 35k a night)
- 6 points per $ at Marriott and SPG hotels
- 2 points per $ on all other purchases
- Automatic Silver status
- Spend $35k+ and get gold status
- Starting in 2019 – get 15 elite night credits each year
- Annual fee $95
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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