The only 2 Canadian cards that are for EVERY traveler with NO EXCEPTIONS AT ALL have a new record-high offer!!! The Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Card (no incorporated business required) each give you a huge welcome bonus (value of ≈ $1100+ to UNLIMITED) and a free night certificate at every renewal (value of ≈ $315 to UNLIMITED)!
For those who already got the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card, you still got more total value thanks to getting the amazing annual certificate earlier. But make sure to now get the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Card for another huge bonus and another certificate.
For those who don’t have it yet, do NOT miss this chance! You can get 20 free nights in nice hotels, or $2500+ worth of luxury hotels!!! Insane. Please stop missing out; it makes no sense. It’s THE best offer ever seen on these cards!!!
For everyone, convince all your friends to also get in on this, even if they’re not into points (you can keep the the points for you)!!! Flytrippers is here to help you travel for less with its free newsletter specifically about travel rewards, its ranking of the best current offers, and its infographic summarizing all the basics.
Here’s an overview of the amazing new welcome bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card (the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Card has an almost identical offer).
Why should I get the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card?
Getting 20 free nights in nice hotels or $2500+ worth of luxury hotels with a single welcome bonus is just phenomenal.
Here’s a short video about the deal if you prefer this format.
Here’s why you should absolutely get the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card now if you don’t have it yet:
- It’s the highest-ever offer on this card
- It’s usually only increased once per year
- It’s absolutely the best time to get it
- It ends April 7, 2026
- These are the best hotel points for Canadians
- It’s the only card that is for EVERY traveler
- I debunk a few common objections at the end
- There is literally zero logical reason not to get it
- Seems extreme, but it’s 100% true!!!
- Send me your reason, and I’ll gladly respond to it! Seriously!
- It’s the only card EVERY traveler should keep
- The annual free night certificate is amazing
- One of the best credit card benefits that exists
- I once got a $600 hotel with a certificate
- Kevin got a $1000+ overwater bungalow in Fiji
- It’s easy to reach the minimum spend requirement in 6 months
We literally cannot recommend this Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card deal enough!
Our Flytrippers readers have earned over 4 million dollars in free travel since 2017, simply by taking advantage of welcome bonuses through our secure links… and this is the #1 top card that made that possible!
Here’s why the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card offer is so amazing:
- You’ll get 122,000 Marriott Bonvoy points by unlocking the bonus
- Welcome bonus: 110,000 points
- Earn on your minimum spend: 12,000 points
- You’ll get a valuable free night certificate at every renewal
- We only counted 1 in the Flytrippers Valuation of the offer
- As the 2nd year fee is already deducted (for the renewal bonus)
- Marriott Bonvoy points can be more lucrative
- You can get 20 nights in nice hotels (like in Bali)
- You can get luxury nights worth $2500+
- And you can double that with a travel companion
- Marriott Bonvoy points can be more simple
- If you prefer
- No complexity at all, no flexibility required
- Worst case, you’ll redeem for ≈ $1098
- For any of the 9000+ hotels worldwide
- Still an absolute no-brainer to get it
- Marriott is the world’s largest hotel chain
- There are 38 different hotel brands
- From high-end luxury (The Ritz-Carlton)
- To more affordable mid-scale (Courtyard)
- Marriott has no low-end hotels
- You’ll also get automatic Silver elite status
- But also a shortcut to higher elite status levels
- For amazing VIP treatment and many benefits
- Like access to hotel lounges and free upgrades
- Or free breakfast, late check-out, bonus points, etc.
Even if you sadly take advantage of just 1 deal per year (you really shouldn’t do that, to be very clear)…
It should definitely be the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s increased offer until April 7!
(Or the business version, the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Card, that does not require having a business and gives you as many points, albeit with a higher minimum spend requirement and special application instructions to follow!)
If you and your travel companion each get the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card, you’ll get 244,000 points: that’s enough for 40 nights in a nice hotel in Bali completely free!
That’s just incredible. I went to these hotels myself last year, and they’re great!
I’ll go over all the highlights below.
But please get our upcoming comprehensive guide to this card and this program, and so much more related content in the next 2 months, by signing up for our free newsletter specifically for travel rewards (150,000+ savvy Canadian travelers receive our travel deals, tips, and content).
