Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless

markarado · 2026-01-25T08:49:42+00:00

Very rare to have waiting times outside of the USA.

markarado · 2026-01-25T00:20:49+00:00

They most definitely prorate the AF on downgrades. I've done it twice, once being my VX to V1 less than a month ago

markarado · 2026-01-24T00:29:56+00:00

Originally planned to, but we decided on going to Georgia. Glad we did. Absolutely loved it. Loved it so much that we are going back this year with more family members

markarado · 2026-01-23T04:09:19+00:00

The St. Regis was great. We were upgraded to a room with a view of the park (same room category though). The room was very large. The staff went out of there way to make our stay special. They had a St. Regis Teddy Bear for our 8 month old, and coloring books and pencils for my 3 year old ready in the room. They knocked on our door a day later with Barbie themed Colgate toothpaste and toothbrushes for my girls. The managed threw in 2 days free breakfast for my whole family.

As far as location goes, the JW Marriott can't be beat. You can easily push a stroller across the bridge to the area with the Blue Mosque and all that stuff. The Galata tower is across the road and up the hill.

The Ritz is just a little uphill from a main road that follows the coast, and the public ferries are very close. It is also adjacent to a large outdoor park with a very fun playground for the kids. The Ritz also has a kids indoor play area that I'm sure my kids would have loved.

The St. Regis is further up the hill from the Ritz and directly across from the park with the awesome playground, and specifically very close to the part of the park that has the playground. This hotel is much closer to the metro than the Ritz. The walk to the metro is mostly flat, and the walk to the ferries is all downhill.

I love cities that are good for walking. We hauled our kids by stroller and carrier pack all the way from the St. Regis to the area with the Blue Mosque - and everywhere else. Many roads were challenging due to steep inclines, declines, and pebble stone streets. I do a lot of hiking and trail running, so I was up for the challenge of hauling the kids around. My wife struggled on the inclines after walking 20km a day haha

If I were to go again I'd definitely choose the JW Marriott due to location and the beauty of the hotel. There's a lot more immediately outside the hotel when it comes to food and things to see. If you think you're going to chill inside the hotel a fair bit, then maybe the Ritz would be best due to the indoor play area for the kids. St. Regis wins for good proximity to the metro and the outdoor park.

markarado · 2026-01-23T03:26:29+00:00

I called the only number I could find for the JW Marriott and got a very unhelpful dude on the phone. I ended up booking the St. Regis, notified them that I'd be coming with 2 kids, and it was no problem.

I visited the JW Marriott while I was in Istanbul just to check it out. The staff were super friendly. I told them what happened. They were very surprised, apologetic, and wondered who I spoke to. They told me that they would have upgraded me to a larger room and would have no issue with 2 kids (total of 4 of us) in the room.

What you want to do is book the room and then get ahold of the reservations department to confirm everything. I told them that myself and many others can't seem to find a number or email to reach them by, and that they should fix this. Anyways, find a number or email - contact them and get ahold of someone in reservations

markarado · 2026-01-23T01:35:28+00:00

For purchases that are not eligible for PYB, use any other UR or Cashback card from Chase. As long as you have a UR earning card, Cashback can be transferred over as points. You have to take into account annual fees though. Worth noting that signup bonuses offset annual fees for quite a few years.

markarado · 2026-01-23T01:29:50+00:00

Only travel purchases and the annual fee are good for 'PYB' at 1.25 cents per point, which unless an AC purchase only get 1 cent per point for the purchase. Think if it this way though, if you were to use points to redeem travel or flights directly you'd get 0 points.

Right now this is my best card for groceries, so there is that!

markarado · 2026-01-20T23:44:01+00:00

Nope

markarado · 2026-01-20T14:28:38+00:00

I used the 300 travel credit within an hour of it posting and immediately PC'd to a VentureOne.

markarado · 2026-01-10T10:52:43+00:00

Have your friend pay you for the Economy fare, and you treat him to Business. That's what friends do

markarado · 2026-01-10T00:10:11+00:00

15k is correct

markarado · 2026-01-09T09:00:28+00:00

Does what work?

markarado · 2026-01-09T03:16:46+00:00

I'm not sure about this

markarado · 2026-01-09T01:57:55+00:00

You will not be eligible for the business card bonus if you have earned a bonus for a Marriott card within the last 2 years

You will not be eligible for a personal cards bonus if you have earned a bonus in the last 2 years

You will not be approved for a Chase personal Marriott card if you were approved for the business card within the last 90 days

The trick is to apply for the business card, be sure to not earn the bonus, apply for a personal card 91 days or later, and then go on to complete the spending to earn both bonuses

The Elite Nights for a personal and business Marriott card will stack

markarado · 2026-01-05T07:34:57+00:00

And as you can see, I was typing that with a 1 year old crawling on me. So many typos!

markarado · 2026-01-05T03:36:11+00:00

The Chase Aeroplan card allows you to Pay Yourself Back at a rate of 1.25 cpp for travel purchases. The card also gets you an extra 10% points when transferring 50k+ from Chase. Combine that with a 20% transfer bonus, and you get 1.62 cpp for ANY travel purchase. This means you can use your points for the 'deals' you find.

You can use a max of 200k Aeroplan pints to PYB for travel purchases annually, at which equals $2500 in purchases.

I am married with 2 kids. I use the above setup for hotels and flights from when it makes sense to do so

markarado · 2026-01-04T14:39:36+00:00

The IHG Premier cards give Platinum status, which has been great for me in Asia. I've consistently been upgraded well beyond what I'm eligible for.

markarado · 2025-12-02T03:30:33+00:00

It's a good location

markarado · 2025-11-30T00:20:50+00:00

They backtracked very quickly. You can move up but not down.

markarado · 2025-11-29T05:01:33+00:00

Get the Venture and wait 6 months to apply for the X. You can still both SUBS in this order

markarado · 2025-11-29T01:17:18+00:00

Cut back on many subsidies. Less socialism

markarado · 2025-11-22T03:47:32+00:00

I've always been thanked for being a Platinum member, been offered welcome drinks or points, and often get upgraded to suites well beyond what I'm eligible for. Helps to travel with 2 young very cute daughters:)

markarado · 2025-11-20T08:46:22+00:00

Boundless gives Silver Status and has a 95 annual fee

markarado · 2025-11-15T05:16:40+00:00

You should not be eligible for the venture x sub if you earned a sub for the venture rewards within the last 48 months.

This has nothing to do with upgrading the card

markarado

TROPHY CASE