Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Card Review (2022)

Marriott Bonvoy has quite a portfolio of credit cards, thanks to having agreements with both American Express and Chase. For many people, it can be overwhelming to decide which card makes the most sense.

While there are a few personal credit cards to choose from, there’s only one Marriott business credit card, so I wanted to take a closer look at it in this post. This is an especially good time to pick up the card, given that it currently has a limited time offer for new cardmembers.

Marriott Bonvoy Business Card Basics For April 2022

The Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card is Marriott’s business credit card. Is this a card worth having, and under what circumstances? Let’s look at the welcome bonus, annual fee, and much more.

100,000 Bonvoy Points Welcome Offer

The Marriott Bonvoy Business Card is offering an excellent new limited time welcome offer. When you apply by May 18, 2022, you can earn 100,000 Bonvoy bonus points by spending $5,000 within the first three months. For context, I value Bonvoy points at ~0.7 cents each, so those 100,000 points are worth ~$700.

Marriott Credit Card Eligibility Restrictions

Given how many American Express and Chase Marriott cards there are, there are some pretty complicated restrictions regarding eligibility for this card.

First of all, the welcome bonus isn’t available to those who have had this card or had the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express.

On top of that, the welcome offer is not available to applicants who:

• have or have had the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Business Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Rewards Business Credit Card from Chase in the last 30 days
• have acquired the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase in the last 90 days
• received a new card member bonus offer in the last 24 months on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase or the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase

For those with excellent credit, I find Amex business cards to be incredibly easy to be approved for. Anecdotally most people I’ve heard from have reported instant approvals on this card, so it really shouldn’t be very tough to be approved for, even if you haven’t gotten many business cards in the past. Just make sure you know that:

• You can be approved for at most two Amex cards in 90 days
• You can have at most five American Express credit cards at any point (this doesn’t include cards without a preset spending limit)

See this post for all major credit card application restrictions to be aware of.

Annual Fee

The Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex has a $125 annual fee (Rates & Fees). You can add additional card members at no additional cost.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

The Bonvoy Business Amex has no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees), so it could be a good option for your purchases abroad.

Amex Offers

One of the great features of Amex cards is access to Amex Offers, which gives members savings on purchases with all kinds of retailers. There’s huge value to be had in getting as many Amex cards as possible to get these offers on multiple cards.

Earning Points With The Marriott Business Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Business Card has some bonus categories that could prove useful for your business spending, though overall, this isn’t a credit card that I’d recommend using for most of your business purchases. There are much more generous business cards out there in terms of the points offered.

6x Bonvoy Points At Marriott Hotels

The Marriott Business Card offers 6x Bonvoy points for spending at Marriott hotels globally. For many businesses, this will be a worthwhile bonus.

Since I value Bonvoy points at ~0.7 cents each, that’s the equivalent of a ~4.2% return on hotel spending. Personally, I still prefer to use the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (review) for my Marriott hotel spending, as it offers 3x Ultimate Rewards points.

4x Bonvoy Points In Select Categories

The Marriott Business Card has some bonus categories that offer 4x points, including for purchases with:

• U.S. restaurants
• U.S. gas stations
• Wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers
• U.S. purchases for shipping

Based on my valuation of ~0.7 cents per point, that’s like a ~2.8% return on spending, which is pretty good but not amazing when you consider some of the other cards out there. There are other particularly good cards for restaurant and gas station spending.

2x Bonvoy Points On All Other Purchases

The Marriott Business Card offers 2x points on all other eligible purchases. Personally, I don’t consider 2x points per dollar spent to be especially compelling since I value that at a return of ~1.4%, and there are better cards for everyday spending.

Marriott Bonvoy Business Card Perks

The Marriott Bonvoy Business Card offers a variety of perks that could more than offset the annual fee. It could be worth picking up the card primarily for the perks, without spending all that much money on it. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits offered by the card.

