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5.0

Best for frequent travellers who covet hotel perks

If you’re a Marriott Bonvoy member who travels frequently and typically uses a card to pay for that travel, the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card could be a good fit.

Learn more about how we evaluate cards.

Cardmembers earn elevated rewards rates on both eligible bookings and everyday purchases, and there are ample opportunities to earn rewards at more than 7,000 participating hotels.

Annual Fee

$120
Interest Rates

20.99% / 21.99%

20.99% for purchases, 21.99% for cash advances.
Rewards Rate

2x-5x Points

5x points for every dollar in eligible Card purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. 2x points for every $1 in all other Card purchases.*
Intro Offer

Up to 80,000 Points

New Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Cardmembers, earn 65,000 Welcome Bonus points after you spend $3,000 on your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership. Plus, earn an additional 3 points for a total of 5 points on every $1 spent on eligible travel and gas purchases in your first 6 months (up to 15,000 points). Offer ends May 6, 2024.

Apply Now

Travel to new heights with the Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card.
Earn up to 80,000 Points:
New Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Cardmembers, earn 65,000 Welcome Bonus points after you spend $3,000 on your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership.
Plus, earn an additional 3 points for a total of 5 points on every $1 spent on eligible travel and gas purchases in your first 6 months (up to 15,000 points).
Offer ends May 6, 2024.
Earn 5 points for every dollar in eligible Card purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®.
Earn 2 points for every $1 in all other Card purchases.
Receive an Annual Free Night Award for up to 35,000 points at eligible hotels and resorts worldwide every year after your first anniversary.
No annual fee on Additional Cards.
Redeem points for free nights with no blackout dates at over 7,000 of the world’s most desired hotels.
Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status membership.
Receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card. These can be used towards attaining the next level of Elite status in the Marriott Bonvoy program.
Enjoy an automatic upgrade to Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status when you reach $30,000 in purchases on the Card each year or when you combine 10 qualifying paid nights within one calendar year with the 15 Elite Night Credits from your card.
American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information, click the Apply Now link. Conditions Apply. If you apply and get approved for an American Express Card, NerdWallet may receive compensation from American Express, which can be in the form of monetary payment.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card full review

The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is a rewards credit card that allows cardholders to earn Marriott Bonvoy points on all purchases. Those points can be redeemed for free stays at more than 7,000 participating hotels and used to improve a cardholder’s Marriott Bonvoy status, which can unlock even more benefits.

Benefits of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card

If you carry the Marriott Bonvoy Amex, you:

Receive an Annual Free Night Award each year on your membership anniversary.
Have the ability to convert points to frequent flyer miles with some airlines, including Air Canada’s Aeroplan.
Earn five points per dollar spent on bookings at hotels that participate in the Marriott Bonvoy program. You also earn two points for every dollar spent on all other purchases.
Get several varieties of insurance, including flight delay, lost or stolen baggage, and travel accident.
Receive complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status, which offers 10% more points on eligible purchases, priority late checkout and member rates at participating hotels.
Gain access to American Express Experiences, a collection of special dining, shopping and wellness events, and American Express Front Of The Line, which can help cardholders score presale and reserved tickets for concerts or the next big game.

Drawbacks of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card

Some things to keep in mind about the Marriott Bonvoy American Express are:

Only Marriott Bonvoy members can take advantage of the card’s most valuable benefits.
American Express isn’t always as widely accepted as some other credit cards, so using the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card — and collecting points — might not be possible everywhere you go.
Travel insurance coverage, while generous, isn’t as comprehensive as what some other credit cards offer.

Who should get the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card?

The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card will be most beneficial for existing members of the Marriott Bonvoy program, or those who are willing to become members. Non-members can still redeem their points for non-hotel related rewards, like merchandise and travel, but the real earning potential will come from maximizing your 5x earn rate on Marriott Bonvoy bookings.

Is the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card worth it?

If you’re a Marriott Bonvoy member who travels frequently and isn’t intimidated by the idea of transferring reward points between partners, the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card can provide you an opportunity to earn some fairly sweet hotel rewards for a reasonable annual fee of $120.

