American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business Card
American Express, American Express, $125 annual fee. Earns Marriott Bonvoy, valued at 0.73¢ a point.
Rates checked against the issuer 2026-10. Foreign transaction fee: none.
The short version
- Best at: nothing in particular — no category puts it in the top three of the catalogue.
- A year's rewards: about $486, or $361 after the fee.
Is the annual fee worth it?
It earns about $486 a year on the illustrative household's spending, which is $361 once the fee is paid. The best card with no fee, American Express Blue Business Plus, nets $1,058 on the same spending — so this card is $697 a year behind. On earning alone it does not catch up at any level of spending this looks at — its credits and perks have to make up the difference, or the fee is not paying for itself.
Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.
What it earns, category by category
| Earns on | Rate | ConditionsWhat the issuer attaches to this rate: a spending cap, a category you have to switch on, or a booking you have to make through its travel portal. |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels | 6x | Marriott only. Hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy |
| Restaurants & Bars, Gas Stations | 4x | Restaurants worldwide and U.S. gas stations |
| Phone & Internet | 4x | Wireless phone service bought directly from a U.S. provider — not internet or cable |
| Everything else | 2x |
Where a year's rewards come from
| Spending on | Earns a yearWhat this card earns on each kind of spending over a year, for the illustrative household on the method page. Before the annual fee. |
|---|---|
| Restaurants & Bars | $105 |
| Groceries | $88 |
| Everything Else | $88 |
| Gas Stations | $53 |
| Phone & Internet | $42 |
| Online Shopping | $26 |
Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.
What the issuer lists besides rewards
- 4x also on U.S. purchases for shipping
Similar cards
- American Express Hilton Honors Surpass — annual fee $150 a year
- Chase IHG One Rewards Premier — annual fee $99 a year
- Chase Bonvoy Boundless — annual fee $95 a year
- Chase World of Hyatt — annual fee $95 a year
- Every hotel card, ranked
- When an annual fee pays for itself
- The best two- and three-card combinations
Point values: published industry valuations, read 2026-09. How every number here is worked out.