I just joined as a Marriott rewards member a couple months ago. I am considering signing up for the Marriott Rewards credit card and am trying to figure out how the 15 yearly bonus credits are applied. I am only aware of one non-business Marriott credit card, so if there are additional choices please let me know. It seems that the credits are applied like traditional nights, so eg, if I was to sign up for the credit card in January 2016, the 15 nights would be applied to me for 2016, but since all credits are applied to the following year, doesn't this mean I could still use those 15 credits toward elite status in 2017, plus an additional 15 credits that would be applied in January 2017, making 30 credits at that time?
When speaking to Marriott rewards on the phone today, I was told that these credits are applied like regular hotel nights, but wanted to clarify if this is correct.