(EXPIRED) Nice new Marriott Bonvoy offers: six-figure points and statement credits on top

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The offers on both the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant and Marriott Bonvoy Business credit cards increased today and now include both excellent bonuses and statement credits on top to sweeten the deal. If you had one of these cards in mind, these offers are strong with the statement credits included.

a hand holding two cards on a balcony overlooking a golf course

The Offers & Key Card Details

For more information and to find a link to apply, see our dedicated Frequent Miler card pages by clicking the card names below.

Card Offer and Details
95K Points ⓘ Affiliate
95k points after $6K spend within the first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)
$650 Annual Fee
Recent better offer: (Expired 10/2/24) 185k points after $6K spend within the first 6 months.
FM Mini Review: Decent ultra-premium option for Marriott fans, especially those aiming for lifetime status tiers
Earning rate: 3X airfare -on flights booked directly with airlines; 3X restaurants worldwide, 6X Marriott; 2X on all other eligible purchases
Base: 2X (1.4%)
Travel: 3X (2.1%)
Dine: 3X (2.1%)
Brand: 6X (4.2%)
Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
Big spend bonus: Annual Choice Award with $60K calendar year spend
Noteworthy perks: ✦ 85K Free Night Award each year upon renewal ✦ $300 dining credit per membership year ($25/mo) ✦ Platinum Elite status ✦ 25 elite nights credit ✦ Priority Pass membership (Lounges only) with 2 guests ✦ Global Entry fee credit ✦ Free premium internet at Marriott properties Note: Enrollment required for some benefits.
Card Offer and Details
3 Free Night Awards, valued at up to 50K points each ⓘ Affiliate
Three 50k free night certificates after $6K spend in the first 6 months. Redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy(R) points for each bonus Free Night Award, at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy(R). Resort fees & terms apply. (Rates & Fees)
$125 Annual Fee
Recent better offer: 5x50K free night certificates after $8K in spend (expired 10/16/24)
Earning rate: 6x at Marriott Bonvoy properties ✦ 4x at restaurants worldwide, U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased from U.S. suppliers and on U.S. purchases for shipping ✦ 2x on all other eligible purchases. Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees)
Base: 2X (1.4%)
Dine: 4X (2.8%)
Gas: 4X (2.8%)
Phone: 4X (2.8%)
Biz: 4X (2.8%)
Brand: 6X (4.2%)
Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
Big spend bonus: Earn an additional 35k free night certificate (can be topped-up with up to 15k additional points, subject to resort fees) after you spend $60K on purchases in a calendar year
Noteworthy perks: Complimentary Marriott Gold elite status ✦ 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year ✦ 35k Free Night Award every year after card renewal (subject to resort fees) ✦ Complimentary premium Internet access at Marriott properties ✦ Terms Apply (Rates & Fees)

Quick Thoughts

Given our Reasonable Redemption Value for Marriott Bonvoy points is 0.72c, these bonuses are easily worth $800-$1,000 or more. That’s a great return that is certainly amplified by the included statement credits.

Keep in mind though that Marriott has a complicated system for determining whether or not you are eligible for a credit card. According to our Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide, here is a comparison of the card offerings from Chase and Amex and the relevant rules.


Card You Want
Cards You've Had (Or Recently Applied For) Chase Bonvoy Bold Chase Bonvoy Boundless Chase Bonvoy Bountiful Amex Bonvoy Business Amex Bonvoy Brilliant Amex Bonvoy Bevy
Chase Ritz Carlton ⚠30
Bonvoy ($45 card)
Bonvoy Premier ⚠24
Bonvoy Bold ⚠90 ⚠24 ⚠30 ⚠90 ⚠24
Bonvoy Boundless
Bonvoy Bountiful ⚠24
Bonvoy Business ($45 card) ⚠30
Bonvoy Premier Plus Business ⚠90 ⚠24 ⚠30
Amex Bonvoy ⚠30 ⚠30 ⚠90 ⚠24
Bonvoy Business ⚠90 ⚠24
Bonvoy Bevy
Bonvoy Brilliant
Eligibility Key
You are eligible for this card and welcome bonus
⚠30 Your are not eligible for a welcome bonus if you have had the card on the left within the past 30 days
⚠24 You will not be approved if you currently have or if you've received a welcome bonus in the past 24 months for the card on the left
⚠90 ⚠24 You are not eligible for a welcome bonus if you were approved for the card on the left within the past 90 days; or if you've received a welcome or upgrade bonus in the past 24 months.
⚠30 ⚠90 ⚠24 You are not eligible for a welcome bonus if you've had the card on the left within the past 30 days; or if you were approved for it within the past 90 days; or if you've received a welcome bonus or upgrade bonus for it in the past 24 months.
You are not eligible for a welcome bonus if you've ever had this card before (but the system seems to "forget" that you've had the card about 5 to 7 years after you cancel)
 

If you are indeed eligible and had the Amex Marriott cards on your mind, now could be a good time to make your move. As you’ll note based on the matrix above, having gotten the bonus on one of these cards will not preclude you from getting the bonus on the other, so the Amex cards are a sound path to getting a total of 30 Marriott elite nights per year (since you get 15 nights from having any Marriott business card and 15 nights from having any Marriott personal card — elite night credits from multiple personal cards do not stack).

