Increased 100,000-point sign-up offer for the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business card

Amex is offering the Marriott Bonvoy Business card with an increased 100,000-point sign-up bonus after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.  This limited-time increased offer is good through 10/23/2019.  Though only valued at ~0.7 cents each, particularly with the recent hotel award redemption rate increases, this is still a good sign-up offer as Marriott points can still be transferred over to many airline loyalty programs at a rate of 3:1 or 2.4:1 if you transfer in increments of 60,000 points.  The business version of the card includes the following benefits:

• 6X Marriott Bonvoy points on eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.
• 4X Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers & on U.S. purchases for shipping.
• 2X Marriott Bonvoy points on all other eligible purchases.
• 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel.
• Enjoy complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status with your Card.
• Spend $35,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and earn an upgrade to Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status through the end of the next calendar year.
• Each calendar year you can receive credit for 15 nights towards the next level of Marriott Bonvoy Elite status. Limit one 15 Elite Night Credit per Marriott Bonvoy member.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• 0% introductory APR on purchases for the first 6 months

Marriott, which acquired SPG a few years back, is the largest hotel group in the world, featuring 30 brands with 7,003 properties in 131 countries and territories.  Bonvoy Silver Elite status is hardly worth mentioning, though of course it's still better than not having status as you get late checkout and 10% bonus points on stays.  On the other hand, the Amex Platinum gets you automatic Marriott Gold status for virtue of having the card.  The $125 annual fee is not waived for the first year, though this card may be worth keeping since you can leverage decent value out of the annual free night award, especially if you stay at properties in China or Southeast Asia as there are many hotels with low redemption levels.

Use the annual free night towards hotels like the Renaissance Pudong in Shanghai

Welcome offer not available to applicants who:

• have or have had the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Business from Chase, the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Bonvoy Business from Chase, or the Marriott Rewards Business Credit Card from Chase in the last 30 days
• have acquired the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless from Chase, the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Premier from Chase or the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase in the last 90 days, or
• received a new cardmember bonus in the last 24 months on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless from Chase, the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus from Chase or the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase.

Marriott is unique in that they offer co-branded credit cards with both Amex and Chase, though it's interesting to see that this welcome offer carries many restrictions against those who had the Chase version of the card and not the Amex version.  American Airlines is one of the only other programs that offers co-branded cards with 2 banks (Citi and Barclays).

Amex sign-up bonuses are also once per lifetime, so you also won't be eligible for the sign-up bonus period if you had this card in the past.  But since it's a business card, it won't count against Chase's 5/24 rule, which disqualifies you for getting any Chase card if you've applied for 5 or more cards within the past 24 months.

Bottom line

This is a good sign-up bonus, so it's definitely worth getting if you've been considering a Marriott card.  The annual free night may also make the card a keeper for the long run, and you'll also be eligible for Amex Offers.  If you're interested in applying, I would appreciate if you did so directly through my referral link.