Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
October 13, 2024: The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card is back down to its business as usual 3 night offer.
The current welcome offer on the Bonvoy Business offers new cardmembers the opportunity to earn free night certificates: bonus_miles_full
Here are the details on the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card welcome bonus.
Best Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card welcome offer: Three 50k free night awards
Here are the details on the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card 3 free night award offer.
Learn how to apply.
Annual fee: $125
(See Rates and Fees)
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card welcome bonus
bonus_miles_full
This welcome offer awards free night certificates. If you have a plan to use the certificates, you can usually get more value out of this offer than through a welcome offer that awards points..
More about this card
Benefit highlights:
Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status.
7% discount on eligible bookings.
Free night award after your card renewal month.
Earn an additional free night award after spending $60k in purchases in a calendar year.
15 Elite Night credits.
No foreign transaction fees.
Terms apply to all benefits.
Rewards:
6x at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
4x at restaurants worldwide.
4x at U.S. gas stations.
4x on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers.
4x on U.S. purchases for shipping.
2x on other eligible purchases.
Rewards are earned as Marriott Bonvoy points.
Learn more:
Compare this card to other Marriott credit cards in our Marriott card overview.
Find other cards that offer a free night award.
Can you get a new Marriott business card welcome bonus?
Marriott cards have famously complicated rules about who can receive a bonus and when. If you’ve had any Marriott or Starwood card before, it might be worth a peek at our overview of the Marriott new cardmember bonus rules before applying.
For the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, you will not be eligible for a welcome bonus in the following cases:
- If you have had this card previously. This includes the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express or previous versions of these cards.
- If you’ve had certain cards within the last 30 days, including 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
- If you’ve opened certain new Marriott cards within the past 90 days, including the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase.
- If you’ve received a new cardmember welcome bonus within the last 24 months on certain cards, including the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card from Chase, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase.
American Express may also exclude you from welcome bonus eligibility based on your history with Amex, the number of cards you’ve opened or closed, or other factors. Fortunately, Amex will notify you prior to processing your application if you are ineligible for a bonus. So, even if you’re unsure whether you qualify, it can make sense to apply—your credit score won’t be affected if Amex tells you that you are ineligible for the welcome bonus and you withdraw your application.
A few notes on applying for American Express credit cards
Here are a few things that you should know about applying for American Express cards.
- Amex will let you know if you’re ineligible for the new cardmember welcome offer when applying. If you don’t qualify for a welcome offer for any reason, American Express will inform you during the application process and let you withdraw your application before they perform a “hard pull” on your credit report. If you withdraw your application, the withdrawn application will have no impact on your credit score.
- No hard pull if they deny you. If Amex denies your credit card application, they usually won’t issue a hard pull on your credit report. This means that your credit score won’t decrease because of the denied application.
- One welcome offer per card per “lifetime”. Most Amex card terms say that you’re ineligible for a welcome offer if you’ve ever had the card before. Some targeted offers do not have this lifetime language. Readers and other blogs have reported that Amex may internally define “lifetime” as 7 years—if it’s been 7 years since you’ve had a card, you might be eligible to get a welcome offer again.
- Some cards allow one welcome offer per card “family”. Some American Express cards, like the personal Platinum card or the Charles Schwab Platinum card have language that prohibits you from earning a welcome bonus if you’ve ever had a card from the same card family before.
- Maximum 5 Amex credit cards and 10 pay-over-time cards. You can have a maximum of 5 American Express credit cards at one time. In addition, you can hold up to 10 American Express pay-over-time cards (like the Platinum, Gold, and Green cards.) These limits are known to occasionally be flexible for some cardmembers, some of the time.
- You might be able to get a better welcome offer than the public offer. American Express offers some customers targeted offers. See our post on how to get the best welcome offers from American Express and try those methods before applying for an American Express card. You might be able to get an elevated welcome offer.
- Check your application status online. You can check the status of your American Express card application online through the Amex website.
How the Marriott free night certificates work
The free night awards you’ll earn with your welcome bonus will be awarded as 50,000 point certificates. While you might be tempted to simply think of these certificates as being the same as 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points each, there are some gotchas and caveats to how these certificates work. Here are the most important points:
- Free night certificates expire. Free night certificates expire one year from the date they are issued and cannot be extended beyond the expiration date. You must book and stay by the expiration date of your free night certificate.
- You get only a standard room. Unlike points, which can be used for a variety of room types, free night certificates can only be applied to a standard room. While you may be eligible for upgrades based on elite status, you can only book a standard room.
- You can augment the value of your free night award. Marriott will let you use up to 15,000 points in combination with your free night certificate. For example, a 50,000 point award certificate can be combined with 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points to book a room costing 65,000 points/night.
In short, be sure that you have a workable plan to use your free night certificate before applying for this card and earning a welcome bonus.