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VIS

I have a Bonvoy $95 card and was thinking of upgrading to Brilliant which I had before downgrade. My wife never had Marriott cards. Thinking of applying for her. Question is how easy it is to transfer points between households ? One can easily transfer points on Hilton website.

Jumbo

Any member can transfer points to any other member. There is no restriction about being in the same household.

A member can transfer Out a max of 100k points per year.
A member can receive In a max of 500k points per year.

You have to call Bonvoy to get it done. They verify your account and then ask you which account # you want to sent the points to. The transfer is instant after they complete it while you are on the phone.

Some details here: https://help.marriott.com/s/article/Article-22159

Rick

Nick,

I received a bonus on the Amex SPG business card 7-9 years ago. I cancelled the card 2 years ago. Is it worth trying to apply again with the life time cap?

AC NYC

I wasn’t really planning to get another card (have 9 already with 4 Amex and 3 Chase included) but am lifetime Titanium so stay at Marriotts frequently. One of my Chase cards is the Bonvoy Boundless card but it was a replacement for a previous card I had for years and didn’t get any bonus when that card was replaced with this one well over 24 months ago so didn’t think that would matter. My concern was I have heard that Amex is only allowing a max of 4 cards for some accounts. In any event I applied yesterday for the Bonvoy Brilliant Amex card and was immediately approved (may have helped since my platinum card has member since 1987 on it (original green card upgraded to gold then platinum). I love the 125,000 bonus and have auto/home insurance payments coming up next month so that alone will be the $5000 minimum spend. The $200 additional restaurant credits during first 6 month are gravy (and I value them at 100% since will go to restaurants). As for the AF, $450 seems like a lot but with a $300 credit against practically any Marriott spend (again I value at 100%) that brings it to $150 and a free night in a 50,000 point property can easily cover that.

Now I plan to not get any more cards for quite a while since 2019/2020 were pretty active for me. On the other hand I’m now under 5/24 next January and I’m sure I’ll find something I want to get by then. One thing for sure – no more high annual fee cards since I have the Amex Platinum, Amex Gold, CSR, DL Platinum Amex and now the Bonvoy Brilliant Amex which have combined AFs of over $2000 (even though I get value exceeding that amount). All other cards are low AF and typically have a free night or something easily used to exceed the AF.

AC NYC

Nick – I understand and am aware of the difference in charge and credit cards. Even though I pay off all my cards every month I did sign up for the “pay over time” option on the Amex Platinum and Gold cards due to incentives I was offered to do so (10,000 Membership Rewards points just for signing up). My understanding is that basically turned them into credit cards.

I’ve seen Amex with a limit of 5 cards and in some cases 4. I got approved for my 5th which I wanted to highlight since it isn’t always the case. Maybe due to my almost 35 year history with Amex and payment record or maybe everyone gets 5. In any event I wanted to document it was my 5th card since there have been a number of discussions recently on Amex limit on the number of cards.

AC NYC

Oh yeah forgot to mention I have the Hilton Amex Surpass card also so that is 3 true credit cards (along w DL Platinum Amex and Bonvoy Brilliant card) plus my 2 charge cards (Platinum and Gold)

Gary

I currently have both the Chase Bonvoy Boundless (personal) & Amex Bonvoy (SPG personal) for a long time. I wanted to know if it worth it to switch one of the personal card to a business card so I can get 30 elite nights per year. Which one should I switch? Should I call either Amex/Chase to switch, or apply for a business card out right (then cancel one of the personal card later)?
Thanks,

Gary

Thanks for the detailed answer. I love your blog and the video. They are very informative and fun.

John

Just got the business Amex 30 days ago. Haven’t even finished the min spend yet. Any chance they would match me to the higher offer?

Mark

If I applied for Amex bonvoy business on the same day I apply for chase personal bonvoy, would I get both bonuses? Any data points on this?

Dan

You can’t get bonuses on both Chase and Amex Marriott cards within 24 months of each other. My guess is Marriott would consider you eligible for the SUB on the first issuer it receives information about you being approved for a card from (based on the member ID number).