I've been doing this the past two years, and thought I'd share...I know finances keep some away from PPUSA, so this might help.
If you sign up for a Marriott Rewards credit card, you'll usually get tens of thousands of bonus reward points. I think I got 60,000 when I signed up 2 years ago, and they're currently offering up to 70,000.
A night's stay at the Residence Inn near Centre Stage Atlanta costs you 20,000 points, so I got two free nights (worth over $200) just for signing up...some nights only cost 15,000 points, depending on dates. On top of that, if you keep the card and pay the annual fee every year, they give you a free night's stay at Marriott category 1-4 hotels (the ResInn is a 4).
So, for paying the $89 annual fee every year, I get a voucher good for a free night's stay...which would have otherwise cost me around $200. If you go to PPUSA every year, that alone makes it worth doing, but add in the bonus points for signing up and it's a no-brainer. Our 3-night stay last year was completely free (40K points + free night voucher), and this year's 2-night will be, too (20K + annual voucher).
Here's the link if you're interested:
https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/marriottpremier/phdmoffer
Note that you do have to spend $2000 on the card in the first 3 months of having it to get the bonus points. If you're like me and charge EVERYTHING, this isn't hard to hit. If you're not gonna make it, but close, just pre-pay your cable bill or something with it two or three months ahead in order to hit the $2000. Never carry a balance, of course, so do this only if you can still pay it off in full every month.
Note that the annual "free night" vouchers are only good for 6 months or so from the date of issue (when you sign up), so if you sign up today, it'll expire before PPUSA. If you call before it expires (mine does in June), they'll usually bump it out by 6 months. Best to wait until you're within 6 months of PPUSA to sign up to avoid the hassle (i.e. April or later), but I wanted to post this while I was thinking about it.
Hope this helps someone!
Craig
If you sign up for a Marriott Rewards credit card, you'll usually get tens of thousands of bonus reward points. I think I got 60,000 when I signed up 2 years ago, and they're currently offering up to 70,000.
A night's stay at the Residence Inn near Centre Stage Atlanta costs you 20,000 points, so I got two free nights (worth over $200) just for signing up...some nights only cost 15,000 points, depending on dates. On top of that, if you keep the card and pay the annual fee every year, they give you a free night's stay at Marriott category 1-4 hotels (the ResInn is a 4).
So, for paying the $89 annual fee every year, I get a voucher good for a free night's stay...which would have otherwise cost me around $200. If you go to PPUSA every year, that alone makes it worth doing, but add in the bonus points for signing up and it's a no-brainer. Our 3-night stay last year was completely free (40K points + free night voucher), and this year's 2-night will be, too (20K + annual voucher).
Here's the link if you're interested:
https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/marriottpremier/phdmoffer
Note that you do have to spend $2000 on the card in the first 3 months of having it to get the bonus points. If you're like me and charge EVERYTHING, this isn't hard to hit. If you're not gonna make it, but close, just pre-pay your cable bill or something with it two or three months ahead in order to hit the $2000. Never carry a balance, of course, so do this only if you can still pay it off in full every month.
Note that the annual "free night" vouchers are only good for 6 months or so from the date of issue (when you sign up), so if you sign up today, it'll expire before PPUSA. If you call before it expires (mine does in June), they'll usually bump it out by 6 months. Best to wait until you're within 6 months of PPUSA to sign up to avoid the hassle (i.e. April or later), but I wanted to post this while I was thinking about it.
Hope this helps someone!
Craig
