i know a bit about the program... i've been a plat for 12 years, plat prem for the last 6. 80-some nights so far this year.
i think the current best offer is 50K after 1st spend. that's for the premiere card. there are 2 marriott rewards cards from chase. "signature" and "premiere". The annual fee for the premiere is 65 vs 35 for the signature. But's a MUCH better card if you stay at marriotts. more bonus points at start, 5 points per dollar vs. 3, 15 nights credit annually vs. 5 or 10; free night at approval and a free night every year. Actually chase has 3 cards, the third is a business card. FULL details on the cards are on marriott's website:
http://www.marriott.com/rewards/earn-points/credit-card-rewards.mihttps://applynowdc2.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?SPID=CQJC is link to the 50K signup. Got it from an FT thread...
marriott's categories start at 1 and go to 7 or 8. 1 is the cheap end - think fairfield in a small town. generally speaking the "rank" is: fairfield, courtyard, residence inn, springhill suites, rennaissance, marriott, jw marriott, the resorts (i'm forgetting some, a couple of the suites places). the category is a blend of the "ranking" and the location, e.g. a NYC courtyard is more expensive/higher category than a middle of nowhere full-service marriott. on marriott's website is a listing of all their properties and what category they are.