The Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Card Has Valuable New Welcome Bonus: A Potential $1,500+ In Travel (Offer Expired)

It wasn’t long ago that a six-figure rewards credit card welcome bonus was front-page news. The prospect of an intro offer worth hundreds of thousands of points was virtually unthinkable. This is no longer the case.

The Golden Age of travel credit card welcome bonuses has arrived. Case in point: The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card currently offers a bonus of five Free Night Awards (worth up to 50,000 points each) after spending $8,000 on purchases within the first six months from account opening. That’s worth up to a whopping 250,000 Marriott points.

It’s one of the most valuable welcome bonuses on the market right now, though it ends on July 10, 2024. Let’s take a look at what you can do with it.

Worth potentially $1,500+ in travel

Previously, the Marriott Bonvoy Business card offered only three Free Night Awards after meeting minimum spending requirements. This new bonus increases the value by up to 40% (a maximum of 100,000 points).

Here’s how these certificates work: You can reserve a night at any Marriott hotel that costs the equivalent of 50,000 points or less. If you book a hotel that costs less than 50,000 points, the certificate’s remaining value will be forfeited; you can only use it for a single night. Marriott also gives you the option to add 15,000 existing points to your Free Night Award. This means that if you’ve got additional Marriott points, you can get a free night at a hotel costing the equivalent of up to 65,000 points per night.

Here are some ideas for how you can use the current Marriott Bonvoy Business card’s bonus for huge value, based on searches we performed.

• Five nights at Arizona’s Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain in September 2024 (worth over $2,900).
• Five nights at the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa, Italy, in March 2025 (worth over $1,900).
• Five nights at the Grosvenor House, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Dubai, in April 2025 (worth over $3,000).
• Five nights at the Ritz-Carlton Bali in November 2024 (worth over $1,700).

Of course, you don’t have to use your Free Night Awards all at once. You could stretch them with single-night stays at several different Marriott properties. If you like to take road trips, you can use the certificates to get a free night at a hotel near up to five of your stops.

How do I qualify??

The Marriott Bonvoy Business is a small-business credit card, so you must own a business to be eligible. Still, the term “business” is more broad than you might imagine: If you deliver food with DoorDash, dog sit with the Rover app, or sell items on eBay or Etsy, you’re a small business. In fact, even if you’re launching a small business and currently have no revenue, you can be approved for a business credit card.

You should also note that in 2021 American Express added language to its credit card agreement that enforces a strict eligibility rule for welcome bonuses: They are “not available to applicants who have or have had this Card. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.”

TIME Stamp: The new Marriott Bonvoy Business card bonus can shave thousands of dollars off your next vacation.

The Marriott Bonvoy Business card charges a $125 annual fee but comes with excellent perks, such as an annual Free Night Award (worth up to 35,000 points), a 7% discount on all eligible bookings, and automatic Marriott Gold elite status (which comes with bonus points, room upgrades when available, priority late checkout, and more).

The new welcome bonus of five Free Night Awards (each worth up to 50,000 points) is enough for an extended stay at thousands of hotels worldwide, including many five-star resorts. If you lodge with Marriott even once or twice per year, it’s a good card to have.