Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card Review: Big Bonus, Free Night, Modest Perks

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card is worth it for Marriott hotel loyalists who travel frequently. It’s one of the best Marriott credit cards and a solid choice for those who don’t travel quite enough to justify the high annual fee on a premium travel card. Its $95 fee is easily offset by the card’s solid perks.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card benefits include an incredible sign-up bonus, a yearly free night awarded at your account anniversary and automatic Silver Elite status with a pathway to Gold Elite status. However, its rewards earning rate and redemption value fall short, its rewards are inflexible and it’s missing some of the perks found on the best hotel credit cards.

• Sign-up bonus: 4.8 out of 5 stars

  What’s the current offer?

  Earn 5 Free Night Awards worth up to 50,000 points each after spending $5,000 on eligible purchases within 3 months of account opening.

  How does it compare to other cards?

  The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card gives you access to one of the most valuable welcome bonuses currently available, and it’s one of the best reasons to apply for the card. At an estimated value of $1,050, this lucrative bonus outshines the sign-up perks of many other travel and hotel cards on the market, including the other Marriott credit cards. They all offer fewer bonus points and lack the additional statement credit offered by the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card.

  Is it a good time to apply?

  The current welcome bonus is a top-tier Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card offer, but if you want to score even greater value, you might want to wait until the card offers the certificate for five free nights that is sometimes offered. In late 2024, the card offered three free nights, so it could be worth it to wait.

  You should time your application carefully for this card. The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card is a Chase credit card, so it’s subject to the Chase 5/24 rule. That means your application could get turned down if you’ve opened five or more accounts with any bank in the past 24 months.

  → See the best credit card sign-up bonuses

• Earning points: 4 out of 5 stars

  How many points can you earn?

  Earn up to 17X total points at participating Marriott hotels. Earn 3X points on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining. Earn 2X points on all other purchases.

  How does it compare to other cards?

  The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card falls a little short in earning points on your purchases. Its earning rate is low compared to other top travel cards. Its points are also worth less because they’re inflexible.

  Cards like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card allow you to transfer rewards to a variety of airline and hotel programs. This lets you stretch your rewards farther and gives you the most bang for your buck.

  Estimated rewards earned per $1 spent*

  • Citi Strata Premier^® Card: $0.04
  • Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: $0.037
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card: $0.033
  • Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card: $0.029
  • World of Hyatt Credit Card: $0.021
  • Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card: $0.02
  • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card: $0.019
  • IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card: $0.019

  *Based on LendingTree’s value methodology

  → Learn more: Cash back vs. points vs. miles

  Tip: As a Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card cardholder, you may be able to upgrade to the The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card after 12 months. It’s one of the best cards for Marriott, including a $300 flexible travel credit to cover most of the annual fee and a free night certificate worth up to 85,000 points per year. Since it’s not open for applications, an upgrade is a backdoor way to get it.

• Redeeming points: 1 out of 5 stars

  How can you redeem points?

  + Tons of redemption options with the world’s largest hotel network.

  – Rewards nights may have blackout dates.

  – You’re restricted to using points for Marriott rewards to get a good value.

  – Marriott points are worth slightly less than the average rewards program point.

  – Award nights start at ~15,000 points and can run over 100,000 points for luxury properties.

  – Points expire after 24 months of inactivity.

  – You can’t redeem points for cash back.

  How does it compare to other cards?

  With over 7,000 properties around the world in Marriott’s portfolio, you’ll find plenty of lodging options for redeeming points in the Marriott Bonvoy^® rewards program, whether you’re traveling domestically or internationally. However, Marriott points are only worth around 0.09 cents per point by our estimates — a bit less than average compared to other rewards programs. Also, Marriott award nights can be very expensive. You may need hundreds of thousands of points for a stay with a higher-end hotel.

  Points also tend to be less flexible than average, because you’re locked into using them for Marriott stays. You can’t even redeem your points for cash back. If these downsides give you second thoughts, you might consider a more flexible general travel credit card that offers a variety of rewards redemption options.

  Marriott’s fifth-night free benefit can help you stretch your points further. The Marriott Stay for 5, Pay for 4 Offer is exactly how it sounds: You book a five-night stay with rewards, you only “pay” for the first four nights.