Annual Marriott Free Night Reward

The real perk that makes the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card worthwhile on an ongoing basis is that you get a free night award every year on your account anniversary, valid for a one-night hotel stay at a property costing up to 35,000 points.

As of some point in April 2022, it’ll even be possible to top off these awards with up to 15,000 points to stay at a more expensive property, which will give this perk even more flexibility.

These free night certificates are an exceptional deal, and one of the main reasons I think this card is worth having. Marriott is the world’s largest hotel chain, so regardless of your preferred hotel program, just about everyone may find themselves in a situation where this could come in handy. I consistently redeem this certificate at hotels costing $250+ per night, more than double the card’s annual fee.

Complimentary Marriott Silver Elite Status

The Marriott Bonvoy Business Card offers complimentary Silver Elite status, with the opportunity to spend up to Gold Elite. Don’t get too excited about Silver Elite status — it offers perks like 10% bonus points, priority late check-out, etc., but you won’t get perks like free breakfast, club lounge access, or significant room upgrades.

15 Elite Nights Toward Marriott Status

Another great status perk for having the Marriott Business Amex is that you get 15 elite nights toward status annually just for having the card. Note that several co-branded Marriott credit cards offer this, and you can only receive the benefit once on a personal card and once on a business card.

In other words, if you have three personal Marriott cards, you wouldn’t get 45 elite nights, but if you have one personal and one business, you can earn 30 nights!

This makes it more attainable to earn Platinum Elite status long-term, which is where status really gets valuable. Platinum status requires 50 nights, so if you have this card, you’d only need to earn an additional 35 elite nights, and if you also had a personal card, you’d only need to earn an additional 20 elite nights.

This is a reason you really want to get this card — if you don’t have the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card then you won’t be able to earn 30 elite nights toward status annually just from credit cards.

Is The Marriott Business Card Worth It?

There are many great small business credit cards, so is the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card right for your business? First, let me say that I wouldn’t be using this as a primary business credit card for spending. That’s simply because the card doesn’t have a competitive rewards structure for business spending.

That being said, I absolutely think the card is worth applying for, and I also think it’s worth having the card for the perks that it offers. More specifically, I value the annual free night award significantly more than the annual fee of the card, so that alone is enough reason to get the card, in my opinion.

Let me cover a couple of other aspects of this card — how does this compare to Marriott’s personal cards, and what other business cards should you be considering?

Marriott Bonvoy Personal Vs. Business Card

When it comes to Marriott’s mid-range credit cards, there’s the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card, and then there’s the personal Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card (review).

All else equal, if you’re trying to decide between the cards, which should you go for? There are a few primary differences in terms of the value:

• The business card has some bonus categories that earn 4x points, while the personal card has some 3x earning potential
• The business card’s annual fee is $30 higher ($125 rather than $95)
• The business card is significantly easier to be approved for, since I find Amex is much easier with approvals than Chase for those with excellent credit
• The business card can earn you an incremental 15 elite nights per year beyond what you earn on personal cards

All else being equal, I’d get the personal card long-term, since you still get the free night award, and the annual fee is lower. That assumes you’re eligible for a Chase card, and not above the 5/24 limit.

It also could make a lot of sense to have both cards, so that you get 30 elite nights toward status annually, which will make it easier to earn Platinum Elite status.

What Is The Best Business Credit Card?

If you’re looking for the single best business credit card out there, I highly recommend the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review). The card has a great bonus (and these points are much more valuable than Marriott points), has a reasonable $95 annual fee, offers 3x points in useful categories, and more.

You simply can’t go wrong with this as your business rewards card.

Bottom Line

The Marriott Bonvoy Business Card is a strong contender for a business card to hold onto long term. The 15 elite nights toward status (which can be stacked with a similar offer on a personal card), as well as an annual free night award, are a great value proposition. This is a great time to apply for the card, given the special bonus it’s offering at the moment.

If you want to learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card or apply, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card (Rates & Fees).