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Marriott heading back to Athens in 2018
Marriott just completed its acquisition of Starwood less than a month ago and it’s already expanding the brand across Europe. Marriott has struck a new deal to partner with Chandris hotels and renovate the very centrally located, Metropolitan Hotel in Athens. This would mean that Marriott would return to the Greek capital after leaving two years ago. It’s unclear if the new hotel would keep the Metropolitan name or if it would be named the Athens Marriott, but the Marriott branding will be front and center. Everyone involved is excited about Marriott heading back to Athens in 2018.
A $15 Million renovation is under way
The new hotel will feature 366 rooms, 2 restaurants, a rooftop bar, state of the art fitness center, pool, and new meeting rooms.
Carlton Ervin, Direcotr of development of Marriott International in Europe had this to say:
“We are excited to partner with Chandris hotels, which have a strong history in the hospitality industry and share our vision for innovation. We are also proud that we chose as the first collaboration with an international brand…Their plan for a major renovation in this hotel emphasizes our common faith in the dynamic travel and tourism industry in Greece”.
The location of the hotel is ideal as well, on Syngrou Avenue across the street from the Stavros Niarchos foundation
“The hotel is well placed to benefit from the planned development of the area into an attractive waterfront Riviera, and this serious investment demonstrates our confidence in the future of the city of Athens and our strength as a company,” said George Paidoussis, President of Chandris Hotels.
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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