July 28, 2026
Has your dream vacation ever felt out of reach because of the big price tag? If so, I know exactly how you feel. That’s the main reason I got into points and miles. Hotels are expensive, but staying for free at a Marriott feels pretty incredible. Credit card points can be your ticket to earning Marriott Bonvoy points through welcome offers, everyday spending, and free night certificates. And to make it even better, when you book with points, the fifth night is free with Marriott! American Express Membership Rewards transfer to Marriott at a rate of 1,000 American Express Membership Rewards points = 1,200 Marriott Bonvoy points. Throughout the year American Express offers an additional 30% transfer bonuses to Marriott.
The only co-branded hotel credit card we have in Canada is the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card. If you’re just getting started in this hobby and haven’t opened any American Express cards yet, I recommend waiting for an elevated welcome bonus. American Express typically has higher annual fees than other banks, but their welcome bonuses are significantly higher.
Before you start opening cards, I recommend choosing a destination and checking Marriott’s website to get an idea of how many points you’re going to need. This will help you understand which credit cards to get and how much spending will be required.
Credit Cards to Earn You Points:
American Express Cobalt Card – Your Everyday Spender
- Earns 5X on groceries and dining
- Earns 3X on streaming subscriptions
- Earns 2X on gas, transit, and rideshare
- Earns 1X on everything else
I recommend this as the first card you get. It has a fee of $15.99 monthly instead of one annual fee. The 5X earn categories are very easy to use and really help build your points stash. To help offset the annual fee, there is an offers section where you can spend a specified amount at certain stores and get a $20–$50+ statement credit in return. This card is worth the annual fee even if you don’t use any offers to offset the cost because the earn categories make it worthwhile.
I realize this isn’t a Marriott-specific credit card, but the flexibility of American Express Membership Rewards is important. If your plans change, you aren’t stuck with only Marriott points.
Pro Tip: By using this card for Instacart orders, you can earn 5X at Costco and Superstore, where you normally can’t use American Express.
Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card
- Earns 5X on Marriott purchases
- Earns 2X on everything else
This is the second card I recommend getting to build your Marriott points stockpile. I would wait until there is an elevated welcome offer, as I’ve seen welcome bonuses as high as 110,000 points. If your new to American Express and this card has an elevated welcome offer, then I would consider getting it first before the Cobalt, as the high welcome bonuses only happen a couple of times a year.
This card has an annual fee of $120, and every year after your first year of card membership, you get an annual free night certificate worth 35,000 points. This can be topped up with 25,000 points, giving you the ability to book a room worth up to 60,000 points. This free annual night certificate makes this a keeper card for me. This card automatically gives you silver elite status with Marriott.
American Express Gold Card
- Earns 2X on travel
- Earns 2X on gas, grocery, and drug store purchases
- Earns 1X on everything else
This card has a $250 annual fee, and personally not my favourite American Express card. I recommend only getting this card when there is an elevated offer because it doesn’t have great earn categories like the Cobalt. It does come with a $100 travel credit, which you book through the Amex travel portal. You also get $10 back in statement credits every month with Instacart to help offset the annual fee. For me personally, I charged my monthly Instacart membership to this card to help offset the annual fee but use my Cobalt card for all my Instacart shopping purchases.
American Express Platinum Card
- Earns 2X on dining and food delivery
- Earns 2X on travel
- Earns 1X on everything else
This card has a whopping $799 annual fee, and a high minimum spend requirement to earn the welcome bonus. This card may not be for everyone, but taking advantage of an elevated welcome bonus could make that dream trip happen for only $799, compared to the thousands of dollars a cash stay could cost. The latest elevated welcome offer required spending $10,000 in three months, with the potential to earn 170,000 American Express Membership Rewards points. This card automatically gives you Gold Status with Marriott.
This card isn’t a beginner card, but as time goes on, you may realize your monthly spending is a lot higher than you expected and that you can meet the welcome offer requirements. To offset the annual cost, there is a $200 travel credit, a $200 dining credit, and Instacart statement credits where you get two $10 statement credits per month. There is also the offers section, where I have seen offers such as spend $100 at Lululemon and get a $50 statement credit, or spend $100 at Holt Renfrew and getting a $50 statement credit. The statement credits on the Platinum are significantly higher than the Cobalt, Gold, or Marriott credit cards.
Player 2
In future if you want to keep building your Marriott stockpile you can have your player 2 open these cards. You can refer them to get more points, and they can take advantage of the welcome offers. Marriott let’s you transfer 100,000 points per calendar year to another person.
I hope understanding these four American Express credit cards helps you create a strategy to plan your next Marriott vacation.
-Alexis