Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card Review
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card is Marriott's only co-branded business credit card. This card offers enough benefits to make the card a potential long term keeper for you. In our Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card review we will look at the welcome offer, earning structure, card perks plus share our thoughts.
Bonvoy Business Card's Current Welcome Offer
The current welcome offer for the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card is the following:
- Welcome Offer: Earn 3 Free Night Awards after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Each Free Night Award has a redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points, for a total potential value of up to 150,000 points, at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees. Terms apply.
- The card has a $125 annual fee. See Rates and Fees.
American Express Application Rules
If you want a full overview of the American Express application rules then be sure to check out our guide on all issuers. We will highlight some of the bigger ones here.
- Amex has a once per lifetime welcome offer restriction (outside of targeted no lifetime language offers of which this is not one).
- American Express defines once per lifetime loosely and it is in effect 5-7 years.
- This is since you last held the card, NOT when you last earned a welcome offer. So upgrades and downgrades count against you too.
- American Express only allows you to have 5 of their credit cards at one time.
- Cards without a finite limit do not count against this rule and have their own, and separate, 10 card limit.
- Amex has a 2/90 rule, where it will not approve you for more than two Amex cards during a 90-day period.
- American Express may deny you a welcome offer for any reason but will inform you of that before performing your credit with a pop-up window telling you are not eligible for this offer.
Marriott-Specific Application Rules
On top of the American Express rules there are Marriott Bonvoy card specific application rules that apply to this card. Review our Marriott eligibility chart here.
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
- (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.
This card does NOT fall under the Bonvoy card family rule.
Bonvoy Business Review: Card Earning Rate
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card earns bonus points in the following categories:
- Earn 6x Marriott Bonvoy Points on each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program.
- Earn 4x in the following categories
- Restaurants worldwide
- U.S. gas stations
- Wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers
- U.S. purchases for shipping
- Earn 2x Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card points on all other eligible purchases.
The benefits of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card include:
- A free night award worth up to 35,000 points annually (you can top the award off with up to 15,000 points)(certain hotels have award fees)
- Additional free night award worth up to 35,000 points when you spend $60,000 on the card in a calendar year
- No foreign transaction fees (Rates and Fees)
- 15 elite nights toward status annually
- Get Marriott Bonvoy Gold elite status with your Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express card
ToP Analysis
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card is an interesting card for loyalists, especially for loyalists that enjoy earning Marriott Bonvoy status. That is because the 15 elite night credits from Marriott business cards stack with the 15 elite night credits you get from one of their personal cards. And guess what, this is the only business card show in town. If you carry two Marriott cards each year, a personal version from Amex or Chase, and the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, then you start of every year with at least 30 elite nights banked in your account.
This offer tends to go back and forth between a points offer and a free night certificate offer. Which one is better for you will depend on your planned travel over the next 12 months or so. That is because the free night certificates are only good for 12 months after you earn them. While they can be topped off with up to 15,000 points on top of the 50K free night certificate value, that may not fit into your travel needs. If you don't have anything planned then the points offer may be a better fit for you since they don't have the same type of expiration limitations.
While Bonvoy points are not the most valuable currency on the market, netting less than one cent most of the time, this card offers a decent earning structure if you want to earn them. Getting 4x earning in a variety of areas, some of them high spend like restaurants and U.S. gas stations, is about as good as it gets for Marriott cards.
The annual_fees annual fee, while slightly above the competition, should be offset by the annual free night certificate every year. The fact that you can now top that certificate off with up to an additional 15,000 Bonvoy points makes it a bit easier to use too.
Since this card is a business card, it shouldn't hurt you whether you are over, or under, Chase 5/24. That may make this a good option for you either way, if you find Bonvoy points of value.
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card Review: ToP Thoughts
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card offers enough benefits to offset its annual_fees annual fee. Specifically, the annual free night certificate and 15 elite night credits can make this card a keeper, since you can stack these with elite night credits offered from other Marriott cards.
While the earning structure can be bested by cards that earn transferrable currencies, it is still probably the best option from earning Bonvoy points should that be what you need. The 4x categories will be big expense areas for a lot of businesses out there.
What are your thoughts about the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card? Join the discussion in our Facebook group!
