- There were a few new developments for Marriott Bonvoy cobranded credit cards in September. Two new $250 cobranded cards were introduced: Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Visa Signature and Amex Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card. They are almost identical in signup bonus (125,000 points), rewards, and perks, except for some Visa/Amex related benefits. However, we won’t recommend either except for the signup bonuses because of the lack of good perks. Both offer an annual 85K-point free night when you spend $15,000 per calendar year, not very attractive considering annual fees and the spending requirement. See our reviews for details.
- Amex also updated Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card by increasing the annual fee from $450 to $650 and introducing a few changes: (1) annual free night’s cap is increased from 50,000 points to 85,000 points, (2) complimentary Marriott Gold Elite status is replaced by Platinum Elite status (which previously required $75,000 annual spending), (3) annual “earned choice award” for $60K spending is added, (4) annual night credits towards elite status are increased from 15 nights to 25 nights, and (5) annual $300 Marriott statement credits are replaced by $300 dining statement credits (up to $25 monthly credits). In our opinions, the perks are not very impressive considering the high annual fee, especially if you don’t stay at Marriott that often.
- Introduced earlier this year with in-branch only application, Chase Ink Premier BUSINESS Card is finally available online. Note that the Ultimate Rewards points earned from this card cannot be transferred to frequent traveler miles/points or to your other Ultimate Rewards accounts. So you should treat it as a cashback card which offers $1,000 at signup with a $195 annual fee.