Marriott, Starwood unveil new credit card perks that could benefit you

Company mergers are often good for business and bad for consumers, so people didn’t really know what to expect when Marriott International (MAR) and Starwood Hotels (HOT) joined forces in September. No one can predict what will happen down the road, but so far, the new hotel duo has continued to roll out impressive benefits for members of both loyalty programs.

On Tuesday, Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) announced that loyalty members using co-branded credit cards linked to one of the hotel chains could expect new perks the next time they swiped.

Effective immediately, customers can use their Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card by American Express to earn two Starpoints for every dollar spent at hotels participating in Marriott Rewards around the world. On the flip side, customers using the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card can now earn five Marriott Rewards or Ritz Carlton points for every dollar spent on qualifying purchases at participating SPG properties around the globe.

Of the two loyalty programs, Starpoints have a slightly higher value. This means that the ability to earn two points per dollar with the Starwood American Express credit card when you use it at Starwood and Marriott properties is a slightly better deal. Still, customers will benefit either way.

This credit card news is just the latest perk for customers after the merger. In September, members of SPG, Marriott Rewards and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards were given the option to link their loyalty accounts at members.marriott.com. By doing this, members of the three programs have access to benefits not previously available to them, like the ability to transfer three Marriott Rewards points for one SPG point. Guests who link their accounts also get their elite status matched across loyalty programs and receive lower loyalty member room rates at all 30 hotels brands.

After joining forces with Starwood last month, Marriott International now has 30 brands in its portfolio, totaling more than 5,700 hotels in 110 countries.

Marriott Rewards and Ritz CArlton Rewards programs have 54 million members combined. Starwood Preferred Guest has more than 21 million members worldwide.

Brittany is a writer at Yahoo Finance.

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