Head-to-Head

Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card

Mid-fee Marriott hotel business card: 6X at Bonvoy hotels, 4X on restaurants / U.S. gas / U.S. wireless / U.S. shipping, annual 35k-cap Free Night, complimentary Gold Elite, 15 elite night credits, $0 employee cards

VS

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

Low-fee Delta cobrand for occasional business flyers — 2X Delta / dining / capped U.S. shipping & advertising, free bags, no FTF, $0 year-1 annual fee then $150

Annual Fee
$125 (no first-year waiver published)
$0 intro year 1, then $150 (first yea...
Base Earn
2 Marriott Bonvoy points per $1 on ot...
1 SkyMile per $1 eligible purchases
Intro APR
Not offered
Not offered
Rating
8.3/10
8.3/10

Costs & Pricing

MetricMarriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® CardDelta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
Annual fee$125 (no first-year waiver published)$0 intro year 1, then $150 (first year of Card Membership only)
Employee card fee$0; up to 99 Employee Cards$0 (CMA: Annual Fee for Additional Cards: None)
Purchase APRPrime + 12.74% to Prime + 21.74% (marketing 19.49%–28.49% variable at Prime 6.75% as of 1–2 Sep 2026). Placement by creditworthiness at opening. No intro APR.19.49%–28.49% variable (Prime + 12.74% to Prime + 21.74%); placement by creditworthiness at account opening. APRs accurate as of 09/02/2026. No 0% intro.
Intro APR (purchases)Not offeredNot offered
Foreign transaction fee$0$0
Late payment feeUp to $39; will not exceed Minimum Payment DueUp to $39 (will not exceed Minimum Payment Due)

Rewards & Value

MetricMarriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® CardDelta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
Base earn rate2 Marriott Bonvoy points per $1 on other eligible purchases (no published cap). Card-side points only — Marriott member-stay points are a program overlay, not a card rate.1 SkyMile per $1 eligible purchases
Welcome bonusUp to 125,000 Bonvoy bonus points: 75,000 after $6,000 eligible purchases + 50,000 after an additional $3,000 ($9,000 total) within the first 6 months of Card Membership (live public offer, 3 Sep 2026). Rotates — 3+2 Free Night Awards have appeared in other cycles. Offer end date not printed on the Business page.Conflict across official pages. Delta business-cards page: limited-time 90,000 bonus miles after $6,000 eligible purchases in the first 6 months — offer ends November 4, 2026. Amex product page (same period): evergreen-style 60,000 after $4,000 in the first 6 months with no end date. Treat 90k/$6k through 11/4/2026 as the live limited-time public offer; 60k/$4k as the fallback. Apply-flow T&Cs win.
Redemption valueIssuer does not publish a cent value. Do not invent one. Industry write-ups often use ~0.6–0.9¢ on paid-night replacement; airline transfers often lower. Do not assume 1¢.Pay with Miles = 1.0¢ ($50 off per 5,000 miles on delta.com). Award travel is dynamic; TakeOff 15 improves award pricing ~15% on Delta-operated flights only (not partner-operated, not taxes/fees). Do not assume transfer-partner value — this card does not transfer.
Transfer partnersMarriott Bonvoy airline partners at ~3:1 (not Membership Rewards). Not transferable to Amex MR.None. Currency is Delta SkyMiles, not Membership Rewards. No transfer-out to other airlines. Miles do not expire under Delta’s published policy; Delta may still deactivate an account and remove miles.

Credit & Eligibility

MetricMarriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® CardDelta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
Personal guaranteeRequired in substance. CMA: Basic Cardmember and Company jointly and severally liable for all charges, including Employee Card use.Required in substance. CMA: Basic Card Member and Company remain jointly and severally liable for all charges. Quote the live application before publishing a legal excerpt.
Credit checkNo personal-score impact to learn if approved. Personal score may be impacted if approved and the Card is accepted. Business credit may be impacted on submit.Know if you're approved with no impact on your personal credit score until acceptance. Business credit may be impacted on submit. Accepting the card may impact personal credit. Treated as a hard pull on accept in industry practice; Amex does not print “hard pull” on the marketing page.
Employee cardsUp to 99 at $0 AF. Spend limits, merchant-type limits, real-time alerts, freeze/unfreeze, account graphs. Liability remains on Basic Cardmember + Company.$0 additional-card fee. Spend controls / alerts marketed; Account Manager role can add cards, pay, review transactions. Hard cap on number not disclosed on this product page — do not invent 99 unless the application states it.
Product typeRevolving business credit card (not a charge card; not a spend-management / net-terms product)Revolving small-business credit card (published purchase APR, ADB interest, minimum-payment rule). Not a charge card. Not a corporate / net-terms spend platform.

Pros & Cons

Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card

Pros

  • $125 fee with an automatic annual Free Night (≤35,000 points) that can exceed the fee if redeemed against a high cash rate
  • Complimentary Gold Elite + 15 ENCs without 25 paid nights
  • 4X on four real small-business categories (worldwide restaurants, U.S. gas, U.S. wireless, U.S. shipping) with no published cap
  • Up to 99 employee cards at $0 with limits and alerts; $0 FTF
  • Apply-to-decision path that does not hit personal credit unless the Card is accepted

Cons

  • $125 fee with no statement-credit offset; 35k Free Night cap plus dynamic pricing and resort fees
  • Points are Marriott-locked; airline transfers are 3:1
  • Purchase APR 19.49%–28.49% variable and no 0% intro — a poor revolver
  • Personal / joint-and-several liability
  • No lounge access, no Global Entry/TSA credit, thin trip-insurance stack vs premium Amex business cards

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

Pros

  • $0 year-1 fee then $150 — lowest annual fee in the Delta business lineup
  • 1st checked bag free worldwide + 2nd bag free domestic (2026 add) can offset the AF in a few team trips
  • 2X on uncapped restaurants plus capped U.S. shipping and U.S. digital/TV/radio ads
  • $0 foreign-transaction fee and $0 employee cards (employee spend feeds the $10k flight-credit threshold)
  • TakeOff 15 reduces Delta-metal award cost 15%

Cons

  • Ongoing $150 AF with credits that are conditional, portal-locked, or enrollment-gated after renewal
  • Miles are Delta-only — no Membership Rewards transfers
  • No lounge, no GE/PreCheck credit, thinner insurance than Platinum/Reserve Business
  • No 0% intro APR; carrying a balance is expensive (19.49%–28.49% as of 09/02/2026)
  • Personal guarantee / joint and several liability; advertising 2X is MCC-narrow (media providers, not any marketing vendor)

Verdict

Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card

This is the live U.S. Marriott business cobrand — not Bevy/Brilliant, not Chase Marriott Business (closed to new applicants), and not the Canadian $150 / 5X/3X/2X card. It pays when the firm actually sleeps Marriott and uses the Free Night. A hotel-agnostic shopper should use Ink Preferred, Business Gold, or a $0 2% cash card instead. Do not put Bonvoy member-stay points in the card earn column.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

This is the low-fee Delta business cobrand — not personal Delta Gold (supermarkets 2X), not Platinum/Reserve Business, and not Amex Business Gold (MR). Confirm the live apply-flow welcome (90k/$6k through 11/4/2026 on Delta vs 60k/$4k still on Amex’s product URL). Skip it if you will not fly Delta, want transferable points, need 0% float, or refuse a PG.