Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card Review

Even if you are not a loyal Marriott customer, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card is worth considering. It comes with a valuable welcome bonus, one free annual night, and elite night credits, but has a lower annual fee than most other cards in the Marriott family of cards. Card Rating*:

*Tag ratings are based on the opinions of TPG editors and are not influenced by the card issuer.

Marriott offers a diverse portfolio of credit cards issued by both Chase And American Express. However, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card Featured from Chase is the entry-level, mid-tier personal Marriott Bonvoy card available to new subscribers.

With an annual fee of $95, Boundless lands just above the lowest Marriott Bonvoy Bold® credit card. Even those who don’t regularly stay at Marriott properties can benefit from this card’s valuable welcome bonus, free nights, and elite night credits.

Let’s take a closer look at whether the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless deserves a place in your wallet.

Application link: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card with a welcome offer of 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $3,000 in the first six months. Plus, earn 50,000 bonus points after staying at 6 eligible Marriott Bonvoy properties through January 31, 2024. Offer ends August 10.

Marriott Bonvoy’s Endless Welcome Offer

Consider the coolest part of any new credit card: the welcome offer.

ISABELLE RAPHAEL / POINT PERSON

Right now, new subscribers can earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first six months of account opening. Additionally, new registrants have the opportunity to earn an additional 50,000 bonus points after a qualifying six-night paid stay at Marriott Bonvoy properties through January 31, 2024. Yes applicable. terms. Offer ends on August 10th.

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Based TPG values ​​Marriott points at 0.84 cents each, this bonus is worth $630 — or $1,050 if you can take advantage of the additional earning opportunity. It is not best offer we’ve seen on this card — five free night bonuses (up to 50,000 points each), worth $2,100 — but it’s still a surefire way to start any vacation.

If you have Marriott Bonvoy Elite Platinum or higher status, however, this bonus may give you more value than this point value alone. As a senior elite, you’ll be able to take advantage of perks like software suite upgrades and free breakfast to maximize your stay even more.

Read more: What effect do the Marriott changes actually have on the value of Bonvoy points?

Earn points on Marriott Bonvoy Boundless

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card earns points at the following rate:

• 6 points per dollar on qualifying purchases at Marriott Bonvoy participating hotels.
• 3 points for every dollar on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year at grocery stores, gas stations, and dining out.
• 2 points per dollar on all other purchases.

Based Valuation of TPGthese rates equate to 5% return on purchases at Marriott and 1.6% on other travel purchases.

On paper, you can do better using Chase Sapphire Reserve for a Marriott stay. At last, Chase Sapphire Reserve earn 3 Final bonus points per dollar (for 6% profit based on Valuation of TPG) when purchasing travel, including hotels.

But you have to consider the value you can get from your Marriott points. Platinum and titanium quintessence Get a much better return on rewards redemption thanks to a great range of elite benefits. So, if you have a higher status level, you may want to pay for your frequent Marriott stays with your Bonvoy credit card to earn 6 points per dollar instead of earning another type of reward points.

Related: 17 Ways to Earn More Marriott Bonvoy Points

Of course, the most obvious way to redeem Marriott Bonvoy points is to stay at a hotel. But when it comes to maximize your Marriott redemptionsThere are a few strategies to keep in mind.

First, you’ll want to take advantage of Thursday night free for bonus stays whenever possible. The Thursday Night Benefit is an easy way to get up to 20% off your points redemption and extend your points even further.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Fari Islands, Maldives. CHRIS COPPER/THE POINT

Don’t forget that Marriott also has more than 35 airline transfer partnersincludes some interesting frequent flyer programs on the other hand Flight miles are hard to find.

Points are transferred to most airlines at a 3:1 ratio with a bonus of 5,000 miles for every 60,000 Marriott points transferred. So transferring 60,000 Marriott points to Alaska Airlines, for example, would cost you 25,000 miles. However, note that most transfers take at least a few daystherefore, if Prize availability is tightThe ticket you want to book may be sold out by the time the transfer is complete.

