Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card: Is It Right For Your Firm?

The Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card is good for two things: earning you elite status and free nights with Marriott. If you are more interested in purely maximizing your savings on every dollar spent, you should look at other options, like the Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business or the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express.

Review: Should You Apply For The Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card

The Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card can be an excellent option for business employees that stay at Marriott or SPG hotels at least several times per year. The card provides extra ways for you to earn points and elite night credits when you use it. You also earn one free stay at a category 1-5 hotel each account anniversary. Together, these benefits can be worth hundreds of dollars annually, making the card’s $99 annual fee well worth it. However, if you have no brand loyalty to Marriott, your business may be better off choosing other cards with more well-rounded rewards, like the Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business.

The major weakness of the Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card stems from the low value of Marriott points -- $0.006. Any shopping categories where you are earning just 1 or 2 points per dollar underperform when compared to other cards. That is why unless you are serious about earning elite status with Marriott, or want to earn that annual free night, your company should be using something else to pay for its day-to-day expenses.

Given how prolific Marriott hotels are, especially within the United States, there is no shortage of opportunities for using your reward points. However, remember that if you are earning cash back rewards at a high-enough rate, you may be walking away with higher net returns, even if you frequently stay at Marriott hotels. We recommend looking at our tool below to figure out an estimated net reward per-card, and see how the Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card stacks up next to its competition.

Bottom Line: The Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card can be a good option for business travelers that frequently stay with Marriott hotels. However, we recommend weighing the net returns of this card against other business credit card options.

Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card Benefits & Features

The Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card awards users 5 points per $1 spent at participating Marriott Rewards® and SPG® hotels. You can also earn 2 points for every $1 spent airline tickets purchased directly with the airline, and at car rental agencies, restaurants, office supply stores, and for internet, cable and phone services purchases. Together, these categories encompass a large portion of the average company’s expenditures. All other types of purchases award 1 point per $1.

These points will not expire, so long as you use your card to make a purchase at least once every 24 months.

Annual Fee	$99
Purchase APR	16.49% - 23.49% Variable
Card Details	80,000 Bonus points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening with your Marriott Rewards Premier Business credit card. 5 points for every $1 spent at over 5,700 participating Marriott Rewards® and SPG® hotels. 2 points for every $1 spent on airline tickets purchased directly with the airline, and at car rental agencies, restaurants, office supply stores, and for internet, cable and phone services purchases. 1 point for every $1 you spend on all other purchases and your points don't expire as long as you make purchases on your credit card every 24 months. Marriott Rewards Gold Elite benefits when you spend $50,000 on purchases each account year.

We estimate the value of a single Marriott rewards point to be about $0.006. Therefore, the rewards rate on the card will vary between 0.06% and 3%, depending on where you shop.

The Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card comes with an 80,000 bonus that you can qualify for after you spend at least $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Only purchases will count towards the $3,000 requirement. If you transfer a balance or take out a cash advance, it won’t be counted towards this threshold. Given our $0.006-per-point estimate, the 80,000 points counts towards roughly $480 in Marriott bookings.

This card comes with a $99 annual fee. Issuing authorized user credit cards for your employees comes at no additional cost to you. All the points earned by your employees do get added to your account, so you have full control over how they can are redeemed.

The primary accountholder on the card also receives a free night stay in a Category 1-5 hotel each year after your account anniversary. The average daily rate for a Marriott room in 2016 was $177. Therefore, if you make use of this benefit at least once per year, it will likely cover the cost of your annual fee with a lot more left over.

Marriott Elite Status

You get complimentary Marriott Rewards Gold Elite status every year in which you make at least $50,000 in purchases on your Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card. Benefits of Gold Elite include things like:

• A 25% bonus on Marriott Rewards Points
• 10% discount on regular rates for Friday and Saturday night stays at participating Courtyard® and Spring Hill Suites® locations
• Complimentary enhanced internet access at participating brands
• Late checkout

The 25% bonus is particularly useful. With the base membership, you earn 10 points per $1 spent when booking your stays. When you have Gold Elite Membership, that number is increased to 12.5 points. Finally, since you will be using your Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card, there is an extra 5 points per dollar thrown on top of each transaction, boosting the rewards to a total of 17.5 points per dollar. That is a 10.5% rewards rate on your Marriott purchases.

