The Marriott Rewards Visa card by Chase was a sweet card for us Canadians for several reasons:
– First year free
– Category 1-5 free night certificate on the first year anniversary
– No Foreign transaction fees
– Easy way to earn Marriott Rewards Points in Canada
I say “was” because around september of last year, Chase has stopped issuing cards to new applicants but had announced those who already held the cards would continue to be grand-fathered and would remain as card holders.
However, Chase has now announced that effective March 15, 2018, the card will be discontinued for all current card holders too.
So, what does this mean? If you currently hold this card, and were thinking of cancelling it, hold off till March 15, 2018 when it will automatically be “lapsed”. This is because Chase will award you a certificate for the free night soon after March 15, 2018, even if your first-year anniversary falls after this date. So, in a way its a good thing for us as we dont have to be committed to the second year and have to pay the annual fee. However, that means we hope some other decent card comes along that doesnt incur foreign transaction fees.
Tip of the hat to Prince of Travel on his blog for being the first to report on this.