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Point hotels in Israel are hard to come by.
Not long ago Starwood had 13 properties that were all bargains with Starpoints. I stayed in many of them on a month-long trek across the holy land in August of 2007 spending just a couple thousand Starpoints per night to stay in Jerusalem, Haifa, Eilat, Tiberias, and the Dead Sea. Now there’s just 1 left, the Sheraton Tel Aviv, and at 12K-16K points per night it’s not the bargain it once was. Though with the SPG business card you’ll get free access to their lounge starting next month. The W Tel Aviv-Jaffa was slated to open fall 2015 but that has been pushed back to fall 2016.
It seems hotels don’t need to stay part of a loyalty program to fill up their rooms in Israel.
Hyatt had a Jerusalem hotel but now has nothing.
Hilton has had several hotels in Jerusalem over the years that have come and gone. The David Citadel opened as the Hilton Jerusalem in 1998 but left Hilton in 2001. The Waldorf Astoria is an awesome addition to the scene, though it’s 64K-80K points per night. Citi has a 75K limited time offer on the Citi Hilton card plus they give 2 free nights there with the Citi Hilton Reserve card. The Reserve card even gives Gold status which earns you free breakfast, a real treat at the Waldorf.
Chase recently released a limited time offer on the Chase Marriott card for 80K bonus points for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
You also get a free night at a category 1-5 hotel every year that you renew the card, which takes the sting out of the $85 annual fee.
There are no foreign transaction fees and you earn 2 points per dollar on airfare, car rentals, and restaurants and 5 points per dollar at Marriott hotels.
The Marriott program is split into “categories” and “tiers.”
Marriott has 9 categories of hotels that range from 7,500 to 45,000 points per night or 6,000 to 40,000 points per night when they’re on PointSavers.
Marriott also has 5 tiers of Ritz Carlton hotels that range from 30,000 to 70,000 points per night or 20,000 to 60,000 points per night when they’re on PointSavers.
When you stay 4 nights you get the 5th night free. You can browse hotels in each of those categories and tiers via the find button on this page. While there you can look at the additional free night you receive at signup besides for the bonus points at category 1-4 hotels.
You can also transfer points into miles here. The ratios aren’t great, but if you need some Southwest points for Companion pass status that can be worthwhile.
Marriott also offers miles+nights packages.
Israel has 2 Marriott hotels:
The Ritz-Carlton Herzliya is a luxury hotel that opened 7 months ago and has been getting rave reviews on TripAdvisor and on DDF. They even provide complimentary rides in the hotel’s Jaguar.
It is a Ritz-Carlton tier 3 hotel which means that it’s 50,000 points per night or 200,000 points for a 5 night stay (40,000 points per night).
A standard room for a tourist from 08/09-08/14 is $2,875 or $575 per night. Or you can use 200,000 points, a value of 1.44 cents per point. The 80K signup bonus would be worth over $1,125 for a redemption at that value per point.
Marriott allows free point transfers between spouses, so if 2 spouses both get a Marriott card and spend $3,000 on each they would have at least 166,000 points. You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott, but in most cases there are better uses for Ultimate Rewards points. After all you can buy increments of 1,000 points for $12.50 and Ultimate Rewards are worth more than that.
The Renaissance Tel Aviv Hotel is a category 7 hotel that goes for 35,000 points per night or 140,000 points for a 5 night stay (28,000 points per night.)
A standard room for a tourist from 08/09-08/14 is $1,465 or $293 per night. Or you can use 140,000 points, a value of 1.05 cents per point. The 80K signup bonus would be worth $540 for a redemption at that value per point.
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36 Comments On "How Far Will The Chase Marriott 80K Limited Time Signup Bonus Go For Hotels In Israel?"
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Can I transfer marriot points to UR?
@Mark:
No, nothing transfers into Chase UR, only out of UR.
Same goes for AMEX MR.
If the spouses don’t have the same last name can the point still be transferred?
@Yr:
Yes.
“Providing your spouse or domestic partner is a Marriott Rewards member, you can transfer your points to them. To transfer points, call Marriott Rewards Customer Support at 801-468-4000”
Do these points work for Atlantis?
@AG:
Yes.
Atlantis, Beach Tower, Autograph Collection: Category 7
Atlantis, Coral Towers, Autograph Collection: Category 7
Atlantis, Royal Towers, Autograph Collection: Category 8
The Cove Atlantis, Autograph Collection: Category 9
Is there any way to get direct flight from Toronto to Israel using American or BA points (without paying massive fuel charges)?