How do I take advantage of the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card deal?
Here’s the easy step-by-step:
- Apply for the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card
- Until April 7, 2026
- Spend $6,000 (use our many tips)
- In a maximum of 6 months
- Receive 92,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
- Welcome bonus: 80,000 pts
- Minimum earn: 12,000 pts
- Renew the card
- You ALWAYS should with this one
- It’s the only card that’s like this
- Receive 30,000 points AND a certificate
- Renewal bonus: 30,000 pts
- Annual card benefit: Free night certificate
- Learn how to maximize your points and certificates
- Flytrippers is here to help
The wonderful world of travel rewards can seem intimidating, but it’s really not that complicated.
You were going to spend $6,000 anyway… but you would’ve only gotten a terrible return of 1% or 2% ($60 or $120). Like most people always get, sadly.
Instead, by being savvy and spending that same amount on the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card with its increased offer, you’ll get 122,000 points (with the welcome bonus) and a free night certificate (with every card renewal).
The points can be worth $2000+ quite easily, and the certificate can be worth $500+ every year!!!
Even at our lower conservative Flytrippers Valuation of the rewards (and with just the 1st certificate counted), that’s a return of ≈ 19.6% on your spending (≈ $1173 net value on $6000 spent).
A bit better than 1%, right?
And having more cards is better for your credit score, contrary to the very common and very wrong myth; as long as you follow the 3 simple rules.
A great thing about redeeming points for hotels is that you can share the hotel room, unlike with airline seats. So if your travel companion also gets the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card, you’ll be able to pool your Marriott points together into the same account very easily online.
The pooling is not restricted to spouses or anything like that at all, so it’s a good time to convince your friends and family to also get the deal. If they don’t care about points or travel, maybe you can find a mutually beneficial offer for them, in exchange for you getting their points…
How do the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s rewards work?
Marriott Bonvoy points are rewards of the more lucrative type!
That means 3 main things:
- Their value varies a lot depending on how you redeem them
- The hotels’ price in points is not tied to the hotels’ price in cash
- They can be redeemed only for specific hotels (Marriott hotels)
It’s really not as complicated as it seems if you put in just a tiny bit of effort to understand. And it will be extremely useful on your travel rewards journey, as rewards of the more lucrative type are absolutely the best!
Thankfully, hotel points are much easier than airline points! So the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card is the best option to finally get into the best type of rewards, which gives you so much more value!
(More on that at the end, in the section about why you’re wrong for thinking this deal isn’t for you!)
Hotel points have 2 main perks compared to airline points:
- There are no capacity restrictions (all rooms are available)
- There are no taxes to pay (a free night is a free night)
(There are a few exceptions, but they’re extremely rare: you may come across rooms bookable in cash that aren’t bookable in points, but it won’t happen often; and some countries mandate taxes to be paid in cash, but there aren’t many and it’s never more than a few dollars per night!)
As with most rewards of the more lucrative type, there is also an option to redeem the points in a more simple way (for less value, obviously).
But with Marriott, the value is still decent this way, too!
Essentially, you can choose between:
- Maximizing the value you get by choosing the right redemptions (more lucrative)
- Maximizing the convenience you get by choosing any redemption (more simple)
We certainly recommend maximizing the value you get and we’ll help you… but worst case, Marriott points can also be redeemed for any of the 9000+ Marriott hotels worldwide at a relatively constant value, with no complexity!
So it’s an absolute no-brainer to get the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card no matter what type of rewards you prefer.
How can I maximize the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s rewards?
The key is to plan trips around the best Marriott Bonvoy redemptions, and we’ll have a more thorough list of concrete examples in our free travel rewards newsletter soon!
But I’ll give you a teaser.
As with most rewards of the more lucrative type, if you choose to maximize the value you get, you can choose whether you value quantity or quality.
Essentially, you can choose between:
- Maximizing the amount of free nights you get
- Maximizing the amount of cash you save on your free nights
That’s why my 2 examples of what you can get with the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s welcome bonus are the 20 nights in a nice hotel in Bali or the nights worth $2500+ at the foot of the Pyramids in Egypt.
(There are also many other hotel and destination choices, obviously! I’m trying to keep this simple!)
If you’re more familiar with airline points, it’s the same principle.
