Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex
I’ve enjoyed holding the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex at the right times. This generally has been driven by an elevated welcome offer, something that Amex is currently offering right now. All three of Amex’s consumer Marriott cards are coming off high signup bonuses, and now it’s the business side’s turn. At first, this newest version didn’t catch my eye. But considering it more, I can see why many should jump on it now.
Another Look at the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex
Best-Ever Welcome Offer?
At first, I glazed over the 150k Bonvoy point signup bonus. It seemed similar to elevated offers I’d seen in the past, but then, I remembered those previous ones were only 125k. In terms of points, this current 150k point signup bonus is the largest I can ever remember seeing on the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex. It does require $8k in spending, but new cardholders have six months to meet that requirement. Indeed, these larger minimum spend terms in longer periods seem to be permeating every type of Amex card product these days.
But wait, what about the previous offers with free night certificates? I loved the five 50k free night award option, and there was a recent 3x 50k cert version, as well. The flexibility of 150k points easily beats out the latter, since points don’t expire like certs. In my situation, I’d still prefer the five 50k cert option over these points. But I can easily understand others who value the freedom of 150k points over cert limitations.
And this current version gets better.
Waived Annual Fee and Available via Referral
In my experience, Amex rarely waives the annual fee on the best signup bonuses. But they’ve done so here. I’ve gotten so used to the $125 cost coming along with a new Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex, the waived annual fee here feels like free money as part of the signup bonus. I guess it is, sort of.
Credit card referral bonuses, among other fun with Amex, are how I’ve subsidized annual fees in the past. Fortunately, this heightened welcome offer is available via referral, too, made even sweeter by the waived annual fee.
The Top Off Factor
The Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex has historically come with a 35k free night award after cardmember anniversary. With steadily-increasing award night rates, this Marriott cert lhas been less useful over the years – for me, at least. I’ve never stuck around for that cert and another annual fee.
But the loosening of Marriott’s top off feature can bring new life to these 35k certs. We were previously limited to topping off these certs with up to 15k points. But we can now use up to 25k points with Marriott free night awards. Going from 50k to 60k nightly rates creates substantially more utility for these 35k certs. Interestingly, it can be at brands at the top of Marriott’s portfolio. With just a bit of flexibility, I’ve enjoyed St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, and JW Marriott stays in the sub-60k range, whether solely on points or in combination with 50k certs. It’s much easier for cardmembers to justify that second cardmember year $125 annual fee now.
The Small, Still-Useful Stuff
The Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex still comes with 15 elite night credits. I’ve previously combined these with a personal Amex card’s allotment and actual stays to reach the 50-night threshold for an Annual Choice Benefit, specifically Nightly Upgrade Awards.
I occasionally focus on buying Bonvoy Platinum status via the Brilliant card. But the Business card comes with Gold, perfectly fine for Marriott loyalists without higher elite aspirations. Finally, an additional 35k cert via the $60k big spend bonus might be more attractive to certain Marriott-loving big spenders given the top off improvements I mentioned earlier.
Conclusion
Perfect is the enemy of good enough in many life aspects, and it certainly applies often in the points and travel hobby. The Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex isn’t the sexiest card out there, but it can fit in nicely for certain travelers. Those individuals should certainly consider this current version of the elevated Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex welcome offer.
Are you pursuing this signup bonus? Why or why not?
