Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Signature BUSINESS Card (discontinued to new applications)
Updated April 19, 2018.
The Facts
The Facts
- Annual Fee: $99
- Signup Bonus: 75,000 points after spending $3,000 within 3 months of new account opening. This bonus is not available if you currently have this card or have received a signup bonus for this card in the past 24 months. As of 8/26/18, the bonus is not available if you have or had Amex SPG Card in the last 30 days, or if you have or had Amex SPG Business Card or Amex SPG Luxury Card in the last 24 months, or if you applied and were approved for Amex SPG Card, Amex SPG Business Card, or Amex SPG Luxury Card in the last 90 days. Based on anecdotal reports, this business card is NOT subject to Chase's 5/24 rule. Historical best bonus of this card: (1) 100,000 points offer with the $99 annual fee in 2016; (2) 70,000 points with waived first year annual fee and a Category 1-4 hotel upon signup a few times in the past years.
- Rewards: 5x Marriott portfolio hotels, 2x airfare, car rental, dining, office supplies and telecommunication, 1x everywhere else
- Best Use of Marriott points: (1) You may redeem points for hotel stays or upgrades at over 6,500 Marriott portfolio hotels worldwide, including Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, JW Marriott, EDITION, W Hotels, Marriott, Renaissance, Delta, Gaylord, Autograph Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels, Courtyard, AC Hotels, Fairfield, SpringHill Suites, Protea, Moxy, Four Points, element, aloft, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Marriott Executive Apartments, and Marriott Vacation Club. (2) You may transfer points into airline miles of 30+ frequent flyer programs, mostly at 3:1 ratio. If you transfer 60,000 points in a bulk you will get 5,000 miles as a bonus (60K points = 25 miles). Please see our review on Marriott vs. MR vs. UR vs. TY vs. CR for details of the programs that allow frequent flyer miles transfer. (3) You may also redeem points for Marriott Hotel+Air Travel Packages - you exchange a certain number of Marriott points for a certain number of frequent flyer miles plus a 7-night certificate for a Marriott portfolio hotel at a certain redemption level. Generally, the new Travel Packages represent devaluation from the old Travel Packages before August 2018 - you will still save some points when use this option, but in our opinion most of the time the saving is not big enough for the hassle of finding a single hotel to stay seven nights in a row.
- Marriott Benefits: (1) One free night at Marriott portfolio hotels with a redemption level up to 35,000 points upon each cardmember anniversary; the e-certificate expires 12 months after issuance. (2) 15 night credits toward elite status each calendar year. (3) Automatic Marriott Silver Elite status, the entry level status which isn't much. (4) Upgrade to Marriott Gold Elite status, the third tier status, when you spend at least $50,000 per cardmember year. Marriott Gold, normally achieved by stating at least 25 nights per year, is still nothing much.
- Other Benefits: Waived foreign transaction fees with an embedded EMV chip.
- Other Facts: this card shares most features with the $95 personal Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Visa.
The Math
Because Marriott points are normally valued at less than 1 cent per point, this card is not good for general spending. However, thanks to the annual free nights capped at 35,000 points level as well as annual 15 elite qualifying night credits, this is one of the few cards that you may want to pay the annual fee happily but keep it in the drawer.
The Conclusion
The annual free night makes Marriott Rewards Premier Business Card a great card to have, even if you only stay at Marriott hotels a few times a year.