Basically, our top piece of advice is this: if you're charging your Marriott stays to an American Express Marriott Bonvoy co-branded card, always double-check that the bonus point multiplier on your final statement is calculated correctly. Sometimes, even though you clearly spent money inside a Marriott hotel, the Canadian Amex Marriott Bonvoy card only awards the basic 2x multiplier — not the 5x bonus points you'd normally expect when staying at a Marriott International property.

(Photo: The Points Guy)

We want to share our experience — and the appeals process — around the Canadian Amex Marriott Bonvoy card failing to award the 5x bonus at statement closing. We suspect the US version of the card may run into similar situations from time to time.

Our top advice: if you're using an Amex Marriott Bonvoy co-branded card for hotel spending, always check that the bonus points on your final bill are calculated correctly.

If you'd like to learn more about how to accumulate Marriott Bonvoy points, or how to maximize your earnings with the Amex Marriott Bonvoy card, click here to read more.

Co-Branded Card Point Bonus Issues at Marriott Properties

Our Experience at the Sheraton Taoyuan Hotel

Although this hotel (formerly part of Hotel Orchard Park) completed its renovations and officially joined Marriott International in September 2019 under the name "Sheraton Taoyuan Hotel," we discovered during our stays in November and December 2019 that all on-property spending only earned the standard 2x multiplier — not the 5x points normally awarded for stays at Marriott International properties.

After our credit card statement arrived and we spotted the issue, we contacted Amex customer service first. We learned that the Amex Marriott Bonvoy card relies entirely on the hotel's merchant code at checkout to determine which point multiplier to apply. Even though the Sheraton Taoyuan Hotel had already joined Marriott International, the merchant code being used at the time wasn't yet recognized by the Amex system. Amex initially pointed the finger at the hotel, but after we pushed back, they made an exception and manually adjusted our account to credit the missing bonus points. In the meantime, we also contacted the Sheraton Taoyuan Hotel's customer service directly to flag the merchant code mismatch and system alignment issue.

Is This a Widespread Problem? Could It Happen at Other Marriott Properties?

The question we as consumers naturally want answered is: even after reporting this, is it still possible to encounter incorrect bonus point calculations on the Marriott Bonvoy card?

According to Amex customer service, this is actually not an uncommon issue. In other words, they receive similar reports fairly regularly. From the card issuer's perspective, each case is documented and escalated as a "research/review case," with points credited based on the outcome. That said, it's a reactive process — they rely on consumers to proactively report the problem. Ultimately, the root cause lies with the hotels themselves: each property has its own payment system configuration, and there's no guarantee of seamless integration with co-branded cards.

From our own experience, we've encountered this kind of points glitch before, and reporting it doesn't always guarantee a successful adjustment. Most hotel stays, though, never have this problem.

Here are the instances we've run into:

(Photo Source: Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay Official Website)

1st Instance — May 2017: Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay We visited this Fiji resort the month after it opened in 2017, and that was the very first time we ran into the Amex Marriott Bonvoy point bonus issue. We reported it to Amex, but after re-explaining the situation multiple times and going through several case reviews, we never received the missing points.

2nd Instance — Nov/Dec 2019: Sheraton Taoyuan Hotel Since we stayed here twice across two separate months at the end of 2019, our transactions fell into two different billing cycles — and the problem showed up both times. We had to contact Amex again, re-explain the whole situation, and request a manual point adjustment. We also reported the issue back to the Sheraton Taoyuan Hotel customer service with full details so they could investigate. The initial response from the hotel was:

"Since this issue involves policies between Taiwanese credit card companies and the country issuing the American Express card, we need additional time to contact and communicate with all relevant parties to understand the cause." — Hotel Duty Manager

We appreciated the hotel taking the issue seriously. If there are further developments, we'll update this post.

Update — February 4, 2020: Sheraton Taoyuan Hotel's Response

Just two days later, the Duty Manager followed up with a clear explanation:

"Regarding the merchant code issue raised by the credit card company: since the Sheraton Taoyuan officially began operations on September 22, 2019, the credit card transaction codes from its predecessor, Hotel Orchard Park, were not formally updated until after December. This caused American Express to be unable to recognize the transactions as a Marriott property. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, and we are especially grateful that you brought this system configuration issue to our attention — it has allowed us to promptly request a correction from the credit card companies." — Hotel Duty Manager

Great news: starting in 2020, you no longer need to worry about this bonus point issue when staying at the Sheraton Taoyuan Hotel.

A big thank you to the hotel for their swift investigation. They even provided proof of stay and an itemized receipt to help us communicate with American Express. To actually get the missing bonus points credited back, you'll still need to contact Amex customer service directly.

Final Thoughts

Since both of our experiences involved hotels that had either just opened or recently joined the Marriott International group, the issue largely comes down to short-term integration gaps — especially around credit card payment processing. How many guests actually notice these hidden discrepancies and proactively report them, though, is anyone's guess.

Our bottom line: if you're using an Amex Marriott Bonvoy card for on-property spending at Marriott International hotels, make it a habit to check your point multipliers regularly — it's the best way to protect your own interests as a consumer. If something looks off, contact Amex customer service and push for a manual point adjustment. We also recommend looping in the hotel directly — the two parties working together is the only real path to fixing the underlying credit card transaction issue.

Marriott Bonvoy Co-Branded Card Special Referral Offer

(Source: American Express Canada Official Website)

If you're interested in getting the Canadian Amex Marriott Bonvoy card and maximizing hotel point earnings, you can apply online through our referral link.

Applying via a referral link means new cardholders receive the current seasonal welcome bonus — typically higher than the standard public offer. The referrers also earn a small bonus through the promotion. If you have friends or family looking to apply, it's a genuine win-win for everyone involved.

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