Marriott Points Conundrum

I have 7,824 Marriott points.
I get a letter in the mail that says I can use those points in exchange for free magazine subscriptions and even newspapers, well one paper, the Wall Street Journal.
And that is pretty cool, I would get the Journal and Newsweek, but I can also stay for free for one night in a Category Two hotel for 7,500 points.
I'm not planning any big travel until next summer, when I head to Jersey for a wedding. Unless some random work stuff comes up, but I wouldn't use my points for work travel.
Marriott points don't expire either, they just roll over from year-to-year.
I can get free stuff or a free room, what should I do?
The best thing of all is that revenge is a dish best served cold. The points are from when I worked for Gannett, and that seems like decades ago now.

 

save them. i subscribe to about 15 magazines (yeah, i'm obsessed...it drives my wife nuts...i don't have anywhere near enough time to read them all) because i've cashed in frequent flier points whenever they're set to expire. but that's because i'd lose the points. and i'm usually about 15-20,000 points from a free flight. for you though, you can have a nice weekend trip and stay in a hotel for free even if you don't accumulate a single other point.

 

I used my airline miles to get the WSJ and have enjoyed it. Biggest plus: They haven't missed a delivery.

I never realized how conservative the paper is -- their editorials are super-conservative, and their news coverage has a right-wing accent.

For example, stories about the environment are always told Saran-wrapped by issues of money, the economy, etc. If you can get past that, it's really a thought-provoking paper.

Their sports coverage kinda sucks, though.

 

7k Marriott points? Did you start last week?

 

How news affects business? Shocking from the Wall Street Journal.

 

hhh - sort of implied there... the actual "truth" doesn't always seem to be their first concern. That's a problem for a newspaper, IMHO.

 

But the Personal Journal and weekend sections are terrific.

 

yeah - they've upped their fashion coverage bigtime. I had no idea the WSJ was so into that.

 

They finally figured out women buy stuff. 8)

 

Their "catalog critic" feature is fantastic; the amount of $$$ and work that goes into it is pretty remarkable for such a short item.

 

Funny, I told a buddy who does sales and marketing about this and he laughed at me. He said he has close to 500,000 Marriott points. Always stays at a Marriott, he travels about three days a week, and when he flies or rents a car or almost anything that requires a credit card. He doens't use the company card, but a personal one that gives him points. The company reimburses him for the expenses and as a result he hasn't paid for a vacation in years.
I'm leaning toward getting the Journal and a magazine or two. I just don't see myself going anywhere, anytime soon.