ENDS TUESDAY: Get 60,000 bonus points with the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card

UPDATE – APRIL 2025:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.  We produce a monthly directory of the top UK travel credit card offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Credit Cards’ menu above.  Thank you.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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Marriott Bonvoy is currently offering a substantially increased sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Credit Card. 

The sign-up bonus is TRIPLED from 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to 60,000 points.

However, you have just two days left to apply.

This is the most generous offer we have ever seen for this card. There is no change to what you need to spend – you only need to charge £3,000 within your first three months of cardmembership to qualify.

Head for Points values a Marriott Bonvoy point at 0.5p per point, which if achieved would mean that your 60,000 points bonus would get you £300-worth of hotel stays. On a good day, you can do better than this. You can also exchange 60,000 Bonvoy points for 25,000 Avios or miles in almost 40 other programs.

If you want to learn more about the key benefits of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card, take a look at this article.

You can apply here.

The representative APR is 54.1% variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 30.4% variable.

There is an annual fee of £95 per year.

What is the sign-up bonus?

Until 2nd July 2024, the sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is tripled from 20,000 points to 60,000 points.

You need to spend £3,000 within three months of joining to receive the bonus.

Do I qualify for the sign-up bonus?

To receive the bonus, you cannot have had a personal American Express Card in the previous 24 months.

You CAN apply if:

• You currently have, or have had in the past 24 months, an American Express Business Card
• You currently have, or have had in the past 24 months, a Supplementary Card on your partner’s American Express Account

If you get the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card, you would still qualify for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus bonus AND The Platinum Card bonus at a later date.

This means that it is a great card to (re)start a relationship with American Express if you haven’t had any personal cards in the last 24 months. You can still follow up with British Airways American Express Premium Plus and The Platinum Card later.

What is the day to day earning rate on the card?

You will earn 2 Marriott Bonvoy points for every £1 you spend on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card.

Based on our average value of 0.5p per point per Marriott Bonvoy point, you are getting a 1% return on your spending. However in some cases you can do even better than this. Rob got 1.2p per point when he redeemed at The Ritz Carlton Al Wadi Desert resort in Ras Al-Khaimah in December 2020 for example, with cash rates at over £1,000 per night.

The earning rate at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy is 6 Marriott Bonvoy points per £1. This is an excellent card to have if you spend a lot with Marriott in the UK. Note that there is a 2.99% FX fee when using the card abroad.

What other benefits does the card have?

The card benefits are outlined on the application page here.

Get 15 elite night credits:

You will receive 15 elite night credits in Marriott Bonvoy per year. The first batch of 15 nights should appear within a couple of weeks, with nights posting in January in subsequent years.

You may find it worthwhile paying the £95 annual fee purely to get the 15 elite nights.

Let’s take a look at the elite night credit in more detail. These are the ‘nights’ requirements for different levels of Marriott Bonvoy status:

• Member: 0-9 nights
• Silver Elite: 10-24 nights
• Gold Elite: 25-49 nights
• Platinum Elite: 50-74 nights
• Titanium Elite: 75-99 nights

Because the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card comes with 15 elite night credits, you will receive Silver Elite status immediately.

If you want to earn Gold Elite status, you would only need to complete 10 nights at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy in 2024. This is because you have received 15 elite night credits from having the card and the qualification level for Gold Elite is 25 nights.

15 elite night credits also makes it a lot easier to push on to Platinum Elite or Titanium Elite.

To progress, you will only need:

• 35 additional nights for Platinum Elite (as you get 15 nights for free)
• 60 additional nights for Titanium Elite (as you get 15 nights for free)

Platinum Elite is where it gets interesting.  You can see the list of Platinum Elite benefits on the Marriott website here but to summarise the relevant ones:

• You get Executive Lounge access when the hotel has a lounge

• You get a 50% bonus on your base points on every stay

• You get a room upgrade, including suites, if available 

• You get a welcome amenity – which can include restaurant breakfast if the hotel has no lounge or you would prefer to use the restaurant (this article explains the Marriott Bonvoy breakfast benefit by brand)

• You get a GUARANTEED 4pm check-out except at convention and resort hotels

However you look at it, Platinum Elite is a good package.

50 nights is a stretch unless you are travelling heavily each week.  35 nights, on the other hand, is manageable for a lot of people.

If you believe that you could comfortably do 35 Marriott Bonvoy nights per year then it is worth paying £95 for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card in order to secure Platinum Elite status.

The 15 elite nights per year also count towards lifetime status.

You receive Silver Elite status in Marriott Bonvoy

Because you receive 15 elite night credits per year, you are guaranteed to keep Silver Elite status for as long as you hold the card.

This is because Silver Elite is triggered at 10 nights per year and Marriott Bonvoy will give you 15 elite nights per year just for being a cardmember.

The benefits of Silver Elite are not huge, of course.  You can see the different Marriott Bonvoy membership tiers here.

The key benefits of Silver Elite status are:

• 10% bonus on base points earned
• ‘Priority’ for late check-out requests

…. and that’s it, at least in terms of stuff you will find genuinely useful.  It isn’t a lot but it should stop you getting the room overlooking the bins.

You get Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status for spending £15,000 in a card year

There is a second way of earning Gold Elite status.

Instead of doing 10 elite nights per year, you will also be promoted to Gold Elite by spending £15,000 per membership year on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card.

You get a free night voucher you get when you spend £25,000 in a year

This sounds great, given some of the luxury properties in the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio.  However it can only be used at hotels which cost up to 25,000 points per night.

This isn’t much.  For comparison, the top Marriott Bonvoy redemptions now cost 150,000 points per night on peak nights.

The good news is that Marriott Bonvoy will allow you to ‘top up’ your free night voucher with up to 15,000 points from your Marriott Bonvoy account. This allows you to use your free night voucher to book a hotel costing up to 40,000 points, which will be worth around £200.

The sign-up bonus can be converted into 25,000 Avios or other airline miles

If you do meet the criteria to qualify for it, you will receive a sign-up bonus of 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points if you apply for the card by 2nd July.

60,000 points is good for around £300 of free hotel nights or will convert into 25,000 miles with over 40 airlines including Avios and Virgin Flying Club.

The standard conversion rate of Marriott Bonvoy points to airline miles is 3:1. However, for most airlines you receive an extra bonus of 5,000 miles when you convert 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This means that the sign-up bonus is worth 25,000 Avios or other miles for most airlines.

Now that Emirates, Etihad, American and United no longer have UK credit cards, the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is the best way to earn miles with a credit card in these programmes.  There are also 30+ other airlines who never had a UK credit card, such as Air Canada, where this card is the best way to earn miles in the UK from day to day spend.

Conclusion

Until 2nd July, you can get a TRIPLED sign-up bonus if you sign up for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Credit Card.

If you qualify, 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points is well worth a look. This should get you a free hotel night worth around £300, and potentially more if you are strategic.

You will also receive Silver Elite status for as long as you hold the card.

Irrespective of whether you qualify for the bonus, for anyone who can easily do 35 Marriott Bonvoy nights per year, the ability to receive 15 elite night credits will make the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card worth getting. It makes Platinum Elite status – the sweet spot – achievable.

You can apply for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Credit Card here.

Remember that you have until Tuesday evening to apply.

Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (50,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.