Marriott Credit Card Spending Bonus Promo, Plus Points For Registering

Marriott Bonvoy has just launched a spending offer on its co-branded credit cards in the United States, which some people might find to be useful. We saw a similar offer last year, so it’s nice to see it return.

Marriott Amex & Chase card spending bonuses

Those with a Marriott Bonvoy credit card issued in the United States by American Express or Chase are eligible to earn some bonus points for upcoming spending.

Specifically, this promotion is called “It’s in the Cards,” and you can earn 10,000 bonus Bonvoy points after spending $7,000 on eligible purchases. On top of that, you can earn 200 bonus Bonvoy points just for registering each card for this promotion.

There are some basic terms to be aware of:

• Registration is required between July 18 and August 1, 2024
• Eligible spending must be completed by September 21, 2024
• Those with multiple eligible Marriott Bonvoy credit cards can register each card individually for the opportunity to earn bonus points on each; however, the offer can only be used once per card
• In order to be eligible, your card account must already be open; Amex cards need to have been opened before April 1, 2024, while Chase cards need to have been opened before June 20, 2024
• According to the terms, only purchases in USD count toward this promotion (which seems oddly restrictive)
• Bonus points should post to your account within 8-12 weeks of when you complete eligible spending

Is this Marriott spending offer worth it?

If you have an eligible credit card, is it worth going out of your way to spend $7,000 on the card during the promotion period?

For context on deciding on the value of this offer, personally I value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each. Across $10,000 of spending, you’re earning 1.43 bonus Bonvoy points per dollar spent, which is an incremental 1% return.

Marriott credit cards ordinarily offer 2x Bonvoy points per dollar spent in non-bonused categories. So to put it differently, spending $7,000 would earn you a total of 24,000 Bonvoy points. That comes out to 3.43 Bonvoy points per dollar spent, or a 2.4% return on everyday spending.

By my valuation, the best cards for everyday spending offer a 3.4% return on spending, and personally I’d rather earn 2x transferable points than 3.43x Bonvoy points.

However, this doesn’t consider two factors:

• It’s otherwise hard to efficiently earn Marriott Bonvoy points, so this could be valuable for those looking to boost their Marriott points balance
• If you can spend in a category that qualifies for bonus points, you can come out ahead; for example, several Marriott credit cards offer 6x Bonvoy points on hotel spending, in which case it’s nice to stack that elevated return with this promotion

To be honest, I don’t think I’ll be taking part in this promotion, unless I expect that I’ll spend a significant amount on Marriott hotel stays between now and the end of the promotion (in which case some incremental everyday spending could be worth it, in order to unlock the 10,000 bonus points). But otherwise I’d say that this isn’t a terribly compelling promotion.

Bottom line

Marriott Bonvoy has rolled out a new spending offer for its co-branded American Express and Chase credit cards in the United States. Those who register can earn 10,000 Bonvoy bonus points after spending $7,000 during the offer period. They can also earn 200 Bonvoy bonus points just for registering.

This is better than nothing if you’d otherwise be spending money on the card, or if you spend a lot in categories that otherwise qualify for bonus multipliers. However, this is hardly anything to get too excited about.

If you’re a cardmember, do you plan on taking advantage of this Marriott Bonvoy spending offer?