Korean Air First Class. ETHAN STEINBERG/THE POINT

Alaska Airlines, Korean airline And Japan Airlines are three great examples of miles that are versatile and have value that’s hard to come by in other ways. So, for example, you could convert 195,000 Marriott points into 80,000 Korean Air SkyPass miles and book a Korean Air Boeing 747-8 first class seat one-way between the US and Korea.

Related: How to redeem points with Marriott Bonvoy

Every year when you renew your account, you will receive a certificate of bonus night worth up to 35,000 points a night. You can also add your certificate with up to 15,000 additional points, making it possible for the certificate to be worth 50,000 points.

Valuation of TPG pegs the value of 35,000 Marriott points at $294, almost three times the annual fee of $95. But you can get more value if you be selective about redeeming your bonus night.

Bonvoy Boundless also provides a link to Golden Elite Status by spending $35,000 on purchases each calendar year. However, you should probably naturally earn higher status through the card’s free elite 15 night credit as well as some Book directly with Marriott. If you want a card that offers free Gold Elite status with Marriott, check it out Platinum Card® from American Express or Business Platinum® Card from American Express (requires registration).

You’ll also get an elite night credit towards status for every $5,000 you spend on purchases with Bonvoy Boundless, so this could be another route to higher status.

15 annual elite night credits

Many Bonvoy credit cards share this benefit. However, this perk can be extremely valuable if you are aiming for a higher status level with Marriott Bonvoy.

You can get one set of elite night credits from a Marriott personal card and another set of elite night credits from a Marriott business card. So with Bonvoy Boundless only, you only need to stay 35 nights (instead of 50) to achieve Elite Platinum status. But, if you have a Bonvoy Boundless and Marriott business card like Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Cardyou can do it 30 elite night credits per year credit card only.

Related: Is it reasonable to hold multiple Marriott Bonvoy credit cards?

other perks

The benefits above represent a value of several hundred dollars per year and easily surpass the annual fee of $95. But the card also offers some additional perks:

• Luggage delay insurance: If the passenger carrier is more than six hours late in delivering your luggage, Chase can reimburse you for essential purchases up to $100 a day for five days.
• Refund of lost baggage: If a passenger carrier damages or loses your checked or carry-on baggage, Chase can reimburse you up to $3,000 per passenger.
• Late flight refund: If you are delayed for more than 12 hours or are required to stay overnight when traveling with a regular carrier, Chase may reimburse you for selected costs, otherwise non-refundable costs up to $500 per ticket.
• purchase protection: Chase covers most new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft, up to $500 per claim (capped at $50,000 per account).
• No foreign transaction fees.

Related: Here are your odds of your bag being delayed or lost

For additional options, check out our full list of best Marriott Bonvoy credit card And best hotel credit card.

Related: Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful vs. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless

Information about the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful card has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related: 3 reasons the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless is worth the annual fee

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card is an interesting point. One of two entry-level consumer credit cards in the Bonvoy program (the complimentary annual Marriott Bonvoy Bold credit card being the other), the Boundless is the first affordable choice for many Marriott travelers. But the strict restrictions on bonuses and fierce competition from other companies chase the card which means you should think twice before applying.

However, if you have already built Chase trifecta and confirm that you are Eligible for this rewardthe Bonvoy Boundless could be a great addition to a wallet. You should have no trouble getting $200-$300 worth of just your anniversary rewards certificate, which is a great return on your $95 investment in the card’s annual fee.

Plus, the current welcome offer is a great way to boost your Marriott balance.

Official app link: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card with a welcome offer of 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $3,000 in the first 6 months. Plus, earn 50,000 bonus points after staying at 6 eligible Marriott Bonvoy properties through January 31, 2024. Offer ends August 10.

For Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex prices and fees, click This.
For Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex prices and fees, click This.

Additional reporting by Emily Thompson, Ryan Wilcox, Stella Shon, Chris Dong, Christina Ly and Ryan Smith.