American Express and Chase have been playing a tug of war in a sense with their Marriott credit cards. Each card issuer is trying to top the other and the consumer is the ultimate winner. For example, Chase recently announced they were giving new cardholders Five Free Marriott Nights with their Bonvoy Boundless Card. That offer is ending soon, so check it out now. American Express has just responded with their own great offer! First-time cardholders of the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card Get Free Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status Plus 100K Points, plus $150 statement credit!
Let’s dig a little deeper into this offer and what benefits the card offers for cardholders.
What’s in the AmEx Marriott Bonvoy Business Offer
The deal to get Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status plus 100K Points is for American Express’ business version of the Marriott Bonvoy credit card. This is a never before offered welcome bonus, offering Platinum Elite status, so it’s definitely worth taking a closer look.
Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card Benefits:
- For a limited time, earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first three months (offer ends Jan. 13, 2021).
- Plus you’ll get up to $150 in statement credits for eligible purchases on U.S. advertising in select media within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- For the first time ever, Platinum Elite status for one year starting February 2021
- Purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels earn users six points, and U.S. restaurants and gas station purchases, as well as wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping earn four points.
- Receive one free night award every year after your account anniversary (up to 35,000 points redemption)
- Plus, earn an additional free night award after you spend $60,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year.
- Annual Fee: $125
- APPLY NOW
Important to Know:
This welcome offer is not available to applicants who have or have had this card or the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express. With this limited-time offer, new applicants that get the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card will be able to turn everyday business expenses into future travel with 100,000 bonus points that don’t expire.
More terms and conditions may be found here
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Benefits
Marriott has one of the largest hotels portfolios in the industry. It features 30 brands and more than 7,000 properties to be found within 131 countries and territories. Wherever you travel, you’re sure to find a Marriott. That means more earnings for you stays, better consistency and plenty of redemption opportunities.
Marriott Bonvoy benefits for Platinum Elites
| Platinum Elite Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| 4 p.m. Late Checkout | Guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout, subject to availability at resort and convention hotels. |
| 50% Bonus Points on Stays | Earn 50% more points than Members on every eligible hotel purchase, including on room rate and other incidentals that can be charged to your room, such as dining and spa. |
| Annual Gift Choice for Those Members with 50 Qualified Nights | Choose one from the following: five Suite Night Awards™, give the gift of Silver Elite status, 40% off your favorite mattress, five Elite Night Credits or a $100 charity donation. |
| Cash + Points | Book and pay for your room by combining cash and points — stay for as little as $55 and 3,500 points. |
| Complimentary Enhanced In-Room Internet Access | Enjoy the property's fastest Internet connection absolutely free. |
| Dedicated Elite Support | Get fast, personal service 24/7 for all your hotel booking needs. |
| Enhanced Room Upgrade | [Marriott will do their] best to upgrade your room (including Select Suites), based on availability at check-in. Upgrades are subject to availability identified by each hotel and limited to your personal guest room. See terms and conditions for details. |
| Exclusive Member Rates | Just book direct on Marriott websites or apps. |
| Instant Redemption | During your stay at any participating hotels, instantly redeem points for cocktails, meals, spa experiences and more — anything you can charge to your hotel room. |
| Lounge Access | At hotel brands that have lounges, you’ll have full access and complimentary breakfast. |
| Mobile Check-In and Mobile Key | Use [Marriott's] apps to check in and out, or use your phone as your room key. |
| PointSavers™ | PointSavers™ all you to save points on redemptions at top destinations around the world. |
| Ultimate Reservation Guarantee | If [Marriott] can’t honor your reservation for any reason, they guarantee to pay for you to stay nearby and compensate you for the inconvenience. |
| Welcome Gift Choice | Upon arrival, choose points, breakfast offering or amenity — varies by brand. |
Value of the AmEx Marriott Offer
There’s no denying this AmEx offer provides a lot of value. 100,000 Bonvoy Points can be valuable in hotel stay redemptions. Plus, Bonvoy points can be redeemed for airline miles. Most of those are 3:1 (Bonvoy points to miles.) There is also a 5,000 mile bonus for every 60,000 Bonvoy points transferred.
Complimentary breakfast, lounge access and not having to ‘chase’ the Platinum status offers a lot of value, depending on how much you stay next year in a Marriott property. At a minimum, I value the points, the benefits of status and the $150 statement credit at about $3,400. Considering that valuation, this is whopping offer and deserves your attention.
Getting Value Out of Marriott Redemptions
Marriott has 7 categories for hotel redemptions. Within each category, there are three redemption levels (Off Peak, Standard and Peak.) The lowest hotel redemption is 5,000/night in a Category 1 Off Peak. Otherwise, the lowest standard redemption is a Category 1 at 7,500 points/night.
| Hotel Category | Off Peak | Standard | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5000 | 7500 | 10000 |
| 2 | 10000 | 12500 | 15000 |
| 3 | 15000 | 17500 | 20000 |
| 4 | 20000 | 25000 | 30000 |
| 5 | 30000 | 35000 | 40000 |
| 6 | 40000 | 50000 | 60000 |
| 7 | 50000 | 60000 | 70000 |
| 8 | 70000 | 85000 | 100000 |
A great benefit for the Marriott Bonvoy program is that members receive a complimentary night when redeeming for five consecutive nights. That’s stay for five nights, only pay for four. That saves 20% off your points redemptions.
