| Business Rating: | 4.3 / 5 |
| Rewards Value | 5.0 |
| Annual Percentage Rate | 4.0 |
| Rewards Flexibility | 3.0 |
| Features | 3.0 |
| Issuer Customer Experience | 5.0 |
In a Nutshell:
Loyalists of Marriott Bonvoy brands can rack up points easily with generous rewards on spending categories on the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card.
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Other Notable Features: Complimentary Gold Elite status, annual free night award after your card renewal month, additional annual free night when you spend $60,000 in a calendar year, no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees), free hotel Internet access, no fee for employee cards (see rates and fees), tools to manage business receipts and expenses, designate an account manager, set individual limits on employee cards
The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express card comes with a competitive rewards rate and generous welcome bonus, and as part of Marriott Bonvoy the card brings with it a huge network of hotels and luxurious benefits for elite status members. Combined with flexible rewards, these features make the Marriott Bonvoy Business card a great choice for loyalists of the brand.
Great earning rate
The card offers an incredibly generous earning rate. You get 6X points at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program and 4X points on restaurants worldwide, U.S. gas station, wireless phone services (purchased directly from a U.S. provider) and U.S. shipping purchases. The remainder of your purchases earn 2X points.
Even when you account for the lower-than-average value of Marriott points, the Marriott Bonvoy Business card offers one of the highest earning rates for a travel card. And, with the added bonus categories, you have even more opportunities to maximize the points on your spending.
Introductory bonus
You can earn 3 Free Night Awards after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. While this is a step down in total value compared to the card’s previous offer, which came with 5 Free Night Awards after spending $8,000 in your first six months, it’s a much easier bonus to obtain thanks to the lower spending requirement. Each Free Night Award carries an up to 50,000-point redemption value, giving this bonus a total potential redemption value of up to 150,000 points (certain hotels have resort fees; terms apply). If you like to book high-end hotels at peak times, this offer should hold terrific value.
That said, offers that give you Free Night Awards are less flexible than those that give you points. With the current offer, new cardholders are stuck with three free nights, whereas with some of the card’s previous offers, you’d receive points you could redeem however fit you best, whether that meant a couple of luxury stays at peak times or several low-budget, off-season stays.
Free annual night award
Adding significantly to its ongoing value, the Marriott Bonvoy Business card offers a free night award certificate each year after your card renewal month. The certificate is very valuable – worth up to 35,000 points – but it comes with a couple of limitations. It’s only valid for category 5 hotels and lower – which means category 6 and 7 hotels are off limits. Also, you’ll need to make sure to redeem it in a timely manner, since it expires in 12 months.
In addition, cardholders who spend at least $60,000 in a calendar year can receive an extra free night award at the same value. While we estimate this is more than the average spender will put on the card in a year, it is a valuable benefit for heavy spenders.
Flexible redemption options
The Marriott Bonvoy program is very flexible – your points don’t expire and there are no restrictions or blackout dates. If a room is available, you can book it with points.
Plus, you can transfer points to several airline partners at a 3:1 ratio with a 15,000-point bonus when you transfer points in increments of 60,000. This is a great deal, because it gives you many travel options for your points and allows you to get an even better redemption value than 0.8 cent per point by searching for deals within each airline program.
Free Gold Elite status
You’ll automatically qualify for Gold Elite status in the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program. Gold Elite status grants you a 25% increase on the base points that you earn for eligible hotel stays.
Added business benefits for cardholders
The Marriott Bonvoy Business card comes with some very nice perks for business travelers, including free in-room internet access at any Marriott Bonvoy hotel. You’ll also get access to a suite of tools that help business owners manage their accounts. For example, you can add employee cards at no fee and set individual limits for each of those cards. You can also appoint an account manager to oversee your account, and ReceiptMatch makes it easy to add and tag receipts from a mobile device while you are on the go.
Why get the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card?
- You frequently travel and stay at Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels.
- You’re trying to earn elite status in the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program.
- You want to leverage your business spending to earn free travel and hotel stays.
- You want a flexible travel rewards card with hotel and airline rewards.
- You would benefit from the card’s tools to manage your business spending.
- You want to add multiple employees to your account for no extra fee.
- You plan to designate another person to manage your account.
- You spend more than $60,000 each calendar year and can qualify for an additional free night award.
How to use the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card:
- Use your card for most purchases in the first six months in order to earn the card’s introductory bonus.
- Stay at Marriott Bonvoy hotels when you travel – you can earn up to 6X bonus points through your card.
- Book stays of five nights or longer to take advantage of the fifth night free perk.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card, please click here.
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