Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card review

Quick highlights

• Rewards rate: Earn 6X total Bonvoy points at thousands of hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card (up to 17X points through the Bonvoy loyalty program with Silver Elite status), 2X Bonvoy points on all other purchases and 3X points on grocery store, gas station and dining purchases (up to $6,000 in combined purchases each year, then 2X points)
• Annual fee: $95
• Intro bonus: Earn 3 Free Night Awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months
• Regular APR: 20.74% - 27.74% Variable

Current welcome offer

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card's welcome offer tends to shift between a points-based bonus and Free Night Awards. Which is a better value for you will depend on how you prefer to redeem rewards and where and when you book your hotel stays. 

Currently the card gives you a chance to earn 3 Free Night Awards after you spend $3,000 in your first three months as a card member. Each Free Night Award is valued at up to 50,000 points, giving the offer a total potential value of 150,000 points. Based purely on total point value, this beats out the card's previous offer of 125,000 points. It also requires far less spending, as you needed to spend $5,000 in your first three months to earn the previous offer.  

That said, the new bonus is much less flexible than a points-based offer. With points, you have the ability to book as many or as few stays as your points will allow — potentially more than three nights, depending on the property's location and your reservation dates. With the current offer, you're stuck with three Free Night Awards. Your stays may be ultra-luxurious if you max out the value of these awards, but you'll only get three nights regardless.

Still, the new bonus is impressive given the card's relatively low annual fee, and now could be a great time to apply if you have travel on the horizon, especially if you tend to stay at luxury properties or higher-tier suites.

Rewards rate

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card offers up to 17X points at participating Bonvoy locations, which includes a network of over thousands of hotels around the world. This card also brings 3X bonus categories to reward your grocery store, gas station and dining purchases spending (up to $6,000 in combined purchases each year) plus 2X points on all other purchases. For added convenience, the Bonvoy Boundless features contactless payment capabilities.

How you can earn maximum rewards

The Bonvoy Boundless card is all about the Marriott perks. The first step in realizing the card’s full worth is to make sure you’re maximizing the value of each benefit that comes with the card. Make sure you’re utilizing your automatic Silver Elite Status, the 15 Elite Night Credits and additional Elite Night Credit opportunities (one extra credit per $5,000 you spend) that count toward the next tier. Take advantage of the anniversary free-night-award-stay, and always use this card to pay for your Marriott Bonvoy hotel stays.

You’ll want to make sure you’re strategically booking award stays, which may be during off-peak periods whenever possible to take advantage of the lull between peak seasons if the redemption portal shows redemption value differences. Although Marriott no longer uses a redemption value chart with property categories (formerly Category 1 to Category 8) and defined seasonal point values, the new dynamic pricing model may give you more rewards mileage out of your stays for less in-demand travel times.

How to redeem

You can redeem your points for free nights within the Marriott Bonvoy network, experiences, shop with points or book nights with a combination of cash and points. To learn more, read our guide to Marriott Bonvoy.

According to Bankrate valuations, Marriott points are worth an average of 0.7 cents each. That doesn’t quite hold up against many fan-favorite travel card rewards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (2.0 cents per point) or the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (1.7 cents per mile), but that doesn’t mean that this isn’t the right card for you.

How much your rewards are truly worth may depend on which Bonvoy hotel brands you frequent the most and when you travel. Unfortunately, Marriott moved away from using their handy chart that categorized properties by award night value and the set points required during whichever season you stayed (standard, off-peak or peak) in March 2022. This means your points’ value isn’t transparent but sticking to a similar strategic booking approach may help you make the most of your hard-earned rewards.

This card offers quite a few perks for Marriott and SPG® loyalists — a free award night’s stay each after your card renewal month and automatic Silver Elite Status with a path to Gold Elite Status, to name two. Other card benefits include:

• 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year, plus 1 Elite Night Credit for every $5,000 spent
• Free in-room premium Wi-Fi (through the automatic Silver Elite status)
• Access to exclusive events through Marriott

If you frequently stay at Marriott, SPG, and Ritz-Carlton hotels, the perks can be well worth the $95 annual fee.

