One of the best perks tied to the Marriott Bonvoy family of credit cards is the complimentary elite night credits you receive each year — ranging from 15 to 25 nights, depending on which card you have.
Better yet, if you hold both a personal and a business credit card, you can earn up to 40 elite night credits annually, providing you with quite the head start toward earning elite status each year.
Let’s explore the value you get when you hold both a consumer and a business Marriott card.
Accelerate to Platinum status and Annual Choice Benefits
Since you can stack elite night credits, holding a personal and business Marriott card is worthwhile if you’re eligible. Select Marriott credit cards come with 15 elite nights annually, including the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card (see rates and fees).
However, the more premium Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card offers 25 elite night credits per year, which might be worth it if you’re seeking the fastest path to elite status.
You may wonder why this is relevant when several of the Marriott cards and American Express Platinum Card® also offer Gold Elite status (enrollment required; terms apply) or the ability to earn higher status based on spending.
The big difference is that this automatic status doesn’t come with elite night credits, meaning you’d still need to meet the standard qualification thresholds if you wanted to enjoy the program’s Annual Choice Benefits or hit even higher status tiers.
Related: The complete guide to earning Marriott elite status with credit cards
If you frequently stay at Marriott properties, you can stack these 15 to 25 elite night credits on top of your own travel to upgrade to the next elite tier faster.
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When you stack credits between a business card and a personal card that each come with 15 elite night credits — like the Boundless and the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card — you’ll have 30 elite night credits at the beginning of each year.
Reaching Platinum Elite status requires 50 nights per year, meaning you’d already be 60% of the way there. To reach the next tier, you’d need to stay just 20 additional nights (or earn the nights through credit card spending on the Boundless card).
And once you’ve reached Platinum Elite status, the benefits can be incredibly valuable, including lounge access and Nightly Upgrade Awards.
Those with the Brilliant receive complimentary Platinum Elite status each year as a perk of the card. This entitles you to benefits like room upgrades and complimentary breakfast. However, you will not have the necessary credits (50 nights) to earn the Annual Choice Benefit associated with Platinum status, which are:
That said, the 25 elite night credits you earn on the Bonvoy Brilliant card can be stacked with the 15 elite nights you’ll get with the Bonvoy Business, allowing you to start each year with 40 elite night credits.
TPG senior editorial director Nick Ewen utilized this option and had only stayed four nights at Marriott properties in 2024.
That’s 80% of what you need to earn your first Choice Benefit selection (at 50 nights) and more than halfway to the 75 nights required for Titanium Elite status. Reaching Titanium unlocks another Annual Choice Benefit, along with added perks like the ability to be upgraded to standard suites at Ritz-Carlton properties.
Annual award nights
If you want an even faster path to status, you may want to consider more than two Marriott cards. In fact, there are several reasons to have as many Marriott credit cards as you can get your hands on. This is because of the incredible value you can get from the anniversary award night certificates.
Both the Boundless and Business cards offer an anniversary reward night worth up to 35,000 points. However, the premium Brilliant — with its $650 annual fee (see rates and fees) — offers an annual award night worth up to 85,000 points per night (certain hotels have resort fees).
Based on TPG’s October 2025 valuations, Marriott points are worth 0.7 cents each, meaning 35,000 points are worth $245.
Depending on how you travel, you might be able to get an even higher return on these award nights. A former TPG staffer used theirs at the Sheraton Grand Hyde Park in Sydney, where they were upgraded to a massive terrace suite during peak travel season, and at The St. Regis Beijing for a room that would have cost well over $300 per night.
Even with Marriott’s dynamic pricing, you can still redeem these awards for more than your card’s annual fee, meaning this one benefit alone can justify keeping your Marriott credit cards year after year.
But there are two exceptions: The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card and Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful® Credit Card do not offer free night awards automatically each year. On both cards, you would need to make $15,000 in purchases each year to receive a free night award worth up to 50,000 points. (Certain hotels have mandatory resort charges.)
The information for the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Spending category bonuses
Aside from annual award nights and elite night credits, having a personal and business Marriott card can help you earn more points across several spending categories.
All Marriott cards listed below earn 2 points per dollar spent on everyday spending and 6 points per dollar spent at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program. But it’s the other bonus categories, most of which do not overlap, that can help you maximize your earnings:
- Boundless: Earn 3 points per dollar spent on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year at gas stations, grocery stores and dining (then 2 points per dollar spent after that).
- Bevy: Earn 4 points per dollar spent on the first $15,000 of combined purchases at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets each calendar year (then 2 points per dollar after that).
- Bountiful: Earn 4 points per dollar spent on the first $15,000 in combined purchases on grocery stores and dining each year (then 2 points per dollar spent after that).
- Brilliant: Earn 3 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines.
- Business: Earn 4 points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide and U.S. gas stations and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and U.S. shipping purchases.
So, if you’re a big Marriott fan and want to focus your earning strategy solely on Marriott Bonvoy points, you can have multiple cards and maximize your earnings across several categories.
Related: Are you eligible for a new Marriott Bonvoy card? This chart tells you yes or no
Bottom line
Marriott makes it easier to qualify for elite status by allowing customers with both personal and business credit cards to earn two sets of elite night credits each year. In fact, many TPG staffers kicked this year off with 40 elite night credits. When you add this to the annual award night certificates on these credit cards, it’s practically a no-brainer to hold both personal and business Marriott cards in your wallet.
Apply here: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
Apply here: Marriott Bonvoy Bevy
Apply here: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
Apply here: Marriott Bonvoy Business
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex, click here.
