Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card review
A great fit for business travelers loyal to the Marriott brand, this card offers bonus rewards on stays at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, as well as solid earnings in other common categories.
Jump to Section
card_name
- Rewards
- points_per_dollar
- Welcome Bonus
- bonus_miles bonus_miles_disclaimer
- Annual Fee
- annual_fees
Key Features
descriptionEditor Analysis:
- Earn 3 Free Night Awards after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first six 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.
- Purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels earn users six points, and worldwide restaurant and U.S. gas station purchases, as well as wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping earn four points.
- Receive one free night award every year after your card renewal month. Plus, earn an additional free night award after you spend $60,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year.
- As a brand-specific card you'll reap the most benefits only if you are truly loyal to the Marriott brand. If you don't typically stick to just one brand when you travel, you might be better off with a more general travel rewards card.
Love to travel, both domestically and internationally? The CardName may be your dream card. It’s designed for the traveler who is dedicated to Marriott International’s portfolio of properties. Not only can cardholders rack up serious rewards when spending at any of the 7,000 hotels located in 131 countries, they can enjoy other special perks that make globetrotting a pleasure. It’s not right for everyone, though, so to know if this card is best for you, read on. American Express is a CardRatings advertiser.
card_name welcome offer
Earn 3 Free Night Awards after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first six 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.
card_name benefits and rewards
Once you start to use the card, the benefits and rewards just keep coming. Here is what’s in store for you, beginning with the points you can accumulate:
- 6X points – When you make eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels and resorts, you will earn six points for every dollar spent at that hotel or resort. That includes everything from the accommodations to eligible hotel food and beverage charges.
- 4X points – When you use your card at restaurants worldwide and U.S. gas stations, you will earn four points per dollar. You will also earn four points when charging expenses at U.S. wireless telephone service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping.
- 2X points – All other eligible purchases will score you two points for each dollar you charge with the card.
Points earned can be redeemed for stays at participating Marriott properties as well as the company’s affiliated brands. The hotels and resorts range from luxury to economy, such as the Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, Sheraton, Four Points, Residence Inn, and the Westin. There are eight award tiers, each divided into peak and off-peak prices, so depending on where you stay and when you go, the rooms can be booked for anywhere between 5,000 points on up to 100,000 per night.
CardRatings Tip
If you would rather book flights with your points, you can also transfer them to the program’s vast network of airline partners.
In addition to the points you earn, the CardName is equipped with a number of key perks. Some of the most notable include:
- Elite status – This card comes with complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status, which gives 25% more points on stays, late check out, free Wi-Fi, enhanced room upgrades and more.
- Free hotel accommodations – You will receive an award for a free night stay every year after your card renewal month. You’ll get another free night after charging $60,000 in the calendar year, and while that may sound like a lot to spend, as a business owner with considerable expenses, hitting that threshold may be easy. You would meet it if you were to charge at least $5,000 every month, or pay for a few large expenses throughout the year.
- Hotel discount – Enjoy a 7% discount on eligible bookings as a benefit of being both a Marriott Bonvoy member and a card_name member when you book directly with Marriott through an eligible channel for a participating property under the card_name rate. (Terms and conditions apply)
- No foreign transaction fees – There’s no need to spend more than you have to when traveling outside the U.S. You can use this card internationally without being charged foreign transaction fees, which are usually 1% to 3% of the amount you spend on foreign transactions. See Rates and Fees
Potential downsides of the card_name
It’s hard to find many faults with this card, though there are a few issues to be aware of before applying:
- Annual fee – If you prefer a card without an annual fee this won’t meet your expectations since it does come with an annual fee of AnnualFees. If you don’t meet the minimum spend required to earn the welcome bonus or use the card to earn rewards, it probably won’t be worth your while. See Rates and Fees
- Brand specific – This card is specific to the Marriott brand of hotels and resorts. If you need maximum flexibility when traveling, this card may be too restrictive.
- High credit scores required – Not everybody will meet the criteria for this card, as it requires good to excellent credit scores for approval.
How do cardholders rate the card_name?
CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results for the CardName:
| Current Scores | Past Scores | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 77.9 | 74.2 |
| Features Satisfaction | 7.7 | 7.3 |
| Customer Service | 8 | 7.8 |
| Website/App Usability | 8.3 | 7.3 |
| Likelihood of Continuing to Use | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| Recommend to a Friend/Colleague | 7.5 | 7.1 |
How the card_name compares to other cards
CardName vs. CardName
discontinued
With some slight differences in the details, these two cards are very much alike. What CardName offers to fans of Marriott Bonvoy properties, CardName offers to Hilton devotees.
CardName offers a limited time offer opportunity through which new cardholders can earn 175,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $8,000 in purchases within the first six months of card membership. Offer ends 1/8/2025. You can earn 12X Hilton Honors bonus points on eligible Hilton purchases; 5X Hilton Honors bonus points on other purchases made using the card on the first $100,000 in purchases each calendar year; and 3X points thereafter.
It should be noted, however, that Hilton’s points are somewhat inflated and don’t have the "per-point" redemption value as the Marriott Bonvoy program and others like it. There are a few other added perks though such as complimentary Hilton Honors Gold Status with your card, that gives you benefits at hotels and resorts within the Hilton Portfolio and allows you to earn an 80% bonus on all base points you earn on every stay getting you to free nights faster. This card also offers an upgrade to Hilton Honors Diamond status through the end of the calendar year if the total eligible purchases on your card account during a calendar year reach $40,000 or more.
Finally, the annual fee is slightly lower at AnnualFees. See Rates and Fees
CardName vs. CardName
discontinued
Both cards offer attractive introductory bonus opportunities. CardName offers 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 cash back or $1,125 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠.
In terms of ongoing rewards, CardName offers three points for each dollar spent (up to $150,000) on travel and select business categories and one point per dollar on other purchases. This is significantly lower than the six points per dollar (spent at Marriott Bonvoy properties) and four points per dollar (spent at eligible restaurants, gas stations, wireless phone services and shipping purchases) which you can earn with the CardName, however, the categories aren’t so restrictive. CardName also doesn’t have the benefit of affiliating with a particular family of hotel properties to provide an added rewards boost, but this could be considered a perk if you’re aren’t loyal to a specific brand.
The CardName has an annual fee of AnnualFees.
Is the CardName a good card?
The CardName is a great match if you travel extensively and are loyal to the Marriott line of properties. You will get the most out of the rewards by booking your accommodations at the chain, and as long as you meet the requirements to earn welcome offer, you are likely to save with that as well.
Frequently asked questions
What credit score do you need for the card_name?
Does the card_name have lounge access?
Our Methodology
Survey methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September 2023 to conduct surveys among 1,869 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2023 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents’ scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. "Current Scores" reflect scores from the most recent survey (2023); "Past Scores" reflect scores from the 2022 survey.
Disclaimer:The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit card prior to applying.
This content is not provided by any company mentioned in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any such company. CardRatings.com does not review every company or every offer available on the market.
To see the rates and fees for the American Express cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links; CardName: See Rates and Fees; CardName: See Rates and Fees.