Normally, to qualify for Gold Elite status you would need to stay 50 nights or more at Marriott properties. Therefore, the credit card provides a big shortcut.

Elite Night Credits

You are awarded one elite night credit for each $3,000 in net purchases made using your Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card. Plus, every anniversary year that your card remains in good standing, you receive an additional 15 Night Elite credits. All of these can help you qualify for some elevated elite status. Even if you fall short of the Gold Status that you reach for spending $50,000 annually, you can still potentially qualify for Silver membership.

• Silver Elite – 10 nights or more required
• Gold Elite – 50 nights or more required
• Platinum Elite – 75 nights or more required

How Does The Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card Compare To Other Business Credit Cards?

Here's a look at how the Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card fares against some other top business credit cards.

Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card vs Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express

Apply Now

Businesses that spend over $14,417 annually to their card will probably do better by choosing the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express, assuming you have no brand preference. This card has a far simpler reward tiers and overall returns. Users get 2 Starpoints per dollar at participating Marriott Rewards® and Starwood hotels, and 1 Starpoint per dollar on all other purchases. We value each Starpoint at $0.024, meaning the rewards rate on this card will be anywhere between 2.4% and 4.8% -- significantly better than what you get with the Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card. If you ever want to transfer your SPG points to Marriott points you can. You can get 3 Marriott Rewards points for every 1 Starpoint.

The major benefit missing from the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express is the free anniversary night, which we value at $177. However, provided you spend the $14.75k per year we mentioned above, you will likely get a higher value out of the Starpoints you earn anyway.

Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card vs Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business

Apply Now

The Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business is a cash back credit card better suited for businesses that want solid all-around rewards, no matter the category. It provides 2% cash back on all purchases with no caps and no limits. While the Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card will be better when used to pay for Marriott and Starwood stays, the Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business has it beat in all other categories. Like the card we described above, a major pitfall of the Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business is the fact that it won’t provide you with that free annual night. To make up for that deficit, you’d need to charge at least $17,125 per year.

The other big factor that may cause some people to choose the Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business is its flexibility. The rewards earned through the Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card can primarily be used for booking stays with Marriott. The Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business gives you pure cash back instead. While you can always use more cash back, you may only be able to get value out of Marriott points a few times per year.

How Does The Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card Compare Based On How Your Business Spends

Every business is unique and spends money differently. This has a big impact on what type of credit card they should be using. We built a tool that allows you to get a rough estimate for the Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card and other business credit cards.

RewardsNet Rewards RateAPRAnnual FeeBonus ValueRewards By MonthRewards Rate By Month

Name

Savings Through (Through 24 Months)	Rewards	Dollars

Monthly Spend: $1,430

General:

Gas:

Groceries:

Airlines:

Hotel:

Dining:

Office:

Utilities:

Computing:

Card	Annual Fee	Net Rewards Rate ValuePenguin calculates the value of rewards by estimating the dollar value of any points, miles or bonuses earned using the card less any associated annual fees. The estimates here are ValuePenguin's alone, not those of the card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer.	Bonus ValuePenguin calculates the value of rewards by estimating the dollar value of any points, miles or bonuses earned using the card less any associated annual fees. The estimates here are ValuePenguin's alone, not those of the card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer.	Rewards Value ValuePenguin calculates the value of rewards by estimating the dollar value of any points, miles or bonuses earned using the card less any associated annual fees. The estimates here are ValuePenguin's alone, not those of the card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer.
Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business
	$0 intro for first year; $59 after that	3.13%	$500	$1,127
Apply Now	Graph Card	Read Review	More Details
Annual Fee $0 intro for first year; $59 after that APR 17.74% (Variable) Card Details Earning unlimited 2% cash back could mean thousands of dollars each year going back into your business Plus, a one-time $500 cash bonus once you spend $4,500 on purchases within 3 months of approval Use Spark Cash across all your business spend, with no categories to limit your purchasing $0 intro annual fee for the first year; $59 after that Rewards don't expire, and you can redeem your cash back for any amount, anytime Get employee cards at no additional cost, and earn rewards from their business spend Note: The information in this box was provided by Capital One® and is not part of our independent analysis. Estimated Rewards Through 24 Months Card Rewards Dollars* Spending Rewards 686 686 Bonuses 0 500 Less Annual Fees 59 Total 686 1,127
Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
	$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 *Rates and Fees	2.02%	$0	$729
Apply Now	Graph Card	Read Review	More Details Terms and Limitations Apply
Annual Fee $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 APR 15.99% - 19.99% Variable Card Details Earn 25,000 bonus Starpoints® after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Earn 2 Starpoints® for each dollar of eligible purchases at participating SPG® Marriott Rewards® hotels. Earn 1 Starpoint® for all other purchases. Redeem Starpoints® for free nights at over 1,300 hotels & resorts in over 100 countries and for free flights on over 150 airlines with SPG Flights. Some hotels and resorts have mandatory service charges. Free, unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi at more than 1,000,000 Boingo hotspots worldwide. Enrollment required. No Foreign Transaction Fees on international purchases and $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. Terms Apply Estimated Rewards Through 24 Months Card Rewards Dollars* Spending Rewards 34,320 824 Less Annual Fees 95 Total 34,320 729
Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business
	$0	1.99%	$200	$715
Apply Now	Graph Card		More Details
Annual Fee $0 APR 13.74% - 21.74% (Variable) Card Details Earning unlimited 1.5% cash back could mean thousands of dollars each year going back into your business Plus, a one-time $200 cash bonus once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months of approval Save on interest with 0% intro APR on purchases for 9 months; 13.74%-21.74% variable APR after that No annual fee Use Spark Cash Select across all your business spend, with no categories to limit your purchasing Rewards don't expire, and you can redeem your cash back for any amount, anytime Get employee cards at no additional cost, and earn rewards from their business spend Note: The information in this box was provided by Capital One® and is not part of our independent analysis. Estimated Rewards Through 24 Months Card Rewards Dollars* Spending Rewards 515 515 Bonuses 0 200 Total 515 715
Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card
	$99	1.45%	$480	$521
	Graph Card		More Details
Annual Fee $99 APR 16.49% - 23.49% Variable Card Details 80,000 Bonus points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening with your Marriott Rewards Premier Business credit card. 5 points for every $1 spent at over 5,700 participating Marriott Rewards® and SPG® hotels. 2 points for every $1 spent on airline tickets purchased directly with the airline, and at car rental agencies, restaurants, office supply stores, and for internet, cable and phone services purchases. 1 point for every $1 you spend on all other purchases and your points don't expire as long as you make purchases on your credit card every 24 months. Marriott Rewards Gold Elite benefits when you spend $50,000 on purchases each account year. Estimated Rewards Through 24 Months Card Rewards Dollars* Spending Rewards 39,840 239 Bonuses 80,000 480 Less Annual Fees 198 Total 119,840 521
Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card
	$95	0.66%	$0	$239
Apply Now	Graph Card	Read Review	More Details
Annual Fee $95 APR 16.49% - 21.49% Variable Card Details Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards® Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in select categories each account anniversary year Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards Redeem points for travel, cash back, gift cards and more - your points don't expire as long as your account is open No foreign transaction fees Employee cards at no additional cost $95 Annual Fee Estimated Rewards Through 24 Months Card Rewards Dollars* Spending Rewards 34,320 429 Less Annual Fees 190 Total 34,320 239

2017 Credit Card Top Picks

• Best Small Business Credit Cards
• Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards
• Best Airline Miles Credit Cards
• Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards
• Best Low Interest Credit Cards

Our Selection of Best Small Business Loans

• Best Small Business Loans for 2017
• Best Small Business Startup Loans
• Best Small Business Loans for Bad Credit
• Best Working Capital Loans
• Best Equipment Loans
• Best Commercial Real Estate Loans
• Best Small Business Loans for Women

Small Business Resources

• Small Business Credit Scores
• Paydex Score: Everything You Need to Know
• How to Get a Small Business Loan
• Small Business Loan Comparison Tool
• Types of Small Business Loan Fees
• How to Get Funding for Your Small Business

• Review
• Benefits & Features
• How Does The Marriott Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card Compare?
  • vs Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
  • vs Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business
• Comparison Tool