| Business Rating: | 0 / 5 |
| Rewards Value: | 0.0 |
| Annual Percentage Rate: | 0.0 |
| Rewards Flexibility: | 0.0 |
| Features: | 0.0 |
| Issuer Customer Experience | 0.0 |
In a Nutshell:
The Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business card gives you a sweet sign-up bonus and a high earning rate on everyday purchases. This offer is no longer available.
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Other Notable Features: Annual free night stay at category 1-5 hotel, automatic Silver status, Gold status each year you spend $35,000 on the card, 5th night free when you redeem 4 nights, no foreign transaction fee, employee cards at no extra cost, individual spending limits for employee cards
A plus with hotel cards is a wide array of places to stay. With Marriott, Rewards Premier Plus Business cardholders can choose from more than 5,700 hotels in more than 110 countries. Properties include Ritz-Carlton hotels and recently acquired Starwood hotels, giving you many great ways to spend your rewards points.
The extraordinarily high 75,000 points sign-up bonus currently being offered makes the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business card one of the most valuable hotel cards.
Also, the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business card is an improvement over the personal version of the card by offering four points per dollar on everyday purchases, including gas and restaurant purchases. If you are looking for the best card to maximize your points with Marriott for a manageable annual fee, the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business card is a good way to go.
Generous earnings on everyday purchases
While frequent guests of Marriott hotels have the most to gain with the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business card, due to the six points per dollar that the card awards on Marriott purchases, the card also offers lots of opportunities to rack up points on the rest of your purchases. Cardholders earn four points per dollar on a wide variety of spending categories, including gas station, restaurant, shipping, internet, cable and phone purchases, and two points per dollar on the remainder of their purchases.
Excellent sign-up bonus
The Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business card gives you 75,000 points for spending $3,000 in the first three months. This is a very large sign-up bonus, which we estimate – depending on how you use the points – to be worth $600 or more. The bonus alone may be worth the effort of signing up. It can easily cover a two-night stay or longer at an array of luxurious properties.
Free-night-stay annual bonus
On top of the large sign-up bonus, Marriott also offers a free night stay in any of its category 1 to 5 properties each year that you renew the card. With a value of up to $280, the certificate by itself may help justify the annual fee.
High annual fee
The $99 annual fee is one of the highest fees for a business rewards card. The annual fee also is not waived in the first year, unlike with some competing cards. If you add together the sign-up bonus, the annual free-night stay and the rewards that you can earn, the value of the card can easily outmatch the fee, especially if you are a frequent guest of Marriott hotels.
Flexible redemption options
Marriott is fairly flexible in its redemption options. There are no blackout dates, and points don’t expire as long as your card is active at least once every 24 months. The program gives you the very convenient option of booking rewards stays before you’ve accumulated enough points to cover the stay – a rare feature for a rewards program.
You also can book rewards rooms with a combination of points and cash at participating Marriott locations, in case you don’t have enough points to cover a full stay.
Unfortunately, while Marriott doesn’t enforce any blackout dates, it does allow its hotels to put restrictions on the number of rewards rooms available. Some locations may choose to limit rewards rooms on holidays and other popular times of the year.
With Marriott’s network of 5,700-plus hotels, you should be able to find a rewards room at nearly any travel destination. The Marriott network includes Ritz-Carlton hotels and also Starwood hotels, after a recent merger.
Good travel features and perks
The Marriott card comes with good – though not outstanding – perks compared to other hotel cards. The card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, which should be especially valuable to business travelers. Another bonus: the free night that Marriott offers every time you stay five nights or longer.
Elite status leaves something to be desired
The card also gives you an automatic bump to Silver elite status in the Marriott loyalty program. Automatic elite status is a common feature for co-branded hotel cards. In comparison to other cards, the benefits that come with elite status in the Marriott program are lacking: the program offers a 10 percent increase on base point earnings and preferential treatment at Marriott hotels, including an “Ultimate Reservation Guarantee.” What’s missing: the hotel credits, upgrades or other luxury perks that you would expect to come with a $99 annual fee.
You can also bump yourself up to Gold elite status with Marriott by spending $35,000 on the card in a year. This status is good through the remainder of the calendar year and includes some more noteworthy perks, including complimentary room upgrades and a 25-percent boost on your base point earnings. While the spend requirement is high, it’s much more manageable than the 25 hotel nights that Marriott usually requires for Gold elite status. If you are looking for a way to earn Gold status with Marriott without having to complete a month of hotel nights, the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business card could be a good option.
Few business features
The Marriott business card is also sparse on features for business owners. Chase does allow you to add employee cards to your account and to set up individual spending limits for those cards. However, Chase doesn’t offer special tools for tracking business purchases or employee spending, and the card doesn’t come with the special discounts for business purchases that many premium cards in the business category offer.
Why get the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business card?
- You’re a frequent guest of Marriott hotels.
- You frequently travel and spend a large amount on hotels and airfare for your business.
- You’re looking for a hotel rewards card with many hotel options.
- You’re trying to obtain elite status in the Marriott rewards program.
- You’re searching for a card with a very large sign-up bonus.
How to use the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business card:
- Be sure to spend at least $3,000 in the first three months to earn the card’s 75,000-point bonus.
- Book your Marriott stays in increments of five nights to earn a free night.
- Make sure to use your free-night certificate before it expires in 12 months
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