With those, you can choose between:
- 2 Canada–Europe flights in economy class
- 1 Canada–Europe flight in a luxurious lie-flat pod seat in business class
We’ll help you, no matter your preference. As for me, while I’ve been flying business class more often, I still prefer getting more free nights to travel more.
Because I tend to go somewhere to actually visit and not stay locked inside a property, I tend to visit affordable countries where even “midscale” Marriott hotels are very nice or luxury hotels are cheap in cash, and my 4 Marriott certificates per year are enough for true luxury for me.
To maximize the amount of free nights you get with the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s 122,000 points, in general, it’s best to choose cheap countries to visit, unsurprisingly.
For example, in Bali, there are a few hotels where you can get a whopping 20 free nights, like the Four Points by Sheraton Bali Ungasan and the Fairfield Bali Legian (loved both last year).
If you want luxurious high-end hotels, they will also obviously cost fewer points in the cheapest countries to visit.
For example, in magnificent Malaysia, there’s a high-end 5-star hotel in a national park where you can get 14 nights, the Mulu Marriott Resort & Spa.
To maximize the amount of cash you save, it highly depends on every hotel’s cash price (which varies enormously), unsurprisingly.
For example, luxurious high-end hotels can sometimes be a much better deal in points, like the 5-star Marriott Mena House Cairo hotel in Egypt, where you can get nights worth $2500+ (3 nights at $930 each).
I can tell you the sunrise at the Pyramids is quite something.
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If you want more options, there are also plenty of hotels that are just extremely expensive in cash on some dates, and points give you a better deal.
For example, the 5-star The Ivens, Autograph Collection hotel in Lisbon sometimes costs $1200+ per night, but a much lower amount of points, giving you more value and higher savings.
We’ll help you with many more concrete examples and many tips during this increased offer on the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card, which will all be sent in our free travel rewards newsletter.
In the meantime, we have a teaser on the best Marriott redemptions.
How can I maximize the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s annual free night certificate?
The Marriott Bonvoy annual free night certificate is one of the best credit card benefits on any Canadian card. It has nothing to do with the welcome bonus or the points; it’s a credit card benefit.
The certificate gives you a free night in pretty expensive hotels every year (value of ≈ $315 to UNLIMITED), by simply renewing your Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card for $120 every year.
A true no-brainer, and a great litmus test for whether you know how to do math! It’s literally impossible not to book at least 1 hotel worth at least $120 in a year! At least for someone who’s reading a travel website!!!
(There’s also no downside to keeping the card; Amex is the only bank in Canada that doesn’t allow you to get the welcome bonus on the same card an unlimited number of times. Although, Amex sometimes allows it after a few years… it’s just not guaranteed!)
So this certificate gives you a nice 3-day 2-night weekend by combining it with your travel companion’s own certificate.
And eventually, you can combine it with your certificate from the “business” version, the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Card (that’s a 5-day 4-night amazing stay if you both get both cards).
That’s what we did with our girlfriends. Kevin’s American girlfriend even got the Canadian Marriott cards just to get these amazing certificates. Americans are never jealous of Canadian travel rewards, but this is the exception! It’s this good!
The certificate is worth 35,000 points, but you must redeem it all for a single hotel night (you can’t use the certificate for the 5-night stays in Bali that cost 35,000 points total).
You can also top it off with up to 15,000 of your points to get even more options. It sometimes makes sense. But don’t waste it on a hotel worth way less than 35,000 points, or that’s cheap in cash!
For example, you can redeem the Marriott certificate for a night worth $370 at the Hotel Paracas, a Luxury Collection Resort, Paracas.
I once redeemed one for a $600 room at the beautiful oceanfront Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel & Resort on an expensive weekend night (Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was in town, and many Americans came down to take advantage of the 22$US concert tickets, driving up hotel prices).
Kevin got lucky and redeemed one for a standard room at the Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay worth $324, and he got a free upgrade to an overwater bungalow worth $1000+ thanks to the elite status he got with the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card (more on that below).
We have a complete guide to the Marriott Bonvoy annual free night certificate, including 50+ concrete examples of great redemptions. We’ll update them and add many more soon.
What is the value of the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s welcome bonus?
