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Just a couple of years ago, the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card was just another co-branded business credit card that offered a good earning rate at Marriott properties and a few good benefits too. Then, in late March 2020, came a small but key policy change that made the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card an invaluable tool for anyone seeking easy Marriott Bonvoy status.
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card
In brief
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card is the only Marriott co-branded business card on the market and it’s issued by American Express.
The card’s key selling points are that it offers the most Bonvoy points per dollar at Marriott properties worldwide, at at U.S. restaurants and at U.S. gas stations, that it offers cardholders a free night at select Marriott properties every year, and that it’s the only card that can be paired with one of a number of other Bonvoy cards to give cardholders 30 elite night credits towards Bonvoy status every year.
In detail
Here’s what you need to know about the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card:
Annual fee
- $125 (rates & fees)
Cost of authorized user cards
- $0 (zero) for up to five additional cards (rates & fees)
Current welcome bonus
- Earn 75,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points after a successful new applicant spends $3,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months of card membership (find out more)
Note: As is usual with Marriott Bonvoy co-branded cards, there are a number of key rules definining who is eligible for the welcome offer so please make sure that you read these rules carefully before submitting an application (the rules have been reproduced at the end of this article).
Earnings (terms apply)
- 6 points/dollar at Marriott Bonvoy properties worldwide
- 4 points/dollar on spending at restaurants worldwide
- 4 points/dollar on spending at U.S. gas stations
- 4 points/dollar on spending on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers
- 4 points/dollar on spending on U.S. purchases for shipping
- 2 points/dollar on eligible spending in all other categories
Key benefits (terms apply and enrollment may be required)
- An annual free night certificate valid at properties costing up to 35,000 points/night
- 15 elite night credits towards elite status every year
- Get a 7% discount off standard rates for standard room reservations at all Marriott Bonvoy properties
- Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to Amex Offers
Why this is a good card
The welcome offer
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card is currently offering successful new applicants 75,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points after they spend $3,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months of card membership. As I currently still value Bonvoy points at 0.6 cents each (based on the value that I know I can get out of them with ease), the points on offer as part of the welcome bonus are, to me, worth $450.
The earning rates
Quite simply, no Marriott Bonvoy card (not even the high-end Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® card) earns more points per dollar at Marriott properties worldwide, and no Bonvoy card can match the Bonvoy Business Card’s earning rates at restaurants and US gas stations which are key spending categories for a lot of people.
If you’re in the market to add to your Marriott Bonvoy points balance, the earning rates that The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card offers are among the best rates that you’ll find.
If, however, if you’re looking to maximize your effective return, other cards may be preferable.
Based on the value I place on Bonvoy Points, the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card offers an effective rebate of between 1.2% and 3.6% (depending on the spending category) and you’ll do better than that with a variety of other credit cards that are readily available.
Elite night credits
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card offers cardholders 15 elite night credits every year (terms apply) just as a number of other Bonvoy co-branded cards do, but the Business card is the only Bonvoy card that can help cardholders do even better.
Back in March 2020, Marriott resurrected an old policy of awarding 15 elite night credits for a personal co-branded credit card and further 15 elite night credits for a business co-branded credit card.
As American Express is the only US card issuer that currently has the right to offer new Marriott Bonvoy Business cards, anyone who doesn’t hold a legacy Bonvoy business card and who wishes to make the most of this policy update has to hold the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card. There is no other option.
30 elite night credits are enough for Bonvoy Gold status, but as the Business card already offers cardholders Gold Elite status, this isn’t a big deal. A slightly bigger deal is the fact that 30 elite night credits will get a Bonvoy member to within 20 credits of valuable Platinum Elite status and benefits like complimentary breakfasts, suite night awards, and 50% bonus points on all stays.
While cards like the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® credit card, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® card, and the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card (no longer open to new applicants), all offer 15 elite night credits, no card pairing that doesn’t include the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card will earn a cardholder 30 elite night credits.
Annual free night certificate
On every anniversary, holders of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card receive a free night certificate which can be used at properties costing up to 35,000 points/night (terms apply) and this certificate can be topped up by using up to a further 15,000 points from a cardholder’s Bonvoy account.
Even if you disregard the good welcome offer and the strong earnings rates at Marriott properties that this card offers, the free night certificate alone should be enough to cover the card’s annual fee year after year.
7% discount
Amex refreshed the Bonvoy Business card in July 2022 and it was at that point that this card started to offer a 7% discount on the standard rate for standard room bookings.
It’s important to note that the standard rate offered by a property may not be the cheapest rate that’s available – early booking rates and rates like the AAA rate may be cheaper – but as standard rate bookings are usually flexible and some of the cheaper rates are often not, this discount may work for travelers who like to keep an element of flexibility to their plans.
The key thing to keep in mind is that cardholders should always explore all the available rates that a property offers and not assume that the rate discounted by 7% is the one to go for.
Bottom line
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card is an excellent card for anyone who’s looking to earn the maximum number of Bonvoy points on their spending and an easy 15 elite night credits without splashing out on a high-price credit card.
It’s also the only card that can help a Bonvoy member earn 30 elite night credits every year without setting foot in a Marriott property.
Currently, the 75,000 bonus points from the welcome offer are enough to allow new cardholders to book a stay at a variety of Marriott’s better properties and the yearly free night certificate should easily help cover the annual fee every year.
Click here to find out how to apply for the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® card Card, please visit this page.
Offer terms per American Express:
Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product or the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.
Welcome offer not available to applicants who (i) have or have had the Marriott Bonvoy® Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Business® Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Rewards® Business Credit Card from Chase in the last 30 days, (ii) have acquired the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase, in the last 90 days, or (iii) received a new Card Member bonus offer in the last 24 months on the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card from Chase, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase.
So what happens at 40 nights? Hotels won’t provide elite benefits and Marriott Corp. doesn’t care.
Not true at all. It’s $5000 SPEND, not $3000.
Article is false, no research went into this article.
That was a typo which has been corrected and for which I apologise.
Now, please submit evidence to support your claim that “no research went into this article”
Sure, be glad to. Right after “Key Benefits” it says,
“The card also offers all cardholders Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status, but that is not a “key” benefit.”
What does this sentence even mean?? The card offers complimentary Marriott Bonvoy GOLD Elite status, NOT silver. I don’t even see “silver” mentioned anywhere in the terms. The article lists both gold and silver, which kind of makes no sense.
Even on Marriott’s website, there is an asterisk* by silver because Silver is only: *Available at participating properties. Gold, Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador don’t have the asterisk.
Hence the claim, “no research went into this article.”
1) If you’re seeing “silver status” mentioned you’re reading a cached version of the article because that was removed some time ago (please use an internet archive site to check for yourself). The Gold status that this card offers is mentioned in the summary of benefits and under the elite credits paragraph.
2) I’m unclear what you mean when you say “Even on Marriott’s website, there is an asterisk* by silver because Silver is only: *Available at participating properties. Gold, Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador don’t have the asterisk.”
Silver Bonvoy status is a standard elite status which (in a very limited way) is recognized by all Bonvoy properties in the same way as all other Bonvoy statuses (https://www.marriott.com/loyalty.mi). There are no properties that choose to ignore Silver status and that recognize Gold, Platinum, Titanium and Ambassador statuses. Please provide a link to the page that you’re referencing.
Click on benefits overview:
https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/member-benefits.mi
This is too much work.
Good luck.