Offer improved to 5 free hotel nights, highest ever. The is one of the co-branded rewards card for Marriott hotels (including hotels from the merger of Starwood Preferred Guest and Marriott). Here are the highlights:
- Limited-Time Offer: Earn Five (5) Free Nights (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after qualifying purchases.
- New: Earn 3X Bonvoy points per $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining.
- New: Earn 1 Elite Night Credit towards Elite Status for every $5,000 you spend.
- Additional Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary.
- Up to 17X total Bonvoy points per $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
. - 2X Bonvoy points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- Automatic Silver Elite Status each account anniversary year. Gold Status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each account year.
- 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $95 annual fee.
Keep in mind the following:
The bonus is not available to you if you:
(1) are a current cardmember, or were a previous cardmember within the last 30 days, of Marriott BonvoyTM American Express® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express);
(2) are a current or previous cardmember of either Marriott Bonvoy BusinessTM American Express® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express) or Marriott Bonvoy BrilliantTM American Express® Card (also known as the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card), and received a new cardmember bonus or upgrade bonus in the last 24 months; or
(3) applied and were approved for Marriott Bonvoy BusinessTM American Express® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express) or Marriott Bonvoy BrilliantTM American Express® Card (also known as the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card) within the last 90 days.
That’s a lot of long card names, but note the different 30-day, 90-day, and 24-month waiting periods that may now include Marriott business cards. (See my .) This is why you should be looking to get the best possible bonus (like a limited-time offer) if you do apply.
As of April 2022, Marriott no longer has a fixed hotel category chart for booking points. You can still use these points at either Marriott properties (Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance Hotels, Courtyard, Residence Inn, Springhill Suites, Fairfield Inn & Suites) or former Starwood Properties (Westin, Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, Four Points by Sheraton, W Hotels, St. Regis, Le Méridien, Aloft), but now it is “dynamic” awards where the points required are more linked to the actual cash cost than before.
For reference, 50,000 Bonvoy points used to get you a peak award at Courtyard Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, a standard or off-peak award at the Sheraton Kauai Resort or Residence Inn Maui Wailea, or an off-peak award night at the Westin Moana Surfrider in Waikiki, Honolulu or the Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas.
You can use the to price out some sample hotels. In general, I’ve found that you can get most mid-tier hotels (Sheraton, Marriott, Residence Inn, Courtyard) but often not the higher tier (Westin, St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton) at most major US cities. Still, for 5 free nights times $200 a night value easily in my experience, that’s already $1,000+ in potential value.
Here is an example from a search performed in June 2022 for a night in August 2022. I can get 5 nights at the Westin San Francisco at Union Square for 48,000 points a night, which otherwise would have cost $343 a night prepaid upfront + taxes. With taxes, the total was $400 a night ($399.56 to be exact). $400 x 5 nights = $2,000 value.
Bonvoy Points can also be transferred to airline miles with a bonus. 60,000 Marriott points = 25,000 airline miles. Similar to the old Starwood bonus structure, they will add 15,000 points for every 60,000 points you transfer to airline miles.
Finally, Marriott points are also convertible to gift cards, but it takes 60,000 points to redeem for a $200 gift card for Marriott or retailers like Best Buy, Home Depot, or Nordstrom. That ratio isn’t all that great so you’ll definitely get the most value via hotel night redemptions or airline miles transfer.
Free Night Award. At your card anniversary (when you pay the annual fee), you will receive a Free Night Award that is good for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel. This excludes the very top properties, but for regular travelers it will be very easy to get your $95 value. Here are some sample hotels that I have tried to book in the past that came in at or under 35,000 points for selected dates:
- Sheraton Kona Resort (Big Island, Hawaii)
- Westin Hapuna Beach Resort (Big Island, Hawaii)
- Courtyard Waikiki Beach (Honolulu, Oahu)
- Sheraton Kauai Resort (Kauai, Hawaii)
- W Atlanta
- New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge
- Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile
- W Chicago
- The Ritz-Carlton, Beijing, China
- The S. Regis Bangkok, Thailand
No annual fee alternative. The is also offers bonus points and some (lesser) perks, but with no annual fee.
Bottom line. The (formerly the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card) is currently offering a special offer for new cardholders. As with all hotel cards, the value is dependent on your unique travel preferences. If you stay at Marriott/Starwood properties regularly, the free night award every year should easily cover the annual fee.
Also see: .
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