Sign-Up Bonus, Earning Categories and Points
The current sign-up bonus for the Marriott Premier Business card is detailed above, which you can get after spending the required amount in the allotted time.
Using this card, you earn 5x points for stays at Marriott properties and Ritz-Carlton locations.
Like most cards, only new cardmembers can take advantage of the sign-up bonus. If you are new to the card, this is a terrific way to stockpile points.
Because it’s a business card, you also get 2x points on airline tickets (purchased through the airline), car rentals, restaurants, and office supply stores. You’ll also get 2x the points for internet, cable, and phone services.
On everything else you purchase, you’ll get 1x points. With a Category 1 one-night award costing only 7,500 points, you can rack up awards pretty quickly.
Bottom Line: Earn 5x points at Marriott, and 2x points on airfare, car rentals, restaurants, office supply stores, internet, cable, and phone purchases with your Marriott Premier Business card!
Free Night Stay and Elite Status Benefits
Each year after your account anniversary, you get 1 free night’s stay at a Category 1-5 hotel just for being a Marriott Premier Business card member.
A 1-night stay usually requires 25,000 points at a Category 5 hotel, which includes Renaissance, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, and more!
Also, this card automatically earns you 15 Elite credits every year, putting you at Silver Status in the Marriott Rewards Program for as long as you participate. You completely bypass the 10-night requirement necessary to reach Silver Status!
Silver Status gives you a ton of great benefits, such as late checkout, weekend discounts, and a 20% bonus on your points each stay. Not only that, you get a 5th night free for booking 4 nights or more!
Spend 50 nights or $50,000 in purchases in a year and move up to Gold elite status. If you’re putting all your business expenses on the card, this can be quite doable.
Gold status means complimentary room upgrades, lounge access, breakfast for 2, and a 25% point bonus.
The card provides another way to reach Gold: Every $3,000 you spend on purchases earns you an additional credit (equal to one night’s stay) toward elite status, and there’s no limit to how many you can earn.
So, say you stayed 25 nights this year and earned 25 credits. Add the 15 credits you start out with each year from the card, and that’s 40 credits…not quite the 50 needed to make Gold.
But if you’ve spent $30,000 on the card, you can add 10 more credits, sending you directly to Gold status!
There’s one more tier, Platinum elite status, which requires 75 nights but earns you 50% additional points per stay. If your business requires a lot of traveling, this is certainly possible.
Bottom Line: Gain automatic Silver status in Marriott Rewards with the Marriott Premier Business card, and earn elite credits for purchases to put Gold status more easily within reach.
More Marriott Premier Business Card Benefits
The Marriott Premier Business card is great for international travel because there are no foreign transaction fees. These fees can add up quickly with other cards!
Plus, the embedded chip in the card provides enhanced security when used in a chip card reader in the U.S. and overseas.
Even though it’s a hotel card, you can score big with miles in the United MileagePlus program once you hit Platinum elite status.
That’s because you’ll automatically earn Silver status with MileagePlus and be able to transfer points with a 20 percent discount.
For instance, you usually need to transfer 10,000 Marriott points to get 2,000 MileagePlus points. But with the discount, you only need to transfer 8,000 points!
If you’re concerned about the $99 annual fee, remember you get 15 elite credits each year, 1 free night’s stay, and 80,000 sign-up points in return! As a business owner, you may find this to be a very valuable card if you use it often.
Bottom Line: The free night each year alone more than makes up for the annual fee of the Marriott Premier Business card. Plus you get Silver elite status and even more benefits when you hit Gold and Platinum.