The new record-high offer of 110,000 bonus points has 2 parts:
- Get 80,000 points after spending $6,000 (in a maximum of 6 months)
- Get 30,000 points after renewing the card and making a purchase in month #15
And since the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s base earn rate is 2 pts/$, you’ll earn a minimum of 12,000 extra points on the minimum spend of $6000 ($6000 X 2 pts/$ = 12,000 points)!
That’s a total of 122,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Our Flytrippers Valuation is always conservative, and is ≈ 0.9¢/pt. So you get points worth ≈ $1098.
Same thing for the certificate, our conservative Flytrippers Valuation is ≈ $315. We include the 1st in the offer value, since the welcome bonus offer is structured with a renewal bonus.
So you’re getting ≈ $1413 in free hotels (≈ $1098 in points and a ≈ $315 certificate)!
Minus the $120 fee (twice), that’s a net value of ≈ $1173 with the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s record-high offer!
What is the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s elite status benefit?
If you like getting a great VIP treatment in hotels and a lot of freebies, you should definitely care about hotel elite status.
The Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card gives you automatic Silver elite status. I’ll be blunt: this is not very useful, as everyone and their mother has this card (and therefore has Silver elite status). Well, it’s better than those who have nos status, at least!
But another card benefit is a shortcut to higher elite status levels. You’ll get 15 elite night credits (ENCs).
That’s Marriott’s elite status qualification instrument, something that soooooo many people confuse with rewards.
The most valuable elite status level is Platinum elite, which includes free breakfast at most hotel brands, lounge access when there is a lounge, and more frequent free upgrades to better rooms (including suites).
You need 50 ENCs to reach Platinum. Essentially, just by having the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card, you’ll start off at 15 rather than at 0!
In previous years, that would’ve meant you could reach the very valuable Platinum elite status with just 18 nights spent at Marriott hotels.
Why? If you’re savvy and take advantage of the doubled ENCs promo that was offered every year for the past 5 years, those 18 nights count double. That’s 36, and along with your 15 ENCs with the card, you’re over 50!
However, this year’s promo is a bit different. You can still double your ENCs, but it requires a bit more effort: changing for a new hotel brand every night, if you want to maximize. I’ll take advantage of it anyway, but it’s not as easy as previous years. Stay tuned; I’ll share a complete post about the promo very soon.
We have a complete guide to Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
How can I find all the details about the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card?
If you want more than just the highlights above, I have great news.
Flytrippers is here to help you in many ways:
- Detailed card resource page
- Question form
- Live Q&A in February
Detailed card resource page: We have a detailed card resource page for every card, with 10+ tabs that contain all the information you could possibly want. Check out our card resource page for the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card (or the “business” version).
Question form: It’ll be our genuine pleasure to help you, if you can’t find the answer to your question on that resource page or if anything is not clear to you on that resource page! We also recommend reading at least our infographic with all the basics before asking.
Live Q&A in February: We do live Q&As (almost) monthly, to share info on the best current deals and to answer all your questions. Enter your email to be notified as soon as we set the date for the February video.
Why am I completely wrong for thinking the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card is NOT for me?
You might think this deal is not for you, but you’re almost certainly wrong (with all due respect).
We insist this much because it’s literally the only card that’s for absolutely every traveler. The only one!
I’ve listed a few common objections, but as mentioned, if you think you have another reason not to get the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card, please tell me in the comments below, and I’ll explain why you should still get it.
I can’t spend $6000 in 6 months
You probably can, you probably just don’t know the pro tips.
First of all, $6000 in 6 months is the equivalent of just $231 per week. Amex cards are way more widely accepted than in the past, and almost all major brands accept them.
(Who cares about your $10 per week local bakery order; all that matters is that you can reach the minimum spend requirement for the bonus, not that you can use it for 100% of your expenses!)
All grocery stores in Canada accept Amex, except the Loblaws brands. Switch to another for 6 months and your groceries alone should be close to $231 per week.
Most importantly, when the minimum spend requirement is over 6 months (rather than the common 3 months), it’s so much easier! You’re almost sure to have a big expense come up in half a year, so that big chunk will help.
Otherwise, read our 6 tips for reaching minimum spending requirements. It’s almost certain you can do it.
