Business Platinum Card from American Express
130,000 MR points
Buy Marriott Gift Cards for 15% Off!
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Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card
- Earn 65,000 Bonvoy points upon spending $3,000 in the first three months
- Earn an additional 30,000 Bonvoy points upon spending $20,000 in the first 12 months
- Plus, earn 15,000 Bonvoy points when you make a purchase between 15 and 17 months of Cardmembership.
- Also, receive an annual Free Night Award worth 35,000 Bonvoy points starting in your second year with the card
- Also, receive 15 elite-qualifying nights every year and automatic Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status
- Bonus Bonvoy points for referring family and friends
- Annual fee: $120
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Just a quick note that the Canadian AMEX Business Marriott Bonvoy card in addition to the personal card also qualifies for 10 points for every $1 CAD spent.
Hey Ricky, I was wondering how come your Marriott CAD evaluation (0.9 cpp) is 50% more than your Marriott USD evaluation (0.6 cpp), I’ve always assumed the USD evaluation should just be a straight $USD conversation, then this case shouldn’t the USD evaluation be 0.9 cpp/1.30 = 0.69 cpp? Love to get your thoughts, cheers
Hey Ricky do you know if I can pay using a gift card and credit card? I have a AMEX offer for $50 credit for spending $200 so I was thinking I’ll pay the remaining balace with a marriot gift card. Thanks!
Not sure if this will trigger the $300 credit on the US Bonvoy card. T&Cs of the Bonvoy Brilliant state that “Online purchases of Marriott branded gift cards and purchases at Homes & Villas by Marriott International home share properties do not qualify as eligible purchases for this benefit.”
Would this 15% off e-gc promo trigger the spend $200, earn $50 promo on the Cobalt card?
I have a Marriott offer “spend $200 get $50 back” on Canadian PP. Would purchase of Marriott e-gift card will trigger the credit?
Long shot that may only apply to a few people. If you have any if the US Amex delta cards, there is currently an offer to spend 250US at Marriott and get back $75. In September there was a similar offer to spend 200 and get back 50. It doesn’t work for gift cards bought online but it works if you go in person to a Marriott and purchase a gift card. I successfully did this for both promotions. Other US Amex cards may have the offer too.
Would this qualify under the current Chase Ritz Carlton promotion of 10x on Marriott purchase?
Yes, I checked the t&c for the offer, as I also his the Ritz card; And does includes purchases of Marriott gift cards.
Worth it for Australia Marriott stays. As they charge a credit card fee of 2-3%!
I made the mistake by accidentally clicking on the wrong eGiftcard without the banner. Customer service mentioned a lot of people have made this same mistake. That means you can’t set your amount you want to purchase but have to buy the predenominated ones. If you do not have a USD credit card, I got hit with exchange rate when I had to ask them to cancel my initial order so FYI. I used CAD Amex Bonvoy card. I plan to use this card not in the US so I’ll see how much I end up actually saving but I know it won’t be 20%. Better than nothing.
Can gift cards be used to pay for the seaplane transfers and upgrade costs at the St. Regis Maldives?
Yes, as these are charged to your final room bill and settled upon checkout.
I don’t think that’s the case at all properties. I think I saw a recent dp on Flyertalk that said all charges except Seaplane could be offset by Marriott GC at StR Vommuli.
Can we use the $200 Travel credit in Personal Amex Platinum for this purchase?
I don’t believe so, as that travel purchase needs to be made via Amex Travel Services.
Ricky,
A couple of questions –
Do stays booked with gift cards (especially these) accumulate Bonvoy points at the regular rate (i.e. 10x + whatever elite status bonus one is entitled to)? I know these stays will count towards elite night count, but was curious on points part.
I also read that from next week (and until June 30, 2020) Marriott will offer 60% bonus on purchased Bonvoy points, effectively making the purchase at 0.78USD per Bonvoy point. Would you recommend opting for that promotion rather than the Gift card one? For USD1,400, we are looking at USD 1,750 GC vs. 180,000 Bonvoy points (or 75,000 miles in almost any valuable FF airline program, including Alaska! – that can essentially get a very generous first class flight!)? While I know Bonvoy loyalists can get a great value out of 20% discount GC, I feel that points redemption with Bonvoy (despite their regular devaluation), almost always get more than USD 0.1 per Bonvoy point. In that sense, buying points gives me both flexibility to use wherever I want to use it (hotel/flights), great value during this promotion, while also earning elite nights (if I chose to redeem on hotel stays).
Curious to know everyone’s thoughts!
The method of payment doesn’t affect the points earned, so you should still earn Bonvoy points as normal.
I’ve addressed the 60% bonus on points purchases at the end of this post. I don’t think it’s quite as good a deal, since the general value in Bonvoy points has deteriorated significantly in recent years. It would only be a better deal if you’re mainly looking for high-value stays at luxury properties, where the points rate is a higher-than-20% discount compared to the cash price.
Sorry, I obviously got my currency denomination wrong here. The purchase promotion will effectively cost you 0.78 (US) cent per Bonvoy. Also, the Bonvoy points usually yield 1 US (cent) per point redemption value!
Can these be used against any currency in which the hotel is booked in?
Yes, but see my reply to Mehrdad’s comment below. Individual hotels may impose an arbitrary premium when converting from the local currency to USD, which would cost you more than if you simply paid with a No FX Fee credit card in the local currency.
That has not been my experience. I have used Bonvoy gift cards (in $US) at non-US$ properties and it always swipes at the current exchange rate almost exactly. I don’t believe local hotels have any control over this transaction. Obviously as a Canadian buying in US$ imposes a level of risk/reward (depending on the value of the US$), I have never encountered a "premium" set by any hotel.
Also not a bad way to start meeting the MSR on a new Amex Personal Platinum.
What about using the AMEX USA plat for 5X points and transferring them to Canada.
Come to think of it, the Amex US Green Card should earn 3x US MR points, which would convert to 4.2 Canadian MR points (higher than the Platinum Card).
You only get to make this transfer once per year, however, so it’s debatable if that incremental gain is worthwhile.
The Amex US Platinum doesn’t give 5x on general travel, only airfare and prepaid hotels.
Considering the arbitrary exchange premium that each hotel has, would you recommend this promo if my hotel stays are not at a hotel billed in USD?
Good point, as the exchange premium can often be a few percentage points, which eats into your 20% savings. I’d recommend thinking carefully about which hotel stays you’re likely to make (remember that some overseas hotels still bill in USD) and buy gift cards with the expectation of getting 20% off any USD-denominated hotel stays, and potentially 15–20% off hotel stays in other countries.