@michael:
Only El Al and Air Canada fly nonstop from YYZ-TLV. Neither of those partners with AA or BA.
So you would need to connect.
where can i sell marriot points?
1. The Citi Hilton card app does not say anything about 2 free nights anywhere. please advise. 2. If I Get The Citi Hilton card and spend 2k, do I have enough for 3 nights in Waldorf?
@Moishe:
1. I said Citi Hilton Reserve,
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/70299
2. You would need both the Citi Hilton and the Citi Hilton Reserve for 3 nights.
I live in Israel, what is a good way to reach a spending threshold here, being that I don’t have a target! (So I can get this bonus?) Thanks
@Dan:
-1 CMIIW Spg transfers to MR
@SR:
Add a relative stateside as an AU?
@-1:
False.
dan I know this might be wrong post but I want to sign up for spg starwoods is the signup bonus going to go up to 30k spg points any time soon? should I wait and find out?
I just applied for this card for myself and my wife a week ago, with the 50k promotion. How do I get them to give us the 80k? (I didn’t know about this)
Also, I received my credit card, but nothing from Marriott? How do I find out my Marriott rewards number, so that I can open an online account? I thought I’m supposed to receive something from Marriot as well?
@tt:
I don’t have any info about an increased bonus, but it’s probably worth waiting a couple of weeks to see if something comes up.
@Danny29:
SM Chase to match the offer and for your Marriott number.
While mentioning hotels in Israel why don’t you mention IHG has several properties ? Their Jerusalem property has rooms for just 20k now.
dan can you expound a little on the marriot “miles + nights” packages? it seems like a very good deal!!
@Anonymous:
Good point. I do mention them here:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/68161
Their Jerusalem location isn’t really where you want to be as a tourist though.
@benjy:
They are. The chart I linked to is pretty self-explanatory though.
The 80k isn’t a great deal because doesn’t waive 1st year and no free nite better find a lower bonus link and ask them to match to 80 I did this twice in past year no problem
I currently have 170K Marriott points (between me and my spouse) and they sent me something about them expiring in January and their new expiration policy (something about having to be used within a year or 18 months) and I was wondering how I can extend that date? would signing up for this card help? Thanks
Almost all the hotels in Israel official offer rooms only for “3 people,” e.g., 2 adults one child. If you have 2 or 3 kids and they’re willing to sleep on the floor, does anyone give you a hard time?
IIRC IHG has a hotel in the south of israel for 10k a night
I still have around 40,000 points. Any good ideas what to do with them? Or any way to sell?
@matt:
matt can you please explain how you get them to match it? did you SM them before or after you applied?
Be aware that if you use points at the Marriott Tel Aviv you have to pay for breakfast. If you are Platinum Elite with Marriott (75 nights per year) you still get free breakfast.
@Jeremy: All you need to do is earn some points. You can do this by using their credit card, staying at one of their hotels, or shopping on line through the Marriott portal. You have time. The new policy is effective in January, but the inactivity period for expiration is two years, I think.
@matt:
how do i get them to waive the fee
@Dan
What do you think is a better deal? The Chase Marriott with the 80K signup bonus, or the Starwood AMEX with the 30k signup bonus?
@Binyominshmuel:
I’d say 1 Starpoints equals 3 Marriott points, so it’s close to a toss-up.
Get both?
@Dan: @Dan
Yeah both sound like a great deal. I’m just worried about too many inquiries hitting too hard. Applying for both in separate browsers at the same time won’t help with that, right?
@Dan: Yeah both sound like a great deal. I’m just worried about too many inquiries hitting too hard. Applying for both in separate browsers at the same time won’t help with that, right?
If I book with miles as an Israeli for an Israeli hotel, will I pay full VAT on the room price?
Also, it says that the miles price doesn’t cover breakfast (at either Israel “Marriott” hotel). Can anyone confirm that? Can breakfast be added with points?
Stayed at both Marriott hotels in Israel in May,2015. I have Platinum status..
Free lounge access at Renaissance, including breakfast and light hors d’oevres. Also drinks were complimentary.
No free breakfast at Ritz Carlton.. Stayed with points. They did upgrade us to a remarkable room.excellent staff.amazing staff.
Dan,
I read some of the previous posts on hotel cards for stay in Israel. I plan to go in March. Which hotel reward card would you recommend?
A good Moed.