Marriott Bonvoy Business Review: Free Night, Rich Rewards
Earn and redeem rewards at thousands of properties in the Marriott hotel group, with a free night every year and automatic elite status.
Overview
The bottom line:
The free night's stay every year can pay for the fee on this card all by itself. The wide array of redemption options makes it the rare hotel credit card that doesn't feel limiting.
Credit card details
Annual fee
$125
Regular APR
19.99%-28.99% Variable APR
Intro APR
N/A
Rewards rate
2x-6x
6x points on each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program. 4x points for purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping. 2x points on all other eligible purchases. Terms Apply.
Points
Foreign transaction fee
0%
Intro offer
125,000
Earn up to 125,000 Marriott Bonvoy® Bonus Points. Earn 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases and an extra 50,000 bonus points after you make an additional $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms apply.
Points
Pros & Cons
Pros
High rewards rate
Automatic elite status
Free night reward on cardholder anniversary
New cardholder bonus offer
Cons
Rewards have limited flexibility
More details from American Express
- WELCOME OFFER: Earn up to 125,000 Marriott Bonvoy® Bonus Points. Earn 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases and an extra 50,000 bonus points after you make an additional $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Receive a 7% discount on eligible bookings as a benefit of being both a Marriott Bonvoy® member & a Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card Member when you book directly with Marriott through an eligible channel for a participating property under the Amex Business Card Rate.
- 6x points on each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program.
- 4x points for purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping.
- 2x points on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Plus, earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60K in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees.
- Enjoy Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status with your Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card.
- Terms apply.
If your business has you staying at hotels in the Marriott hotel family regularly, your short list for credit card options should include the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better branded hotel card for businesses without shelling out hundreds of dollars a year in annual fees for a luxury travel card.
The card’s annual free night award alone can quickly recoup the annual fee. Then, you get generous spending rewards with highly useful bonus rewards categories. And racking up points pays off because it’s easy to redeem them at the plethora of Marriott properties. The card includes automatic elite status at Marriott, which adds to the allure.
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card: Basics
To view rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, see this page
Card type: Hotel small business.
Annual fee: $125.
Bonus offer: Earn up to 125,000 Marriott Bonvoy® Bonus Points. Earn 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases and an extra 50,000 bonus points after you make an additional $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms apply.
Rewards:
- 6x points at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy™ program.
- 4x points at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping.
- 2x points on all other eligible purchases.
Rewards earned by using the credit card are in addition to points you earn as a member of the Marriott Bonvoy program.
NerdWallet values Marriott points at 0.8 cent each.
Interest rate: The ongoing APR is 19.99%-28.99% Variable APR.
Foreign transaction fees: None.
Noteworthy perks:
- Free night award each year on your account anniversary.
- Additional free night award when you spend at least $60,000 in a calendar year.
- Automatic Gold Elite status.
Why you might want the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
Versatile points
The sheer number of Marriott properties makes its Bonvoy points a good currency. You can redeem points for stays at a wide range of hotels, from economy to upscale — over 7,000 properties in all. You can also transfer your points to more than 40 airline partners, most at a 3:1 ratio (3 hotel points for 1 airline mile). And they are highly useful airlines, including all the largest U.S. carriers.
🤓
Nerdy Tip
Generous rewards
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card comes with an excellent bonus offer for new cardholders: Earn up to 125,000 Marriott Bonvoy® Bonus Points. Earn 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases and an extra 50,000 bonus points after you make an additional $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms apply.
Ongoing rewards are also quite generous, particularly for spending on eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels. You'll get points:
- From the card: 6x points at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy™ program.
- From the loyalty program: 5 to 10 points per dollar spent at eligible properties, as well as a 25% bonus from your Gold Elite status (which comes with the card).
Together, that could add up to an outstanding rewards rate on eligible hotel purchases. You could potentially earn up to 18.5 points per dollar spent on a Marriott stay: Up to 11 points from the loyalty program — that is, 10 points plus 2.5 points from the 25% Gold Elite bonus — and 6 points from the credit card.
The card also gives you a reason to use it beyond Marriott purchases. It earns 4 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide, U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping. Those are all highly useful reward accelerators for many small-business owners.
HIGH-VALUE FREE NIGHT BENEFIT
The annual free night benefit, good for eligible stays that would otherwise cost up to 35,000 points, can easily make up for the annual fee of $125.
Say you used that benefit for a room that would have otherwise cost $200. Just by doing that, you would already come out well ahead of the annual fee — even before earning any spending rewards. The free-night benefit is awarded every year after your card account anniversary.
Big spenders can earn an additional free night by putting at least $60,000 on their card in a calendar year. That free night is restricted to rooms valued at up to 35,000 points.
GOLD ELITE STATUS
Among the benefits of the automatic Gold Elite status you earn with this card:
- Complimentary room upgrades (when available).
- 2 p.m. checkout.
- 25% bonus on Marriott Bonvoy base points earned through eligible stays (not earned on the credit card).
Why you might want a different card
Tied to Bonvoy System
Few if any branded hotel credit cards offer more redemption options than the ones in the Marriott portfolio. But if you’re looking for more flexibility in travel rewards — earning and redeeming points for travel other than Marriott hotels — consider a general travel credit card
- The
Capital One Spark Miles for Business - The
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
The personal card could be a better fit
The personal version of the card — the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
Acceptance
Acceptance of American Express cards has been growing, especially in the U.S. But if you often travel abroad, you’ll find American Express isn’t as widely accepted as Visa and Mastercard. That makes the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card less ideal for traveling abroad, even though it doesn't charge foreign transaction fees.
The Capital One Spark Miles for Business, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card enjoy broader acceptance and don't charge foreign transaction fees, so they could make better travel companions.
Is the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card right for you?
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card is a rare bird — a co-branded hotel credit card that doesn't make you feel like you're locked in to a single hotel chain because it’s so large. If your business has you checking into hotels regularly, it's among the best cards you can carry.
To view rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, see this page