Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Card only features one bonus category and that is for spending on Marriott properties. There is no limit to the amount of bonus points you can earn spending in this category and there is no limit to the amount of points you can earn spending on the card. Below are the details on the earning structure of the Marriott Bonvoy Card.

6x Marriott Properties

The Marriott Bonvoy Card earns 6 Marriott Bonvoy Points per $1 spent on Marriott properties. If you're familiar with the old earning rate of Starpoints, this rate technically has not changed since one Starpoint was equal to 3 Marriott Bonvoy Points. This bonus category still provide a solid return of about 4.2% since Marriott Points are valued at an average of 0.7 cents each. It's worth noting that all of the Marriott Credit Cards in the updated line up earn the same rate of 6 points per $1 spent on Marriott properties.

2x Non-Category

Using the Marriott Bonvoy Card on purchases not under the Marriott umbrella will result in earning 2 Marriott Bonvoy Points per $1 spent. This is miniature return of 1.4% at a rate of 0.7 cents per Marriott point. This is a decrease from the old earnings equal to three Marriott Bonvoy Points. Since non of the Marriott line up offers a good return on non-category purchases, I would recommend earning points with Chase's Ultimate Rewards Program or AMEX's Membership Rewards Program and then transferring those points over to the Marriott program at a 1:1 ratio. This gives you about 17 additional credit cards to work with. Chase features cards that dabble specifically in travel and dining, while AMEX focuses on grocery, gas stations, restaurants, and airfare.

Free Award Nights

Marriott Bonvoy Card holders will receive an Annual Free Night Award for any hotel that costs up to 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points. That includes up to category 5 hotels under both the standard and off-peak rate and up to category 4 hotels at peak rates. These free nights can be stacked with the annual nights earned from holding other Marriott credit cards. 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points is worth about $245 using the value of 0.7 cents each so that's the sweet spot if you want a good redemption. Looking at a few big cities (San Fran, Atlanta, etc.), Category 5 hotels range from as low as $150 a night to as high as $602 a night (and it had availability!) meaning these points can go far if you use them right!

The only two cards in the lineup that has a better Free Night Award is the now unobtainable Ritz-Carlton Credit Card and the recently new Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card. Both of these premium cards earn a free night that costs up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points along with several elite travel perks.

Marriott Elite Status

The Marriott Bonvoy Card grants complimentary Marriott Silver Elite Status due to the 15 Marriott Elite Night Credits it provides. Silver comes with a 10% Marriott Bonvoy Points bonus, priority late checkout, and a dedicated elite reservation line. These credits do not stack with the credits offered on the other Marriott credit cards. You can also run $30,000 spend through the Marriott Bonvoy Card to earn Marriott Gold Elite Status which bumps up the point bonus to 25% along with providing perks such as room upgrades, late checkout, and more.

The Marriott Bonvoy Card is no longer available for sign up. As the Starwood Preferred Guest Card, the sign up bonus was around 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points until the program changed over to Bonvoy from Marriott Bonvoy. Prior to it merging with Marriott, it offered around 30,000 to 35,000 Starpoints which were worth around 2.1 cents each for total value of $630+

Marriott Bonvoy Rewards Chart.