How Rewarding! Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest Offer Expanded Earning Benefit to Chase and American Express Co-Brand Card Members

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Marriott Rewards®, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®), the innovative and award-winning loyalty programs of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) are announcing an industry-first benefit for members of its co-brand credit cards following Marriott International's recent acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Starting today, Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card by American Express Card Members in the U.S. can earn two Starpoints® for every eligible dollar spent using the Card directly at hotels participating in Marriott Rewards globally. Likewise, Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card from JPMorgan Card Members in the U.S. can earn five Marriott Rewards or The Ritz-Carlton Rewards points for every eligible dollar spent using their respective Card on qualifying purchases made at participating global SPG properties.

This groundbreaking credit card earning opportunity is just the latest benefit offered to loyalty members of all three programs. Already, members of Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and SPG can link their accounts at members.marriott.com to access unparalleled benefits such as instant elite status matching and unlimited points transfer among the three programs.

"Today, we are giving loyalty Card Members more flexibility to earn points no matter where they stay with us. By making our credit cards even more powerful and attractive for them, they'll earn points more quickly and enjoy travel even sooner," said Thom Kozik, Vice President of Loyalty at Marriott. "This earning opportunity comes just weeks after we introduced great new benefits the day of the merger and shows our ongoing commitment to our members so they can truly experience the portfolio and get the most out of each program."

Marriott now offers a diverse portfolio of 30 brands in over 110 countries across the globe, giving members access to the best hotels and resorts wherever they want to travel.

"The rich rewards that existing Card Members already know and love just got even better as we continue to build bridges to connect our tremendous programs," said David Flueck, Senior Vice President of Starwood Preferred Guest. "Now there's even more incentive for members to explore our immense portfolio of more than 5,700 hotels while taking advantage of unprecedented earning power – and this is just the beginning, with even more exciting announcements coming in the future from our iconic loyalty programs."

In addition to existing reward benefits, U.S.-based American Express and Chase Card Members can now enjoy the following NEW benefits:

• Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase Card Members can earn five Marriott Rewards points for each dollar spent using the Card on qualifying purchases made at participating SPG properties globally.
• The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card from JPMorgan Card Members can earn five Ritz-Carlton Rewards points for each dollar spent using the Card on qualifying purchases made at participating SPG properties globally.
• Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card by American Express Card Members can earn two Starpoints per dollar using the Card directly at hotels participating in Marriott Rewards globally.

To learn more about the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express and for full terms, visit spg.com/spgamex

To learn more about the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card from JPMorgan, visit Marriottpremier.com and requestritzcarltoncard.com, respectively.

About Marriott Rewards
Marriott Rewards is Marriott International's award-winning loyalty program spanning 18 brands and over 4,300 properties worldwide. Marriott Rewards is free to join and has no blackout dates and members can earn and redeem points at Marriott International properties around the world and at Marriott Rewards exclusive luxury partner The Ritz-Carlton®.  Members can also redeem points for frequent flyer miles, cruises, car rentals, merchandise, the Experience Marketplace and more. By making rewards accessible with a modern, easy approach, Marriott Rewards continues to be a leader in the industry. Marriott Rewards has won the Freddie Award for "Best Hotel Rewards Program in the Americas" for the last nine years and is a two-time winner of the Frequent Travel Award for "Best Hotel Rewards Program." The program was ranked #1 in J.D. Power's 2016 Hotel Loyalty/Rewards Program Satisfaction Report. In addition, the program has been named best hotel rewards program by the readers of About.com, Business Traveler, Global Traveler, Executive Travel and BusinessWeek magazines. To enroll and for more information about Marriott Rewards, guests can visit MarriottRewards.com.

About The Ritz-Carlton Rewards
The Ritz-Carlton Rewards is the loyalty program of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., of Chevy Chase, Md., which currently operates over 90 hotels and resorts in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Caribbean. More than 30 hotel and residential projects are under development around the globe. The Ritz-Carlton Rewards members accrue either points or miles and have access to a host of luxury benefits and partnerships that provide members with even greater rewards. Members can earn and redeem points at participating The Ritz-Carlton and Marriott International properties worldwide. For more information, or reservations, visit the company web site at www.ritzcarlton.com. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR).

About Starwood Preferred Guest
Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®) is an innovative, award-winning frequent traveler program that unites 11 distinctive hotel brands and includes more luxury hotels in more destinations around the world. SPG's unique portfolio of brands is comprised of Four Points® by Sheraton, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Aloft, W Hotels, Le Méridien, The Luxury Collection®, Element Hotels, Westin® Hotels & Resorts, St. Regis® Hotels & Resorts, Tribute Portfolio and Design Hotels™. SPG reinvented the hospitality loyalty landscape when it launched in 1999 with its breakthrough policy of no blackout dates, and over the years has continued its tradition of innovation with enhancements such as Cash + Points, Your24™, SPG Lifetime™, SPG Moments and 4 p.m. late checkout when available. SPG also offers the opportunity for meeting and travel professionals to earn rich rewards including Starpoints and elite status through SPG Pro. SPG has an ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of today's connected global traveler by leveraging must-have mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android that utilize state-aware technology to create a more personalized hotel stay. All of this has helped SPG build a passionate member base among the world's most frequent travelers. Learn more about the #spglife at spg.com, spg.com/pro and spg.com/moments and connect with us on facebook.com/spg, twitter.com/spg and instagram.com/spg. SPG members can now also link their accounts with Marriott Rewards® for instant elite status matching and unlimited point transfers at spg.com/Marriott.

About Chase
Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. Chase serves nearly half of America's households with a broad range of financial services, including personal banking, credit cards, mortgages, auto financing, investment advice, small business loans and payment processing. Customers can choose how and where they want to bank: 5,300 branches, 18,000 ATMs, mobile, online and by phone. For more information, go to Chase.com.

About American Express
American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, foursquare.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/company/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress.

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SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.