Current Marriott American Express Cardmembers: Earn 40,000 Bonus Points This Summer

by Gary Leff

I receive compensation for content and many links on this blog. Citibank is an advertising partner of this site, as is American Express, Chase, Barclays and Capital One. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. I do not write about all credit cards that are available -- instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Terms apply to the offers and benefits listed on this page.

Existing American Express Marriott co-brand cardmembers who enroll between July 14 and September 15, 2021, will be able to earn 6x Marriott Bonvoy points (up to 4 additional points) for each dollar of eligible purchases through September 30, 2021 on:

  • Car rentals (purchased directly from select car rental companies)

  • Flights booked directly with airlines

  • Gas at U.S. gas stations

  • Transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, and buses)

Cardmembers can earn up to 10,000 points per category and a total of 40,000 points in the four categories.

I have both an American Express Marriott business card and premium consumer card. These provide me with 30 elite nights towards status each year. So how will I play this?

  • 6x Marriott isn’t compelling in travel categories. That’s about a 4% rebate, and doesn’t come close to Sapphire Reserve-level rewards.

  • I’m roughly indifferent with this offer on gas compared to the other alternatives in my wallet.

This offer, though, makes the cards somewhat competitive on a return for spend basis which is something that Marriott products lag on. That’s not really American Express’ fault as such. They share the co-brand with Chase and when the Bonvoy program and new Chase cards launched, those doubled their earn – while the historic value of the American Express Starwood cards met the Chase products in the middle.

Two and a half years ago I valued a Marriott point at $0.007 and points are worth somewhat less than that today.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

More articles by Gary Leff »

Editorial note: any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Comments made in response to this post are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. It is not the responsibility of advertisers Citibank, Chase, American Express, Barclays, Capital One or any other advertiser to ensure that questions are answered, either. Terms and limitations apply to all offers.

Comments

  3. When I enter my credentials:

    “We’re sorry. This promotion is only open to invited Card Members.”

    Maybe they need to load the offer into everyone’s account. I spend a decent amount on my Amex Marriott…

  4. If targeted I will use for gas (CSR and Amex Platinum are better in other 3 categories). Chase Marriott card currently has 5x total on gas so this is a little more and worth using my Amex Marriott card (again assuming I’m targeted for it)

  5. BTW – link above worked great for me. Just entered card number and security code which pulled up my account then clicked enroll. Would suggest others attempt again – may have been a timing thing.

  8. I wasn’t eligible either. I presume this is only for consumer cards, and that biz ones may (or may not) get a different version as happened last summer.

  9. Great so a poor promotion and yet its targeted?
    Sad and pathetic RIP SPG
    SPG Amex once was my go to card for everything and spent heavily on it
    Now I avoid it like the plague and Marriott’s wildly overpriced redemption rooms.
    Even IHG looks better than Marriott
    You can redeem less for an Inter-Continental instead of a lousy Courtyard
    IHG gives up to 10% rebate on point redemption back for original IHG Chase cardholders

  10. Never did get an email (so not sure if I’m targeted), but it worked for my Bonvoy Brilliant. I only use it now for the $20 dining rebate, but may use it for a few more things during this period.

    Cheers.

  12. It works for me. I also got the 7500 bonus points for $7500 spend AMEX offer for this year, so this actually makes it a 7x card in these categories for me if I can hit the $7500 on the nose. There are also a 3x AMEX offer I’ve put on this card for gas (Union 76/Phillips/ConocoPhillips)… so potentially 10x Marrriot for gas? That’s not terrible.

  14. Got this message:

    Looking for something else?
    We’re sorry. This promotion is only open to invited Card Members.
    Thank you for your interest in this promotion and for your continued Card Membership.
    If you are a solicited Card Member and are responding to the offer you received by direct mail or e-mail, and are registered to manage your account online, enter your user ID and password.

Comments are closed.