Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card review: Free nights and Gold Elite status for an affordable fee

For business owners who prefer Marriott hotels, you can earn points toward future stays with the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card. This card comes with automatic Gold Elite status, earns bonus points on common business expenses, and includes a 7% discount on all eligible Marriott Bonvoy bookings.

Plus, you’ll receive a free night each year (worth up to 35,000 points) just for renewing the card and the opportunity to earn a second based on your annual spending. Learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex card to find out if it’s right for your business.

• Gold Elite status. Receive automatic Gold Elite status for as long as you hold the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card. Gold Elite benefits include a 25% bonus on eligible hotel purchases, enhanced room upgrades, 2 p.m. late checkout (if available), and more.

• Elite Night Credits. The card includes 15 Elite Night Credits, which can help you earn higher levels of elite status.

• Room rate discount. Get a 7% discount on eligible bookings made directly through Marriott under the Amex Business Card Rate.

• Free employee cards. Issue credit cards to employees at no extra charge to earn rewards on their purchases. You can set individual limits for every card and receive real-time alerts to track their spending.

• No foreign transaction fees. Avoid transaction fees of up to 3% when making foreign purchases.

• Travel protections. The Marriott business credit card’s travel protections include baggage insurance and car rental loss and damage insurance.

• Purchase protections. Eligible purchases receive purchase protection against theft or damage and an extended warranty of up to one additional year.

You can earn Marriott Bonvoy points in five different ways with the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card.

Eligible applicants will earn a welcome bonus after completing the minimum spending requirement before the deadline. With this Marriott business credit card, you’ll earn three free nights (worth up to 50,000 points each) when you spend at least $6,000 within the first six months from account opening.

2. Purchases at Marriott hotels and resorts

Book your next stay at a Marriott hotel or resort and use your Marriott business card to pay. You’ll receive 6x points per dollar on eligible purchases, including rooms, dining, and other charges billed to your room.

This card includes several bonus categories to earn 4x points on eligible business purchases. Bring the card with you wherever you travel because you’ll earn 4x at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased from U.S. providers, and on U.S. purchases for shipping.

All other eligible purchases with the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card earn 2x points on every dollar you spend.

Through the American Express Refer a Friend program, you can earn rewards when friends and family use your link to apply for a Marriott credit card. The number of points varies based on which card they get approved for.

The Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program offers numerous redemption options. However, many offer subpar value, so it pays to focus on the redemptions that provide the best bang for your buck. These options tend to offer high value for Marriott Bonvoy points:

• Booking hotel rooms. Marriott has a dynamic pricing model when booking rooms, so the number of points required varies based on the hotel, time of year, and room size. Perform an award search on the Marriott website to determine how much your preferred hotel room will cost.

• Cash + Points reservations. If you don’t have enough points to book a room or want to save them for later, you can combine points and cash to pay for your booking. This option is not available at all hotels, so you must search for participating hotels to see if the “Cash + Points” rate appears for your select travel dates and destination.

• Stay for 5, Pay for 4. Marriott Bonvoy members receive the fifth night free when booking stays using points. This benefit can be used multiple times, and the free night is the lowest-priced night during your stay.

• Other travel. You can use your points to book car rentals, flights, cruises, and more.

• Shopping. Redeem your points for gift cards and merchandise.

• Marriott Bonvoy Moments. Members can use points to book tickets to culinary events, sports, entertainment, and more. Some tickets have a flat price, while others are auctioned off.

• Transfer points to miles. Marriott partners with almost 40 airlines where members can convert Bonvoy points to airline miles. When transferring 60,000 Marriott points, you’ll receive 5,000 bonus miles with participating airlines.

The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card is best for business owners who travel frequently and want to earn hotel points on their business purchases. This card has a reasonable annual fee that’s easily offset by the card’s annual free night certificate. It also comes with complimentary Gold Elite status and Elite Night Credits if your goal is to move up to higher tiers.

• Automatic Gold Elite status for additional benefits and bonus points

• Annual free night upon renewal and opportunity to earn a second free night

• 7% discount when making eligible Marriott reservations

• Many of the bonus categories are limited to purchases within the U.S.

• An annual fee of $125 reduces the value of benefits

• Large spending requirement in order to earn the second annual free night

The Marriott Bonvoy business credit card can be used anywhere Amex cards are accepted. American Express is accepted at 99% of the retailers that accept credit cards in the U.S., so there’s a strong chance that it can be used when making your business purchases.

However, American Express is not as widely accepted when traveling internationally. For this reason, it makes sense to carry a backup credit card with a Visa or Mastercard logo in case the store doesn’t accept Amex cards. If they do accept Amex cards, you won’t be hit with any foreign transaction fees with the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card.

• Make payment online

• Pay through the Amex mobile app

• Set up recurring payments

• Call 1-800-472-9297 to make a payment by phone

• Mail payment to American Express, P.O. Box 96001, Los Angeles, CA, 90096–8000

The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card is a solid choice for business owners who want to earn hotel points and benefits when staying at Marriott. However, this card isn’t the best choice for every business, so we recommend comparing these cards to decide whether they fit better.

Why we like it: The Ink Business Preferred is an excellent travel credit card because of its low $95 annual fee and flexible rewards program. The rewards you earn can be redeemed for cash back, gift cards, travel, and transfers to popular airline and hotel loyalty programs. This allows you to use points at different hotel brands rather than sticking to one chain. Your points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through Chase Travel℠.

Read our full Ink Business Preferred review

Why we like it: The IHG One Rewards Premier Business makes sense for business owners who like to stay at IHG brands, such as InterContinental, Kimpton, and Holiday Inn. This card has a $99 annual fee that you can offset with the anniversary free night benefit, which allows you to redeem for nights with a redemption cap of up to 40,000 (or more if you add points from your IHG One Rewards account). You also receive complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status, which includes complimentary upgrades, early check-in, and late check-out (subject to availability).

Why we like it: The Hilton Honors Amex Business Card is an excellent option for business travelers loyal to Hilton. This card has a steeper $195 annual fee, but its perks and benefits can more than offset this cost. These include complimentary Gold Elite status and up to $240 in Hilton credit back annually (up to $60 in statement credits per quarter on eligible purchases made directly with Hilton properties).

This article was edited by Ben Walker (CEPF, CFEI®)

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