  → Learn more about redeeming Marriott Bonvoy^® points

• Other benefits: 3 out of 5 stars

  • Annual free night award: Get a free one-night stay each year on your account anniversary for a Marriott property worth 35,000 points or less.
  • Automatic Silver Elite status: Get automatic Silver Elite Status in the Bonvoy program, which gives you higher point earnings, late checkout and an Ultimate Reservation guarantee.
  • Path to Gold Elite status: You’ll get an upgrade to Gold Elite Status by making $35,000 in eligible purchases on the card each calendar year. Gold status gets you perks like a 25% base-point bonus and hotel room upgrades.
  • Complimentary DashPass membership: You’ll get 12 months of DashPass membership to use with DoorDash or Caviar apps. You’ll also get a $10 credit for purchases each quarter, up to $40 annually.
  • Travel insurance: Benefits include up to $500 in trip delay insurance per covered passenger, up to $500 per day for up to five days for essential purchases in baggage delay insurance and up to $3,000 per covered passenger in lost luggage reimbursement.
  • Purchase protection: Chase offers up to $500 in protection for eligible new purchases for 120 days from the date of purchase.
  • No foreign transaction fees: You’ll pay no foreign transaction fees when you make purchases abroad, saving you as much as 3% per transaction on international trips.

  How does it compare to other cards?

  Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card benefits stand out due to several nice perks, especially the free night award, which alone can justify the cost of the card each year. You also get automatic Silver Elite Status in the Marriott Bonvoy^® program. This status confers a variety of benefits, including a 10% points bonus on stays, member rates, free Wi-Fi and priority late checkout. As a cardholder, you also get the opportunity to qualify for Gold Elite Status with your spending each calendar year.

  You get some travel insurance protection, but the card lacks trip cancellation insurance. Also, its elite status benefits are lacking compared to some cards, like the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card. For a slightly higher annual fee, you’re eligible for complimentary Hilton Gold Status, which comes with bonafide perks like room upgrades, and a daily food and beverage credit (see rates & fees).

  Tip: Your free night certificate covers an award night up to 35,000 points. If your desired stay costs more, you can top off the free night certificate with up to 15,000 points from your rewards stash.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card may be a better option for Marriott loyalists who travel very frequently and don’t mind paying a hefty $650 annual fee (see rates & fees). The card includes a slew of Marriott and travel benefits, including up to $400 in dining and property credits, one annual free night award worth up to 85,000 points (certain hotels have resort fees) and access to Priority Pass^TM Select airport lounges (enrollment required).

You’ll get much better perks with Marriott Bonvoy^® Platinum Elite Status, including enhanced room upgrades, your choice of welcome gift (varies by brand), lounge access, late checkout and more. Plus, with your Platinum Elite 50% bonus, you can earn up to 21X points per $1 on Marriott Bonvoy^® purchases.

→ Compare Marriott credit cards

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Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card has the same annual fee as the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card and may offer more value for frequent travelers who don’t stay exclusively at Marriott properties. The card offers a large welcome bonus and elevated points on dining and travel. Chase Ultimate Rewards^® points are much more valuable since they can be redeemed for just about any travel, including flights, hotel stays and vacation packages. You’ll get up to a 75% bonus for redeeming through the Chase portal, and you can transfer Chase points 1:1 to a variety of travel loyalty programs, including Marriott.

You’ll get other solid perks, including a statement credit for hotel stays purchased at Chase Travel^SM and $150 value in partnership benefits. The card also has some of the best travel insurance benefits around, including trip cancellation/interruption and primary auto rental coverage.

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Citi Strata Premier^® Card

The Citi Strata Premier^® Card also charges a $95 annual fee and may be a better choice for those who travel a bit less frequently and want to rack up points faster on gas and grocery purchases, as well as on travel.

This Citi travel card offers an excellent welcome bonus. You also get a flexible $100 annual hotel credit and a suite of travel protections, including trip delay, cancellation and interruption protection and auto rental and lost/damaged luggage coverage.

Like the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card, it earns flexible points that you can redeem for almost any travel purchase. And you can transfer Citi Points 1:1 to more than 10 travel loyalty programs (although Marriott is not included).

We use calculations to estimate the value of each card for the average cardholder, based on LendingTree and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

• Average value over two years (80% of rating): We calculate the value of rewards and perks for the average cardholder using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and an annual spend of $20,000, minus the annual fee. This value includes the card’s sign-up bonus, annual bonus (including free night certificates) and travel perks like lounge access and travel credits. We look at the average rewards earned over two years to balance out a card’s ongoing value with its first-year value.
• Flexibility of rewards (15% of rating): We consider how easy the rewards are to use, looking at factors like expiration dates, minimum thresholds to redeem, blackout dates and the availability of flexible redemption options like travel statement credits and cash back.
• Other features (5% of rating): We also compare a card’s benefits, such as purchase protections, travel protections and elite status benefits against benefits from other cards.