American Express today announced some improvements to the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card. Nothing has been taken away, but they have made several improvements.
In this article
New Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card Benefits
- There is a new 7% small business discount rate you are eligible for if you hold this card (or the legacy Marriott Bonvoy® Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase which is closed to new applicants). I’ll show you below that this is a real discount. And it’s automatically going to show in your account when you are logged in, no rate code required. Obviously Marriott knows who has which cards since they are linked to your Bonvoy number. *See below for terms and a rate comparison.
- You now get automatic Gold Elite Status. You previously only got Silver Elite and had to spend to Gold Elite. Keep in mind that the “real” benefits like lounge access and breakfast come with the next tier – Platinum Elite – so don’t get TOO excited, but Gold Elite will get you 25% additional points on your stay and, in theory, a preferred room. It also gets you enhanced WiFi at no charge and a 2pm late checkout (though that is entirely on request and not guaranteed).
- The 4X on restaurants is now worldwide and no longer limited to U.S. restaurants only.
New Welcome Offer
In conjunction with these improvements, Amex has launched a new Limited Time Offer on this card for new applicants which is:
Earn 125,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points when you spend $5,000 in your first three months. Offer expires 8/31/22. Terms apply.
More Details on the 7% SMB Discount Program
As mentioned, this is automatically applied to your account.
I did a test logged in and not logged in to see the rate difference and there was indeed a nice discount.
Without discount:
As you can see I saved $17 automatically. It’s 7% off the Flexible rate which is why it is actually a bit less than 7% off your logged in normal rate.
Now I will note I’m also a AAA cardholder and, in this case, AAA beat it all so you’ll still want to check all discounted rates. In other cases, AAA is similar to the member rate in which case I would use the Business Card discount.
Some terms and conditions for the 7% rate:
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card Members can receive an exclusive, preferred rate (“SMB Rate”) when they book eligible rooms directly through a Marriott Channel and pay for their stay using their Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card. The SMB Rate is a 7% discount on the guest room Standard Rate, subject to availability at Participating Properties. “Standard Rate” means the publicly available retail rate offered by Participating Properties at the time of booking to individual guests. “Participating Properties” includes hotels which participate in the Marriott Bonvoy program, excluding stays at Design Hotels™, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Marriott Grand Residence Club®, Vistana Signature Network™, Vistana Residence Network , The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club®, All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy® and Homes & Villas by Marriott International®.
To be eligible for the SMB Rate, the Card Member must be the Basic Card Member, have an active Marriott Bonvoy Member Account in good standing at the time of the stay, make an advance reservation, and use their Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card to pay their bill upon checkout. SMB Rate reservations must be made via Marriott.com, the Marriott mobile app, or by contacting a Marriott worldwide telephone reservation center (“Eligible Channels”). When a Card Member books a reservation on Eligible Channels for the SMB Rate, they are eligible to earn Marriott Bonvoy points for their stay at Participating Properties. If a Card Member books their reservation online, they must be logged into their Marriott Bonvoy account linked to their Card account in order to be eligible for the SMB Rate. If a Card Member books their reservation by phone, they must reference the SMB Rate.
The SMB Rate may not be combined with other promotions, offers, or discounts, and is not valid for existing reservations or reservations for ten (10) or more guest rooms. The SMB Rate may not be used with qualified transient rates including government rates, negotiated rates, AAA rates, and the Senior Discount rate. Rooms booked through third-party online retailers and travel agency bookings are not eligible for the SMB Rate. All Marriott Bonvoy terms and conditions apply.
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card: Earn 75,000 Bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Terms apply. | How to apply for this offer.
Questions?
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You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
The following American Express cards were discussed in this article: Rates and Fees for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card | Rates and Fees for the Marriot Bonvoy(TM) Business Card from American Express