American Express customer ratings

High in customer satisfaction: American Express ranks third (and above industry average) in customer satisfaction with credit card issuers, according to J.D. Power’s 2022 Canada Credit Card Satisfaction Study, a survey of 6,478 cardholders in Canada.
Low Trustpilot rating: 1.6 out of a possible 5 stars, based on more than 2,700 reviews.
Low Better Business Bureau rating: 1.08 out of a possible 5 stars, according to more than 300 customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau website, at the time of this writing. American Express is accredited and has an A+ rating from the BBB itself.

Amex Gold Rewards Card eligibility

Who qualifies for the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card?

To apply for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card, you must:

Be a Canadian resident and have a Canadian credit file.
Be the age of majority in the province or territory where you live.

Approximate credit score needed for approval

Canadian credit card issuers rarely disclose required credit scores, which makes it hard to know your chances of approval when comparing credit cards. What we do know is that higher scores have better chances of approval — that’s true no matter what type of credit you’re applying for.

Want to learn more? Our guide can help you figure out what credit score is typically needed for a credit card.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card rewards

Welcome offer

Ongoing rewards

Card value

The Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s introductory offer includes up to 80,000 points: New cardholders can get 65,000 points when they charge $1,500 in their first 3 months of card membership. Plus, earn an additional 3 points for a total of 5 points on every $1 spent on eligible travel and gas purchases in the first 6 months (up to 15,000 points).

How to earn ongoing rewards: Earn 5 points for every $1 spent in eligible card purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy; earn 2 points for every $1 spent in all other card purchases.

If you charge $1,500 in net purchases to your Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card in the first three months of card membership, you’ll earn a welcome bonus of 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This offer is subject to change at any time.

Based on NerdWallet’s analysis, each Marriott Bonvoy point is worth about 0.8 cents when redeemed for Marriott Bonvoy hotel stays. That means the full 50,000-point welcome offer would be worth approximately $400 using this redemption method. Other redemption methods may result in different point values.

Annual value

The annual, ongoing value of your Marriott Bonvoy American Express card depends on how often you use it and the types of purchases you make.

Let’s say you typically spend $5,000 at Marriott Bonvoy properties and charge another $20,000 to your Marriott Bonvoy Amex every year. Your hotel purchases would result in 25,000 points and your other purchases would earn you 40,000 points. That’s 65,000 points in a year, which would be worth about $520, if redeemed for Marriott Bonvoy hotel stays.

But you also receive a free night each year worth up to 35,000 points. That stay would be worth approximately $280 using our valuation.

Add those values together, subtract the card’s annual fee of $120, and the total value for this particular — and purely hypothetical — year would be $680. That’s not bad, but it will require a bit of spending on your part.

Points value breakdown

NerdWallet searched more than 60 data points analyzing the cost of Marriott Bonvoy hotel stays in 2022. Based on our analysis, the average value of 1 Marriott Bonvoy point is worth 0.82 cents.

More specifically, you can expect to get around:

0.72 cents in value per Marriott Bonvoy point when booking stays 15 days in advance
0.932 cents in value per Marriott Bonvoy point when booking stays 4 months in advance

However, the value of Marriott Bonvoy points increases significantly when transferred to partners. For example, you can expect a value around:

1.86 cents per point when you transfer to American Express (5 American Express Membership Rewards points = 6 Marriott Bonvoy points), and
3.78 cents per point when you transfer to Aeroplan (3 Marriott Bonvoy points = 1 Aeroplan points)

Because of the value that comes from these transfer options, we give Marriott Bonvoy points an adjusted weighted average value of 1.82 cents per point.

How to apply for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card

You can complete the application for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card from the American Express website:

Select the Apply Now button from the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card page.
Review the card’s terms and conditions and select Agree and Begin to continue.
Enter your personal details, including your full name, date of birth, phone number, email address and residential address.
Input your financial information, including your annual personal income, household income and employment details.
Choose a four-digit PIN.
Review the information you’ve supplied and submit your application.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card vs American Express Cobalt Card

	Marriott Bonvoy American Express	American Express Cobalt Card
Annual fee	$120.	$155.88 ($12.99 per month).
Rewards earn rates	5x points every $1 in eligible card purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. 2x points for every $1 in all other Card purchases.	5x on eats and drinks. 3x on streaming subscriptions. 2x on travel and transit. 1x on everything else.
Welcome offer	Up to 80,000 Points	Up to 30,000 points.
Transfer points frequent flyer and other loyalty programs?	Yes.	Yes.

