The Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card Annual fee $120 in Canada vs. $85 in USA!
And both of the cards are issued by JPMorgan Chase! I understand that most products are cheaper in the US due to lower tariffs, larger market and competition, but to have a card annual fee (much) higher in Canada when the currencies are almost at par it is ludicrous.
And now about the offer, that I received some time ago. It said that if I applied by October 31st I would earn 50,000 bonus points. It seemed tempting all these points plus a free night stay at any category 1-4 hotel.
However, the annual fee was $120 (waived for the first year) and maybe it’s me but I do not like paying annual fees.
What if I apply, get the points and then cancel the card? The offer did not say anything about a cancellation fee, anything about cancelling for that matter :).
So I called and the Customer Service Representative told me I could cancel after 6 months without paying any penalty. Then I said what if everyone did this and almost right away I knew what she would say “the free night stay at any Category 1-5 hotel after the account anniversary”.
The free night might be worth more than $120 plus all the other advantages. However, the free night must be redeemed within 6 months from date of issue and from past experiences I know I will have a hard time finding a location where I would like to go and all my travel plans would seem to revolve using the free night certificate.
And cancelling the card after 6 months somehow I did not feel good about it. One thing is to realize that I do not need the card after I use it for a few months, but it is different to start with the mindset that I would cancel the card immediately after I am allowed to.
So in the end I did not apply for the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card.
I’m Canadian
Applied & approved last month, with “briefly available to public” 50K signup bonus link, haven’t posted it
but I did use my Free Cat1-4 night already (retail rate was $145+tax at the Residence Inn)
Will see how valuable it is on the no-FX-fee feature
otherwise I may cancel as well before $120 kicks in because I don’t value Marriott free night that much (Radisson points are more useful/cheaper)
It is possible that the cost to buy “points” is higher in Canada and reason for the cost, or they earn less as a % as well on each purchase. So it may or may not be ludicrous
I don’t usually stay at Marriotts but I was considering the card simply because it’s the first CDN card with no fx and a rewards program that I’d see some value in (Chase’s other CDN no-fx cards don’t really appeal to me).
If Chase was to start offering the Cdn version of their Hyatt version with no-fx or a Cdn Chase Sapphire Preferred, I’d be all over those cards like white on rice. Just a fantasy for now I suppose.