Bonvoy Bonanza Part 2: Rise of the Targeted Offer

Last week I shared a way to earn some free Marriott points just for creating an account. Today, I decided to follow up on last week's Marriott Bonvoy promo with a saucy sequel...

 

In addition to the cornucopia of public promotions and offers, it's also important to check your account for targeted promotions. Many people (myself included) have been seeing some pretty solid targeted promotions from Marriott recently.

 

Now before you get too excited, I'm going to warn you that Marriott's algorithm can be... frustrating, sometimes. For example, I was lucky enough to get a targeted promotion last month offering double elite nights on stays through a certain period. The only issue is... well... this:

First of all, yes - I am a monster when it comes to hotels. I realize that 176 nights at a single hotel chain is ridiculous.

 

But also, I've already passed the highest elite status requirement this year by over 70 nights, so there is no amount of extra elite nights that could benefit me in any way. The fact that I was "targeted" for this promo is a little confusing...

 

The good news is that just two days ago I received another targeted promotion, this time one that is very valuable to me.

 

For the next 3.5 months, I will earn double points on all hotel stays that include a Friday or Saturday night. The cool part is that I already have four stays booked during that period that include a Friday or Saturday night, meaning I don't have to work at all to earn tons of extra points.

So it seems that when it comes to targeted promotions, the second time's a charm.

 

Anyway, this is just one example of a targeted promotion, but here's how you can check to see which promotions you might have in your account:

From here, you'll see a list of all promotions you're eligible for, including both public and targeted offers. Make sure you register for them in order to be eligible for the bonuses.

 

The best part about targeted offers is that they stack with the ongoing promotion to earn 4,000 bonus points per stay that I shared with you in a past newsletter. So needless to say, you could rack up tens of thousands of points pretty easily with these two promos.

 

From bonus points to free night awards to extra elite night credits, people are finding tons of different offers on their accounts this week, so be sure to check your out ASAP.

It’s that time of the month again - the time when I blow your minds with a credit card so life-changing that it will make you rethink every decision you’ve ever made... A card that's so good, you'll name your next child after it (and may even love it more than that child).

 

I’m trying to get your hopes up really high because no matter how much I pump up this card, you’ll probably still be surprised by how awesome it is.

 

Of all the things I’m going to share with you right now, there is one tiny detail that I won’t be sharing; the name of the card...

 

You see, our bank partners don’t like emails. Given that emails are kind of an important part of the Daily Drop, I’m going to get creative and redact all mentions of the card name and other important details.

 

But don't worry, we have a full article posted on our website which will provide answers to all of your burning questions, and does include the specific card name and other details.

 

Anyway, here it is:

 

The C**** S****** P****** Card is one of the best cards out there. Why? Because it gives you hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars of value every year but only has a $95 annual fee.

 

Here is a picture of the card (Note: Some parts of the card might be redacted):

One of the best benefits of this card is a $50 annual hotel credit. As long as you spend $50 a year on hotels (which you better be doing 🤔) you can pretty much think of this card as having a net $45 annual fee.

 

The card earns C**** U******* R****** points, which can be transferred to fourteen different airline and hotel partners, making it one of the most valuable points currencies out there.

 

Here are the earning rates of the C**** S****** P****** card:

• 5x points on travel booked through the C**** portal
• 3x points on streaming services
• 3x points on dining, take out, and food delivery
• 2x points on all travel purchases (outside of the portal)
• 1 point on everything else

In the full post on our website, I also give you some real-world examples of how you could easily book a trip to Europe every single year just from minimal spending on the card, potentially worth many hundreds of dollars in value.

If you account for the welcome bonus, higher spending, and merchant offers (which give you rebates for spending with certain merchants), you could easily multiply that value and book even more travel every year.

 

 

The card actually has tons of other benefits and perks, so please consider checking out our detailed post if this mysterious description has piqued your interest at all 👇

Okay, I know I've been talking a lot about Marriott, so I'll keep this one quick. 

 

Until December 20th, you can transfer Chase points to Marriott with a 40% bonus, which is pretty solid. Normally we see bonuses of 10%-30%, so a 40% bonus is definitely something to consider.

Most people would say that even with this bonus, transferring points to Marriott is still a bad choice, and here's why:

 

Chase points are considered to be worth about 2 cents each. Marriott points are considered to be worth about 0.7 cents each. So even when you're getting 1.4 Marriott points per Chase point, the value still doesn't quite match the original Chase value of 2 cents per point.

 

While it's definitely not the MOST value you can get from these points, you shouldn't write off this transfer bonus entirely, and I'll tell you why.

 

As I showed you earlier, I am a pretty gung-ho Marriott loyalist. They have the largest footprint of any hotel chain in the world. As a frequent global traveler, there is no better choice than Marriott when it comes to looking for accommodations (for me, at least).

 

Let me give you a quick example of how using this transfer bonus could be worthwhile:

 

If you transfer 35,000 Chase points, you'll end up with 49,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. With those points, you could book 5 nights at the Aloft Hotel in Kathmandu (I just stayed there - It's brand new and one of the nicest hotels in the city). 

If you were paying cash, this exact stay would cost you $969 USD. So in this case, you're getting 2.8 cents per point in value, which is higher than what you'd get by using them with almost any other transfer partner.

So if you can get creative with your hotel bookings and want to prioritize Marriott over other hotels and airlines, I would at least consider taking advantage of this deal before it expires on December 20th.

 

If you are super excited about this but don't have any Chase points, then I'll give you a tip: read the previous section of this newsletter 😉

Are you feeling Bonvoy fatigue yet? I know I am... The last couple of newsletters have included a lot of Marriott-related content. Hey, I don't make the travel promos, I just bringeth them unto you. That's just how things have shaken out the last few days!

 

Do you love Marriott, hate Marriott, or could you not care less about Marriott? Are you going to pick up the C**** S****** P****** Card? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.

 

ขอให้มีวันที่ดี,

Head Writer, The Daily Drop