Reasons you might want a different card

The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card offers solid earn rates on eligible hotel bookings and everyday purchases, but it won’t be a fit if:

You don’t want to be a Marriott Bonvoy member.
You don’t travel often enough to make use of the hotel benefits.
You don’t use your credit card often enough to generate a significant number of points.

If you’re looking for a wider range of rewards that apply to flights or airport experiences, you may want to consider some of Canada’s best travel credit cards. And if you’re not interested in becoming a Marriott Bonvoy member, there are plenty of other credit card reward programs worth investigating.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card facts

Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card
Card type	Rewards credit card.
Interest rates
Regular/purchase APR	20.99%.
Cash advance APR	21.99%.
Penalty APR	24.99% if you miss two separate payments in any 12 month period; 26.99% if you miss three or more separate payments in any 12 month period.
Fees
Annual fee	$120.
Balance transfer	Up to 3% of the amount of each balance transfer.
Cash advance	$2.75 per transaction. Also, a 21.99% interest rate is charged on cash advances.
Foreign transaction	2.5% of the transaction amount.
Reward earn rates
Signup bonus or welcome offer	Up to 80,000 points. Recieve 65,000 Welcome Bonus points after you spend $3,000 on your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership. Plus, earn an additional 3 points for a total of 5 points on every $1 spent on eligible travel and gas purchases in your first 6 months (up to 15,000 points). Offer ends May 6, 2024.
Rewards and benefits	Points can be redeemed for free stays at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, merchandise and other experiences. They can also be transferred to other loyalty programs, including Aeroplan.
Other perks
	One free stay every year: Enjoy an Annual Free Night Award after your card anniversary each year. Earn points twice: Earn 5 points for every dollar spent at participating Marriott Bonvoy properties, as well as the points you already earn as a Marriott Bonvoy member. Complimentary Silver Elite Status with Marriott Bonvoy: Enjoy service upgrades, earn more points and get one step closer to Gold Elite Status. Complimentary Elite Night Credits: Receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year to use towards attaining the next level of Elite status. Transfer and earn: Receive 15,000 bonus points from Marriott Bonvoy when you transfer 60,000 points to a frequent flyer program. Front of the Line perks: Access exclusive ticketing presales for concerts, shows, restaurants and special events. American Express Experiences: Gain access to advanced film screenings, food festivals, private shopping experiences, and curated cardholder offers through the American Express Experiences program. Amex Priority Lines: Skip the lineups at popular Toronto event venues like the Budweiser Stage and the Royal Alexandra Theatre. Exclusive lounges and bars: Relax in exclusive American Express lounges when you take in a Toronto show at the Princess of Wales and Ed Mirvish Theatres.
Insurance coverage
Extended warranty	Up to one additional year.
Purchase protection	90 days.
Travel accident	Up to $500,000.
Flight delay	Up to $500 for necessary accommodations, restaurant expenses and sundries.
Baggage delay	Up to $500 for essential clothing and sundry items.
Lost or stolen baggage	Up to $500 of coverage per trip for all insured persons.
Hotel burglary	Up to $500 of coverage for personal items (excluding cash).
Rental car theft/damage	For up to 45 days.

Rating Methodology

NerdWallet Canada rates credit cards according to overall consumer value and their suitability for specific kinds of consumers. Factors in our evaluation methodology include annual and other fees, rewards rates, the earning structure (for example, flat-rate rewards versus bonus categories), redemption options, bonus offers for new cardholders, introductory and ongoing APRs, and other noteworthy features such as airline or hotel perks or the ability to transfer points.

If you are a Marriott Bonvoy American Express cardmember, you earn 5 Marriott Bonvoy points for every dollar spent at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels and 2 points for every dollar spent on everything else.

Yes. More than 200 hotels in Canada participate in the Marriott Bonvoy program.

About the Authors

Georgia Rose

Georgia Rose is a lead writer on the international team at NerdWallet. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Independent and The Associated…

Clay Jarvis

Clay Jarvis is NerdWallet’s mortgage and real estate expert in Canada. Thus far, his entire professional writing career has revolved around real estate. Prior to joining NerdWallet, he was the…

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