If you’re looking to get away to a beach destination that doesn’t involve a pre-arrival COVID test then Mexico might be your best bet. Marriott’s AC Hotel Veracruz is located just a block from the beach. It’s a Category 1 property so it offers a great Marriott Bonvoy redemption value. It features both an indoor and outdoor pool, plus there’s a mall right next door! Platinum Bonvoy elites can get an upgrade to an oceanview room, if lucky.
AC Hotel Veracruz Redemption Costs:
Off-peak: 5,000 points
Standard: 7,500 points
Peak: 10,000 points
Another great destination that no longer requires a pre-arrival COVID test is Costa Rica. Luckily for travelers, Marriott has a hacienda hotel property occupying a 30 acre coffee plantation. Other great features of the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel Hacienda Belen (a Category 4 property) are a multi-level pool plus its own golf driving range.
It’s a perfect oasis for guests to explore the central valley region of Costa Rica. Plus you know they feature magnificent coffee!
Hotel Hacienda Belen – Costa Rica Redemption Costs:
Off-Peak: 20,000 points
Standard: 25,000 points
Peak: 30,000 points
RELATED: Check out all the global reopenings for entry requirements.
Marriott Bonvoy PointSavers
Marriott’s Bonvoy members can also take advantage of the PointSavers program. Members can search for PointSavers deals and book at discounted redemption rates. For Category 1 Off Peak redemptions, that saves 1,000 points/night (4,000 points versus 5,000.) This is a 20% savings. At the high end of the chart, a PointSavers redemption at a Category 8 property (Peak) saves 10,000 points/night (90,000 versus 100,000.) This represents a 10% savings.
In addition, if a PointSavers rate is good for five nights, the fifth night is free using the Stay 5/Pay 4 benefit.
| Hotel Category | Off Peak | Standard | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 8,500 |
| 2 | 8,000 | 11,000 | 13,000 |
| 3 | 12,000 | 16,000 | 18,000 |
| 4 | 17,500 | 22,500 | 27,500 |
| 5 | 27,500 | 32,500 | 37,500 |
| 6 | 35,000 | 45,000 | 55,000 |
| 7 | 45,000 | 55,000 | 65,000 |
| 8 | 65,000 | 80,000 | 90,000 |
A two-bedroom villa at Marriott’s Monarch at Sea Pines on Hilton Head, South Carolina can had for 45,000 points with a PointSavers rate.
All Bonvoy members have the opportunity to buy Marriott Bonvoy points; with a limit of 50,000 purchased points annually.
Other Marriott Bonvoy Redemption Programs
Marriott’s Bonvoy program allows for other ways to redeem your points. I mentioned the PointSavers program. Additionally, there is also the Marriott Bonvoy Moments. It allows members to redeem Bonvoy points for special experiences. These change regularly so you need to keep checking for adventures that interest you. Past offers have been backstage passes to popular concerts, private event suites and booths at major sporting events. During the current pandemic, the list is pared down considerably.
Rental cars are available through Marriott’s portal. Marriott partners with Hertz for their rental cars through points redemptions.
There are also tours and activities featured within the Marriott Bonvoy site. These are most often purchased through payment; not point redemptions. Purchasing these do earn Bonvoy points.
Of course, Bonvoy points are transferable to many airline programs-many of which are not so easy for Americans to accumulate miles. Check out the transfer partners here.
Free Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Offer – The UpShot
Marriott’s huge portfolio offers a lot of opportunities and access for its Bonvoy members. We have just seen a great recent offer from Chase; offering five free nights-250K points. Now, this most recent (Best Ever) American Express get free Marriott Bonvoy Platinum elite status plus 100K Bonvoy points offer compelling reasons to take a closer look.
With a broad spectrum of categories, 30 brands, Stay 5/Pay 4 and PointSavers deals there’s a lot of reasons to get a Marriott credit card. We probably will not see better offers ahead.
Apply today for the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card and you have plenty of time to enjoy your 2021 Free Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status!
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
4 comments
Marriott promises the moon, sea and stars to entice. If everyone is Platinum, no one is Platinum because Marriott cannot deliver any or all of the benefits to every Platinum, other than free breakfast.
Free breakfast was a feature of Marriott Gold until everyone was Gold and then, the free breakfast benefit got taken away from Golds.
Marriott has history of promising benefits and just as quickly eroding them.
Paul-
I usually would agree with you on this, however due to the reduced amount of guests traveling during the current pandemic, this is a perfect opportunity to get status and probably have tremendous success at many properties.
You’ve explained all of the benefits but have neglected to include the annual fee, which must be considered.
Joe-
The annual fee (of $125) is now included in the post. Considering the value received, I think it’s a strong offer anyone should consider.
Thanks for reading…