According to Katie Genter, a travel rewards specialist at The Points Guy, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless is an easy choice to keep in her wallet:

Each time the annual fee comes due on my Bonvoy Boundless card, I don’t even question whether I should keep my card. I get more value from the free night award valid for a night costing up to 35,000 points each year after my account anniversary than the cost of the card’s $95 annual fee. Plus I use the 15 elite night credits I get each year to put Titanium Elite status within easier reach.

— Katie Genter, Senior Writer, The Points Guy

Despite the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card’s numerous benefits for travelers, there are other rewards cards that can offer more flexibility in terms of redemption options and tiered reward rates, and if you’re opposed to paying an annual fee, you might want to consider another Marriott Bonvoy card that offers similar features.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card vs. Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card

With the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card, you can earn Marriott Bonvoy points without paying an annual fee, and it offers some of the same Marriott perks as the Bonvoy Boundless, including automatic Silver Elite status and 15 elite night credits that can up your status towards Gold.

The Bonvoy Bold does come with a trade-off, however, since you will have to lose out on some benefits compared to the Bonvoy Boundless in exchange for not paying an annual fee. It earns up to 14X total points per $1 spent at thousands of hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy^®. 2X points for every $1 spent on other travel purchases (from airfare to taxis and trains) and 1X point for every $1 spent on all other purchases. 

Because the Bonvoy Boundless card offers a higher welcome bonus and rewards rate, it would be your best option if you prioritize maximizing reward earnings. The Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card may better suit those not interested in paying an annual fee and who wouldn’t mind a smaller welcome bonus and lower ongoing rewards rate.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

There’s a good chance that a more general travel rewards card will be better for frequent travelers who want more flexible rewards. Earning Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card gives you more flexibility in how you redeem rewards: points can be redeemed through the Chase Travel℠ online booking portal, cashed out as statement credits or transferred to over a dozen participating travel loyalty programs (including Marriott Bonvoy).

Similar to the Bonvoy Boundless Card, the Sapphire Preferred Card comes with a $95 annual fee, travel insurance benefits and no foreign transaction fees, but you have the potential to earn higher earnings overall thanks to its rewards rates. You’ll earn 5X points on bookings through Chase Travel℠ and Lyft rides (Lyft offer through March 31, 2025), 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery shopping (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2X points on all other travel purchases and 1X point on any other purchases.

Best cards to pair with this card

Consider pairing this card with a more flexible rewards card from Chase to maximize your earning potential. Marriott is a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner, so you’ll be able to pool your points before booking high-value award stays.

If you take more than a couple of trips each year and stay exclusively at Marriott and SPG locations, this is definitely a card worth considering. However, if you’re looking for a more flexible travel card, there are better options available.

You can rack up a lot of points with this card if you frequently stay at Marriott brand hotels, and the perks offered by this card can really enhance your travel experience. Silver Elite Status includes a 10 percent bonus on points earned during stays, access to exclusive savings and rewards redemption options, dedicated reservation and guest services contacts and more.

While using the Bonvoy Boundless is an easy way to maximize points on Marriott Bonvoy purchases, it offers little in the way of everyday spending rewards. You can pair this card with others in the Chase lineup to maximize the rewards you earn in other categories and then transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards® to Marriott, but keep in mind Chase’s strict 5/24 rule that limits how many cards you can apply for within a 24-month span.

There was quite a bit of discussion previously about how the 2018 Marriott and SPG merger had affected the overall quality of the Marriott rewards program. The Bonvoy name got quite a bit of flack, but beyond that, many patrons expressed concerns about rewards devaluations and points difficulties since Marriott and SPG combined programs. However, Marriott credit cards and the award program rebounded to become one of the stronger hotel card lines worth considering. The new dynamic pricing model removes the transparency that gave Marriott Bonvoy points a leg up, which may deter potential applicants looking for consistency as well.

Ultimately, the value that the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless adds to your wallet comes down to how often you’ll utilize Bonvoy brand hotels and the perks associated with this card. You might be happier with another card if you’re looking for more broad travel perks or rewards flexibility.

The information about the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.