For example, so many people are unfortunately unaware of bill payment services. You can pay your rent or property taxes by credit card! That’s thousands of dollars more to unlock welcome bonuses.
This option is the only tip that involves fees, so it’s only savvy if you use it to unlock a bonus you wouldn’t have been able to unlock otherwise, or to unlock more bonuses. In those cases, it’s obviously worth paying!
Again, it’s really important to know how to do math in this world.
I don’t want to pay an annual fee
Wanting to avoid fee is a very normal reflex and generally a good one, but certainly not in the counterintuitive world of travel rewards! I’d even add that, respectfully, it’s one of the least logical reasonings possible.
You’re going to miss out on a welcome bonus worth ≈ $1413 just to avoid paying the $120 fee? Surely you can see how unsavvy that is.
It’s important to always look at both sides of every equation. Yes, look at the fee… of course. Don’t completely ignore it, that’s just as unsavvy. But look at what the fee gives you.
In this case, ≈ $1403 in free hotels!!! Want to avoid the fee and stick to no-fee cards like beginners? Well, the best you can get is a welcome bonus of $192 (BMO eclipse Rise Card).
Bravo, you saved the $120 fee… but you have $981 less in your pockets. That is just not a logical choice.
The NET value of any equation (rewards minus fees, in the case of welcome bonuses) is the only thing that matters.
Same thing for every subsequent year with the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s certificate.
I’ve never had rewards of the more lucrative type
You might have always stuck to terrible cash back and other rewards of the more simple type, which have a much lower value.
Rewards of the more lucrative type are by far the best if you want to get more free travel. It’s not even close. These are the best to get good deals.
It can be intimidating, but we’ll help you.
And most importantly, hotel points like the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s points are wayyyy easier than airline points, so it’s truly the best gateway into this wonderful world.
Getting $1000 free with the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card is great, of course. But those rewards can never be worth more than $1000. Still amazing.
But, truly, the feeling of redeeming 122,000 Marriott points for an outsized value of $2000 and getting a way better deal… is just soooooo much better.
I don’t want rewards of the more lucrative type
Yes, Marriott Bonvoy points are rewards of the more lucrative type.
But even if you don’t want the complexity of choosing the right redemptions, or don’t want to show flexibility enough to get the right redemptions…
The Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s welcome bonus is so huge (and the certificate is so valuable) that it’s just impossible for this deal not to be worthwhile.
Even by redeeming the points the more simple way.
Let’s say you do the worst possible redemption: in an expensive and popular country (like Canada) on dates that aren’t necessarily particularly expensive in cash… your 122,000 points are still worth around $1000.
That’s very far from as enticing as the examples above, but it’s so rare to get $1000+ in value with a single welcome bonus!
And since this offer is usually increased just once per year, and is at its highest ever, you should definitely take advantage of it!
I don’t like hotels
Again, this card is for absolutely ALL Canadian travelers.
Many prefer private lodging rentals, rather than hotels.
Well, no problem! Marriott has its own version of Airbnb: Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy! There are 100,000+ properties worldwide.
If you redeem the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card’s points for private rentals, you’ll get a slightly lower value than for hotels.
But again, the deal is still amazing.
The value is about ≈ 0.8¢/pt, which means you’ll get ≈ $976 in free lodging!
But sometimes you get 0.9¢/pt there too!
This is in addition to the certificate, which can only be redeemed for an actual hotel. But that’s just 1 certificate per year… surely you can spend at least 1 night in a hotel in a year!
I don’t have an incorporated business
You absolutely do not need an incorporated business to get the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Card (or any other Amex “business” card, by the way).
There are special instructions to follow for the application, though. We explain all that in our post about Amex “business” cards.
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Summary
For many years, there has only been 1 increased bonus per year on the only cards that are must-haves for every single Canadian traveler, the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex Card (no incorporated business required). It’s now, and it’s also the highest offer ever on these amazing cards for free hotels!
What would you like to know about the Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card deal? Tell us in the comments below.
See the flight deals we spot: Cheap flights
Discover free travel with rewards: Travel rewards
Explore awesome destinations: Travel inspiration
Learn pro tricks: Travel tips
Featured image: Four Points by Sheraton Bali, Ungasan & my household’s 4 Marriott cards (photo credit: Marriott & Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers, edited by Flytrippers)
