American Express
On $1,000 a month of spending, split evenly across restaurants, travel, groceries and everything else: yes.
39,000 points a year at 0.56¢ = $218, $300 of credits you'd actually use, minus the $650 annual fee = -$132 a year. The 95,000-point welcome bonus adds $532 in year one.
That is a worked example, not a figure about you — we have no idea what you spend. Put your own numbers in and the same arithmetic runs on those.
| On | Rate | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and takeaway | 3× Marriott Bonvoy | none |
| Flights, hotels and transport | 6× Marriott Bonvoy | none |
| Groceries | 2× Marriott Bonvoy | none |
| Everything else | 2× Marriott Bonvoy | none |
6x at Marriott properties, 3x at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked direct, 2x on everything else.
Marriott Bonvoy points are worth about 0.56 cents each on our published table, our own. What Marriott Bonvoy points are worth →
95,000 Marriott Bonvoy — about $532 — after $6,000 of spending in 6 months. The example spending above clears that.
Credits count for $300 in the sum above — what a typical holder actually redeems, not the sticker value of every credit on the page. $300 a year in monthly $25 restaurant credits, which work at any restaurant. The annual free-night award is worth more than the fee to some people and is not counted.
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We may earn a commission if you apply through us, and it does not change the arithmetic above — a card that pays us nothing is scored identically. How we make money. Card terms as of 2026-09-18; check the issuer's page before applying.