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card at a glance
Rewards
| Marriott properties | 6x | |
| Dining at restaurants worldwide | 4x | |
| U.S. gas stations | 4x | |
| Wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers | 4x | |
| U.S. purchases for shipping | 4x | |
| Other eligible purchases | 2x |
Rewards are earned as Marriott Bonvoy® points.
Benefits
| Consumer insurance benefits Extended warranty. Purchase protection. | |
| Travel insurance benefits Baggage insurance plan Secondary car rental loss and damage insurance. | |
| Travel benefits Global Assist® hotline. | |
| Marriott benefits 35k free night award each year after your card renewal month. 15 elite night credits each calendar year. Gold Elite status. 7% discount on eligible bookings. |
Terms
| Annual fee: annual_fees Foreign transaction fee: foreign_transaction_fee | |
| Regular APR: reg_apr,reg_apr_type | |
| Helpful features Amex offers. |
Our take and bottom line
You can get plenty of value from free night certificates, but another bonus might be better if you don’t have immediate plans to use your certificates.
If you can maximize the free night certificates offered on the current welcome bonus of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, you can get incredible value from this bonus.
When I got this card previously, I earned a limited-time welcome bonus offering 5 certificates. Historically, this offer has popped up from time to time but it was not available as of our last update. I used my 5 certificates for hotel stays when I would have otherwise paid $350 our of pocket for each hotel night, getting an easy $1,750 of value out of the certificates, but you can do much better than that without much effort!
Be aware that free night certificates expire and aren’t as easy to use as points. Before applying, take note of the following:
- Be sure to have a plan to use the certificates. Since Marriott certificates expire within a year, you’ll want to be certain that you’ll use the certificates.
- Check your planned redemptions to be sure you can use your certificates. Certificates can only be redeemed for standard rooms and can only be topped off with 15,000 points. Be sure that you certificate are usable for the stays you plan to use them on.
- Consider going for a points-based bonus if you stay at cheaper properties. If you’re planning on using your certificates for stays costing only 15,000 points a night, you’ll get more value from another Marriott card that awards its welcome bonus in points.
You can get incredible value from this bonus if you can work within the constraints of the free night certificates.
Learn how to apply.
Annual fee: $125
(See Rates and Fees)
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card welcome bonus
bonus_miles_full
This welcome offer awards free night certificates. If you have a plan to use the certificates, you can usually get more value out of this offer than through a welcome offer that awards points..
More about this card
Benefit highlights:
Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status.
7% discount on eligible bookings.
Free night award after your card renewal month.
Earn an additional free night award after spending $60k in purchases in a calendar year.
15 Elite Night credits.
No foreign transaction fees.
Terms apply to all benefits.
Rewards:
6x at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
4x at restaurants worldwide.
4x at U.S. gas stations.
4x on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers.
4x on U.S. purchases for shipping.
2x on other eligible purchases.
Rewards are earned as Marriott Bonvoy points.
Learn more:
Compare this card to other Marriott credit cards in our Marriott card overview.
Find other cards that offer a free night award.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Chase Marriott business card discontinued?
The Chase-issued Marriott business credit card is not currently available to new applicants.
What bank issued Marriott credit cards?
Marriott has credit card partnerships with both American Express and Chase. Both of these banks issue several Marriott-branded credit cards.
Can I have multiple Marriott credit cards?
You can have Multiple Marriott credit cards, but having some Marriott credit cards may prevent you from earning a welcome bonus on a new Marriott credit card. See our article on the Marriott credit card welcome bonus rules for details.
American Express card disclosures
- For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
Amex Basic Baggage Insurance Plan benefit disclosure: Baggage Insurance Plan coverage can be in effect for Eligible Persons for eligible lost, damaged, or stolen Baggage during their travel on a Common Carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus) when the entire fare for a Common Carrier Vehicle ticket for the trip (one-way or round-trip) is charged to an eligible Account. Coverage can be provided for up to $1,250 for carry-on Baggage and up to $500 for checked Baggage, in excess of coverage provided by the Common Carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus). For New York State residents, there is a $10,000 aggregate maximum limit for all Covered Persons per Covered Trip. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
Amex Basic Purchase Protection benefit disclosure: When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase with their Eligible Card, Purchase Protection can help protect their Covered Purchases for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date if it is stolen or accidentally damaged. The coverage is limited to up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
Amex Extended Warranty benefit disclosure: When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase to an Eligible Card, Extended Warranty§ can provide up to one extra year added to the Original Manufacturer’s Warranty. Applies to warranties of five (5) years or less. Coverage is up to the actual amount charged to your Card for the item up to a maximum of $10,000; not to exceed $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
Amex Basic Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance disclosure: Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible Card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the Commercial Car Rental Company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. Geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
