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Annual Fee: $125
Earn 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases and an extra 50,000 bonus points after you make an additional $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Earn 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases and an extra 50,000 bonus points after you make an additional $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
For American Express products listed in this page, 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.
If you’re a Marriott loyalist and have a small business (e.g. freelancing, Etsy, etc.), this is an excellent card. It has a super reasonable annual fee for the benefits you get. For instance, you’ll be gifted Gold Elite status which comes with 25% bonus points on paid stays, late checkout, a welcome gift via points, and room upgrades when available. You’ll also receive 15 elite night credits to help you work towards the next level of status, plus a free night award on your card’s anniversary. And because this is a business card, you’ll also get an automatic 7% discount on standard room rates when you search for the “Amex Biz Card Member Rate” on Marriott’s site.
[.redeem] 6X [.redeem] points per $1 of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program
[.redeem] 4X [.redeem] points per $1 at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, and on U.S. purchases for shipping
[.redeem] 2X [.redeem] Marriott Bonvoy® points per $1 on all other eligible purchases.
It's worth understanding that the 6X is what the Card contributes. On top of that you're still earning 10X as a Marriott Bonvoy member, and Gold Elite status adds a 25% bonus on paid stays (2.5X). So your real return on a Marriott stay is up to 18.5X points; it just stacks rather than showing up as one number.
For American Express products listed in this page, 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.
🏆 Best for Marriott Loyalists
🏆 Best for Marriott Loyalists
$650 Annual Fee
🏆 Marriott Elite Status
🏆 Marriott Elite Status
Annual Fee: $250
Earn 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases and an extra 50,000 bonus points after you make an additional $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
This is the best-priced card in the Marriott Bonvoy® lineup, and it's the one people overlook because "business card" makes them assume it isn't for them.
But here's the deal on that annual fee: you pay $125 (see rates & fees) and you get a Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month, good for one night at a redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. Certain hotels have resort fees. That's the whole argument, and for most Marriott regulars it's a short conversation.
What makes it interesting beyond that is the 7% room rate discount on eligible bookings, which you get for being both a Marriott Bonvoy member and a Card Member when you book directly through an eligible Marriott channel under the Amex Business Card Rate. Combine it with complimentary Gold Elite status and 15 Elite Night Credits a year, and this card punches well above its weight.
The catch is eligibility, not value. You need an actual business, and while that bar is lower than people assume, it isn't zero. And the second Free Night Award requires $60,000 in purchases in a calendar year, which is a lot of spending to route through a card earning a currency that only works at Marriott.
[.pro] $125 annual fee (see rates & fees), the lowest of the Marriott cards that include an annual Free Night Award [.pro]
[.pro] 7% discount on eligible bookings under the Amex Business Card Rate [.pro]
[.pro] 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year [.pro]
[.pro] Solid earning rates [.pro]
[.con] You need a business to qualify, which rules out a lot of people who'd otherwise want it [.con]
[.con] The Free Night Awards cap at a redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, which is the lowest cap across the Marriott card lineup [.con]
[.con] The second Free Night Award requires $60,000 in purchases in a calendar year [.con]
[.con] Marriott Bonvoy points are mostly confined to Marriott, so there's limited flexibility if plans change [.con]
[.redeem] 6X [.redeem] points per $1 of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program
[.redeem] 4X [.redeem] points per $1 at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, and on U.S. purchases for shipping
[.redeem] 2X [.redeem] Marriott Bonvoy® points per $1 on all other eligible purchases.
It's worth understanding that the 6X is what the Card contributes. On top of that you're still earning 10X as a Marriott Bonvoy member, and Gold Elite status adds a 25% bonus on paid stays (2.5X). So your real return on a Marriott stay is up to 18.5X points; it just stacks rather than showing up as one number.
[.dontreco] We don't recommend: Chasing the $60,000 second Free Night Award [.dontreco]
$60,000 in a calendar year is $5,000 a month, by our math. That's a serious amount of spending to route into a currency you can only use at Marriott, for one night capped at a 35,000-point redemption level. If your business genuinely spends that much, fine. If you'd be stretching to get there, the answer is no.
[.sometimesreco] We sometimes recommend: Using it for the 4X categories [.sometimesreco]
4X points at rxestaurants worldwide, U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services bought directly from U.S. providers, and U.S. shipping is a useful set for a small business. The tradeoff is the same as always with a hotel co-brand: you're trading flexibility for a higher headline rate.
[.alwaysreco] We always recommend: Booking paid Marriott stays through the Amex Business Card Rate [.alwaysreco]
The 7% discount only shows up if you book directly through an eligible Marriott channel under that specific rate. Look for it in your search results rather than assuming it applied. It's the easiest benefit on this card to accidentally not use.
Don't forget to stack: If you also hold a personal Marriott card with Elite Night Credits, those credits combine. Fifteen from this card plus fifteen from a personal card gets you thirty nights toward status before you've slept in a single hotel room. That's the fastest legitimate route to a higher Marriott tier for someone who doesn't travel constantly.
If you want more flexibility alongside your Marriott points, any card in the Sapphire family is a great choice, though if you're a business owner you can take advantage of the higher welcome offer that the Reserve for Business holds. Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred directly to Marriott when you need a little extra, but they’re also great with other transfer hotel and airline transfer partners. This gives you a way to diversify your travel rewards without relying just on Marriott redemptions.
1. The Marriott Loyalist Who Has a Business
You already stay at Marriott, you already have an LLC or a sole proprietorship or a freelance operation with an EIN. The annual Free Night Award alone makes the $125 an easy decision, and everything after that is upside.
2. The Status Stacker
If you're already holding a personal Marriott card and you're stuck below the tier you want, the 15 Elite Night Credits here are the cheapest nights you'll ever get. Two cards, thirty credits, and suddenly Platinum is a realistic target instead of a theoretical one.
3. The Small Operator With Real Category Spend
Restaurants, gas, phone service, and shipping is a fair description of a lot of small businesses. If that's where your money goes, 4X on all of it while working toward a free night every year is a reasonable trade.
If you don't have a business, this isn't the card, and that's the end of it. Business cards require a business, and the application asks.
If you're not a Marriott person, the annual Free Night Award is the only thing carrying the fee, and a certificate you don't use isn't a benefit.
And if you're eyeing the $60,000 threshold for the second Free Night Award, be honest with yourself about whether that spending is real or aspirational. There are better places to put $60,000.
The usual rules still apply. Sort your credit out before you apply, and don't take on a card that's going to tempt you into spending you can't clear in full.
The recommended credit for this card is good to excellent.
