The Marriott Bonvoy^® Business American Express^®* Card is the sole hotel co-branded credit card in Canada aimed at business owners, and that's already a main reason to have this card on your radar.

Throw in an solid signup offer, anniversary Free Night Award, and 15 qualifying nights each year, and this card is a winner.

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The Marriott Bonvoy^® Business American Express^®* Card offers 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy points as a welcome bonus, upon spending $5,000 in the first three months of card membership.

Additionally, you can earn 10,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $1,000 on your card in the 13th month of cardmembership, bringing the total haul to up to 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.

The card has an annual fee of $150, which isn't rebated or otherwise waived as part of the current offer.

You can refer friends and family from the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card to the same card or the Marriott Bonvoy^® American Express^®* Card, earning a referral bonus of 15,000 Bonvoy points (occasionally elevated to 20,000–30,000) each time, up to a maximum of 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy points in a calendar year.

Finally, supplementary cards are $50 apiece; as with all American Express cards, you're allowed up to nine supplementary cards per card account.

How Much Is This Offer Worth?

We value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.8 cents per point, which is our baseline for running the numbers.

First-year value

In the first year, you'll earn:

75,000 Bonvoy points from the welcome bonus, worth about $600
10,000 Bonvoy points from putting the required $5,000 in spending on the card at the base rate of 2 points per dollar, worth about $80

That's a total of 85,000 points, which we value at roughly $680.

After subtracting the $150 annual fee, you're left with an estimated net first-year value of about $530.

Second-year value

If you keep the card into the second year, you unlock several additional pieces of value:

10,000 Bonvoy points after spending $1,000 on the card in your 13th month of cardmembership, worth about $80
The annual Free Night Award worth up to 35,000 points, which we peg at roughly $280 based on our 0.8 cents per point valuation

That's about $360 in value, and once you subtract the second-year $150 annual fee, you get an estimated net second-year value of around $210.

Combined over two years, that's about $740 in net value.

Keep in mind, these are conservative baselines based on our in-house valuation. If you redeem your points and Free Night Award at higher-end or peak-demand properties where cash rates are steep – especially when you top up the certificate to reach hotels pricing up to 50,000 points – your real-world value can be significantly higher.

In terms of the return on everyday spending, you'll earn 5 Bonvoy points per dollar spent at all Marriott hotels, including room charges, food and beverages, and incidentals.

One perk of the Bonvoy Business Card that's not available with the personal version is that you'll earn 3 Bonvoy points per dollar spent on eligible gas, dining, and travel purchases.

Meanwhile, you'll earn 2 Bonvoy points per dollar spent on all other purchases.

Consider using the Bonvoy Business Card on the 3x category of gas, dining, and travel (especially to maximize the current welcome bonus); however it's important to be aware that there are better cards out there if you truly wanted to optimize (such as the American Express Gold Rewards Card for gas and travel or the American Express Cobalt Card for dining).

As one of the only major hotel brands to offer a co-branded credit card in Canada, the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card makes Marriott the preferred brand of choice for most Canadians when booking hotels around the world.

All Marriott hotels are priced dynamically, depending on the season, and even the day of the week. That being said, there are some general ranges you can expect hotels to price at:

Low-end hotels: 5,000 points – 15,000 points per night
Mid-tier hotels: 20,000 points – 80,000 points per night
High-end hotels: 80,000+ points per night

Keep in mind that the “tier” the hotel falls into is also highly dependent on the market it’s in, so you can expect the Fairfield Inn and Suites near Disneyland, California to price at mid-tier levels even though it’s a limited service brand.

With the 60,000 points you earn as a sign-up bonus, you can stay for five or more nights at low-end hotels, or a night or two at mid-tier hotels.

Marriott’s “Stay 5, Pay for 4” policy makes one of the nights free on redemption bookings, further sweetening the deal with booking hotels on points.

The Essential Guide to Marriott Bonvoy

The Marriott Bonvoy co-branded cards also offer unique benefits to make your stays at Marriott hotels more memorable.

Cardholders are rewarded with 15 elite qualifying nights within the program, which gives you instant Silver Elite status and can go a long way towards helping you qualify for higher status tiers. Note that the elite qualifying nights from the Business Bonvoy Card and the Personal Bonvoy Card don't stack.

On top of that, cardholders can also enjoy an anniversary Free Night Award worth up to 35,000 points on each card anniversary date, which, if redeemed wisely, can easily outweigh the $150 annual fee.

The Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business Card offers practically identical insurance benefits to the personal version. Highlights include:

Travel accident insurance, up to $500,000, for you, your spouse, and any dependent children under 23
Baggage delay insurance, up to $1,000 (aggregate total with Flight Delay insurance), for items purchased within four days when your baggage is delayed
Car rental theft and damage insurance, which helps you save the daily insurance fee that most car rental companies charge for vehicles with an MSRP of up to $85,000

Additionally, the card also offers Purchase Security and Extended Warranty Protection, covering most eligible items you’ve purchased with your card should they be stolen or damaged within 90 days of purchase, as well as an extended one-year warranty period compared to the manufacturer’s warranty.