<p>I don’t usually go for this, but in today’s mail I got an offer for a Marriott Rewards card that offers a free stay after the first purchase and a free one night stay annually. There is an annual fee of $65. As I said, normally, I would just shred this but I realized that there is a Marriott in my youngest’s new college town that is very nice and very expensive. If we could stay there once a year in exchange for the $65 fee, that would be a very good deal. What do you think??</p>
<p>Marriott Rewards is one of the best hotel reward programs. I’ve used it for many years and have built up enough points to regularly get free rooms when we travel. I just booked one about an hour ago for a trip we’re taking next month. I do not have the credit card, though so I’m not sure how that works in conjunction with the rewards program. One thing I will mention is that there are many different levels in the Marriott system. Some hotels in the Marriott line are ranked higher than others and will thus require more points. So, if the Marriott you’re thinking of is an expensive one, you might want to confirm that it will be available for the free stay.</p>
<p>Good caveat alwaysamom, I will check that out.</p>
<p>I have had this card for a few years and have found it to be worth the annual fee, but there is a restriction on the free room that it has to be level 4 or less (I think that’s right). You get 5 points for every dollar charged at a Marriott property and 2 points for every $1 spent on dining. The annual free night expires after (I think) six months, so make sure you use it within this period if you get the card. I’m personally someone who charges virtually everything and then pays off the next month, so it has been a good deal for me in building points with Marriott Rewards.</p>
<p>I’m a Marriott rewards member and have the Marriott Visa as well. It’s easy to rack up reward points by using this as our major CC. In addition to points, Marriott runs occasional promotions where you earn free nights for a certain number of stays within a set period of time, or receive double points on certain purchases. It’s definitely been worthwhile for us - I’d say we get 4-5 free nights per year. The CC customer service is decent when problems arise. Imo, Marriott customer service at the hotels is spotty.</p>
<p>I’ve been thinking of switching to a Hilton card. I’m a Hilton Honors member too, and although the Marriott website is easier to use than Hilton’s, I’m realizing that Hilton properties are often a step up in terms of customer service and hotel quality. I’m sticking with Marriott as long as it’s smoke-free in all its US hotels, and Hilton isn’t; but when Hilton goes to 100 % non-smoking, I think I’ll switch to their CC.</p>
<p>What kind of Marriott property is in your student’s college town, kathiep? My kid goes to college in a tourist area, where several Marriotts are 5-star (and therefore require many points for a free stay) because of location, not quality. I think you get the least for your money at an actual Marriott Hotel. We prefer Residence Inns and Springhill Suites, when they’re available.</p>
<p>I have the Marriott Reward visa with $30 annual fee (silver I think). The hook to sign up was 3 nights (7500 pts each). I used it last summer on our way driving west. Easy to rack up points when they give you double point promotions etc. I get to use about 3 nights a year. It’s worth it for me! I’m too old for Hazel’s Motel!</p>
<p>Thanks to the suggestion from alwaysamom, I checked out the Marriott in my son’s town - Burlington, VT and, (darn!) It’s a level five one. It occurred to me to look though at my daughters college town, Nashville, and all of the Marriott’s there are in the 1-4 range BUT, she’s not graduating until next Spring so that wouldn’t work. Oh well, this was about the third solicitation I got from them, maybe they will send another one early next year.</p>
<p>ha ha storytime. I too am done with Hazel’s motel!</p>
<p>kathiep,
As someone who has been through 3 graduation seasons in Nashville, I can tell you that the only place you might get to honor free nights will be out by the airport. Most of the Marriott properties require 2 night stays and the Marriott Vanderbilt requires a 3 night minimum during graduation season. I would encourage you to book something next week for whatever graduation you are attending (most of the hotels open their May bookings in June of the previous year) in order to get decent accommodations. S’s girlfriend’s family didn’t book until this spring and ended up in an off brand hotel undergoing renovations that didn’t honor their pet friendly promise. The terms you mentioned earlier are pretty much standard terms for that particular Marriott card, so you can likely get the deal at a more convenient date for you.</p>
<p>I have that Marriott Primier Visa, and it’s a great deal for us. First of all, the free room is limited to Categories 1-4 only in the first year; beginning with the second year, the hotel can be a category 5. You also receive double points for airline travel and rental cars as well as restaurants.
One of the good deals I’ve found is booking less-than-prime nights in college or other small towns - these may be only 10,000 points. The other good deal is the opposite sort of use: staying more than four nights at almost any Marriott. The point requirements drop to where the fifth night is typically free.</p>
<p>2VU0609, I’ve actually already booked a hotel for next year’s Vandy graduation - three nights, but was looking for a better deal. 
My thinking was that if one night of the three were free, it would still be a good deal. This is my third college graduation. My daughter is in grad school at Vandy. </p>
<p>Thanks for the tips midwesterner.</p>
<p>Another vote for Marriott Visa here. We use it almost exclusively and have had many, many free nights – including 3 nights in Rome and 2 in Milan last fall. I will say, though, that when D was at Wake Forest, the Marriott where we always stayed (for proximity to campus) did NOT honor points for either Parents’ Weekends or for the 2 nights preceding graduation. (We went down early and the 3rd night before grad did work with points.)</p>
<p>We joined “Choice Privileges” & accumulate points for free nights. I book on their website and use our AAA card for the AAA discount. Daughter is already a junior, but we had two free nights already. Long after she graduates we will accumulating points in other locations at following chains: Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, Mainstay Suites, Suburban, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, Ascend Collection. No credit card membership required, book your stay online & collect points.</p>
<p>kathiep, if you keep your eyes on Marriott properties for graduation, you probably won’t find a better deal on the Courtyard near Vandy or the Marriott adjacent, but I have been able to move to a cheaper stay twice by staying at the Courtyard Downtown which is not too far from Vandy. Both times I was able to do that in the Feb.-March timeline. My only word of caution is that both the Courtyard Downtown and the Renaissance nearby (which had a preferred Vandy rate for graduation of $149 this year, btw) have valet parking and you need to plan about 45 minutes to claim your car to get to campus. I know you’ll have a great time - best wishes way in advance!</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions 2VU0609!</p>
<p>SLUMOM, I am a member of Choice Privileges too but the choices in both of my current college students town are not that great. We did a Mainstay Suites for the first visit to our son’s college and I couldn’t sleep due to the thin walls. I had the same problem at a Clarion at another college visit. I actually liked the hotels, but I’m a light sleeper and am grumpy if I don’t get a good nights sleep. My own un-scientific research is that the better the hotel, the thicker the walls. At Vandy, the Comfort Inn downtown has had reports of bedbugs.</p>
<p>A nice option for Vandy events is the Hampton Inn and Suites on Elliston Place - free parking as well as walking distance to campus in a nicely-maintained hotel. Not so much the Hampton Inn/Vanderbilt on West End. Lots of nice hotels in the area, of course - we always liked the Embassy Suites on Broadway and had good stays at the West End Marriott and the Courtyard in that area, as well.</p>
<p>frazzled - The embassy suites is where I booked as both Hampton’s were not available - and I looked exactly one year in advance! What complicates it slightly is I really don’t know where my two boys will be at at that time so booked a room with two doubles and a pull out sofa when it really might be just my husband and I. When I visited my daughter earlier this year I stayed at the one on Elliston place so tried for that one first and then the other one. Too many other people play the hotel game too!</p>