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On August 26, 2018, American Express and Chase introduced a complex set of application restrictions for Marriott's co-brand cards, making it much harder for applicants to obtain welcome offers on more than one card.
In most cases, the application rules don’t restrict you from applying for Marriott cards, or holding more than one co-brand card at a time; they apply only to obtaining the welcome bonus.
The new rules layer on top of application restrictions already in place from each provider, including Amex’s ‘once per lifetime per card’ welcome bonus rule and Chase’s 5/24 policy. Each card has a separate policy, and the rules are an elaborate tangle that is bound to trip up even the most switched on points and miles fans.
Application Restrictions for Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards
To make it a little easier to digest, we’ve transferred the information into the table below and listed the new welcome bonus restrictions next to the card to which they apply. We've only included cards that are open to new applications in the table, as if you are upgrading or downgrading to one of Marriott's other cards, you will not be eligible for the welcome offer in any case.
| CARD | APPLICATION RESTRICTIONS |
|---|---|
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card (previously the Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card) | The product is not available to either: 1) current cardmembers of the Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier credit card (also known as Marriott Rewards® Premier) or Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ credit card (also known as Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus), OR 2) previous cardmembers of the Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier credit card (also known as Marriott Rewards® Premier) or Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ credit card (also known as Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus), who . If you are an existing Marriott Rewards Premier or Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier customer and would like this product, call the number on the back of your card to see if you are eligible for an upgrade bonus. ---- Welcome offer not available if you're a current cardmember, OR, were a previous cardmember within the last 30 days, of the: • Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express) OR applied and were approved for any of the following cards in the last 90 days: • Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express) • Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card (also known as the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card) OR are a current or previous cardmember of the following cards and received a new cardmember bonus within the last 24 months: • Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express) • Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card (also known as the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card) |
| Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card (previously The Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card) | Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had: • The Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card. OR the following cards in the last 30 days: • The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card from JPMorgan • J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card OR have acquired any of the following cards from Chase in the last 90 days: • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ from Chase • Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase • Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier from Chase • Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card from Chase • Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Business from Chase • Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase OR have received a welcome or upgrade offer for any of the following cards from Chase in the last 24 months: • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ from Chase • Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase • Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier from Chase • Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card from Chase • Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Plus Business from Chase • Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase |
| Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card (previously The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express) | Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had: • The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express. OR the following cards in the last 30 days: • Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Business from Chase • Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase • Marriott Bonvoy Business™ from Chase • Marriott Rewards Business Credit Card from Chase OR have acquired any of the following cards from Chase in the last 90 days: • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ from Chase • Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase • Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier from Chase • Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card from Chase OR have received a welcome or upgrade offer for any of the following cards from Chase in the last 24 months: • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ from Chase • Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase • Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Plus from Chase • Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card from Chase |
What some will find confusing with the new rules is they change depending on what cards you hold now, which you’ve held in the recent past, and those you’ve received a welcome or upgrade bonus on as far back as 24 months ago.
Final Thoughts
With the new rules are in place, it will be much harder to obtain welcome bonuses on cards earning Marriott points.
Before jumping straight into card applications, it’s important to factor in other applicable rules such as Chase’s 5/24 policy and the rule restricting Amex welcome offers to once only per card. Think about your overall application strategy to ensure you're not jumping the gun and foregoing other bonuses by applying for these co-brand cards.
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The bottom line is points game is getting less and less interesting to play! I miss good old days really.
There will be something new around the corner!
Yes, we must keep the faith that the pendulum simply must swing back at some point. Loyalty programs are very valuable to companies, and they will not want to lose our interest. At some point, they will have to compete for it with quality.
Thank you for the reminder. It is hard to keep up with all the changes towards more difficult restrictions.
Thanks for the reminder!
Quick question – are Amex and Chase working together on this. How does one company know what the other one gives?
Marriott is serving as the intermediary validating accounts.
Thanks for the reminder – i can’t follow up on all changes myself!
We’ll probably see more and more of this in these situations moving forward. Just means we’ll have to be smarter in our plans.
Too much power for Marriott!!!!
It’s a lot for sure, but at least we’ve had a good 2 years to “plan.”
Marriott is going to loose alot of patrons between this and the merger devaluation.
People who are maxed out due to the 5/24 rule should take advantage of this while they can.
thanks for the reminder!
Too bad I had AMEX SPG personal and biz before and I don’t do chase. The only choice is the SPG lux card.
Thanks – this is one of the best summaries of this convoluted subject!
Agreed!
painful to follow these rules.
Thanks for the reminder.
Still debating whether to get the new luxury card at this moment…
More and more restrictions are taking the opportunities and fun away.
Almost seems like a devaluation. Thanks for the update.
I’m sure a lot of people aren’t going to realize this until they apply for a card and don’t get the sign up bonus.
Hope to see more options in Canada as well!
Thx , I will let my friend know that he is not going to get bonus miles , he is going to be mad.
I’m really getting tired of hearing about SPG and Marriott and all of the stunts that they pull and all of the switching of the rules!!
Thanks for keeping us informed. I’m ready to look at the glamour and simplicity of Hilton. We just returned from a delightful stay at the Hilton Rose Hall all-inclusive resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. It is a wonderful family friendly Resort!
conclusion is points bonus is getting less and less! but still we love these hotels and will stick to them for long time
Thank you- very helpful
Thanks for the cleanest and easiest to read blog on those credit cards! By the way, it’s been exceedingly frustrating to get the SPG and Marriott accounts combined. It seems that everyone needs a NEW SPG number to log in and combine. However, Marriott/SPG has not sent all of those numbers out yet! Calling in yesterday and today….and finally getting the process done was over the top ridiculous! I finally asked for complimentary points …for the hassel….and they gave them! FYI – they probably will not offer…you may want to ASK…and ye shall Receive!
Quick question, if I have a second business with a second tax ID number, am I eligible for a second SPG Business card?
Yes
This is the easiest post I have seen in regards to this, thanks for all your great work to educate!
What a load of… from Marriott. What does a SPG biz card have to do with a personal Chase card? Do you know when the 100k offer will end? My wife got the SPG biz April of 2017 and so I’m guessing she didn’t get the bonus until a month or so after that so should we be thinking of applying in May or even June? Or is she ok to apply in April as that will be 2 years?
WP20: 100,000 Bonvoy points aren’t all that much, as the points themselves have been devalued. Hotels with low point redemptions are usually in places I would generally not visit.