Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card Review

 

If you find yourself staying at Marriott hotels frequently and want to get rewarded for your stays, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card may be a good choice. The card comes with a generous sign-up bonus and solid perks, including a free hotel night every card anniversary and automatic Marriott Bonvoy™ Silver status with a path to Gold.

Unfortunately, the card falls short on its ongoing rewards earnings. You only earn 2 Marriott points back per dollar spent on most general purchases which can make earning enough points for a free stay a long process. The perks with this card also aren’t as luxurious as those that come with similar cards, but can work to your advantage for a standard Marriott stay. 

If Marriott isn’t your hotel brand of choice and you would prefer to earn points at a faster rate, then another hotel card like the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card or a travel card like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card may be more appealing to you. 

Is the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card worth it?

The card’s benefits and rewards structure more than make up for the $95 annual fee. You will earn a free night certificate each year worth 35,000 points (or $315) which more than covers the annual fee. Other benefits including the welcome offer, $0 foreign transaction fee and travel protections offer tremendous value.

• Sign-up bonus

  The card comes with the following sign-up bonus: Earn 3 Free Night Awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from your account opening.

  This sign-up bonus is worth up to 125,000 points, or around $1,125 in hotel stays with Marriott, making it one of the most valuable sign-up bonuses currently available.

• High rewards rate on Marriott Bonvoy® Hotels

  You’ll find the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card especially rewarding when you make Marriott purchases. 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.

  Although earning 17 points per $1 seems like an impressive offer, keep in mind that 10 of these points you already earn as a regular Marriott member. Basically, the card gives you an extra 6 points on Marriott purchases, plus an 1 additional point from your Silver Elite status. 

• Access to more than 7,000 hotels worldwide

  One major plus of the card is that it’s linked to the world’s largest hotel program. With more than 7,000 hotels in 110 countries, you’ll be able to find a Marriott property in most places you want to travel. Your points don’t expire as long as you earn or redeem them at least once every 24 months so you can take your time deciding where to go next. You can use a mix of cash and points to pay for rooms or use your points to upgrade for suites or rooms with a view. Plus, you get a free night on your card anniversary that can be used at Category 1 through 5 hotels with a redemption level of up to 35,000 points.

• Automatic silver elite status

  You would normally have to purchase 10+ hotel nights per year to earn silver elite status, however The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card comes with this status automatically. 

  Silver elite status includes a few valuable perks:

  • Member benefits
  • Ultimate reservation guarantee
  • 10% bonus points on top of base points
  • Late checkout

• Free anniversary night

  One of the most valuable perks included with The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card is a free anniversary night each year. The free night certificate is valued at 35,000 points or around $315 which more than makes up for the $95 annual fee. The cost of free nights varies depending on Marriott’s dynamic pricing but if a free night is more than 35,000 points you can add up to 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy® Points to get to the free night.

• Reach gold status faster

  The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card helps you earn Gold status faster by giving you most of the elite night credits you need for status, and by awarding it to you outright each year you spend $35,000 with the card. The card gives you 15 elite night credits each year, meaning you will only have to book 10 additional nights to reach this status. Gold status allows you to earn all of the same benefits as Silver along with 25% bonus earnings on top of base points, late checkout (up to 2 p.m.), in-hotel welcome gift (designated to be additional Marriott Bonvoy points) and room upgrades based on availability. 

• Low overall earning rate

  The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card offers a valuable return on spending on Marriott Bonvoy hotels, but its other earning categories leave something to be desired. Earnings on purchases outside of Marriott only earn 2 points per $1 spent. General travel cards like Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card offer much higher earnings on travel and other general purchases. 

• Silver status comes with few perks

  While the card offers automatic Silver Elite status each account anniversary year, the status comes with less-than-impressive perks compared to the status you get with other similar cards. For example, Hilton cards like the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card come with automatic Hilton Gold status offering 80% bonus rewards and automatic upgrades, while the complimentary Marriott Silver status offers a 10% bonus and no upgrades. In order to reach a similar status with Marriott Bonvoy Boundless, you have to spend $35,000 with the card or spend with Marriott to earn enough elite night credits.

• Points have lower than average redemption value

  Points earned with The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card are worth less than 1 cent on many award nights, which is much less than other cards. In comparison, The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offers 1 cent per mile on statement credits while Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card offers 1.25 cents per point when you redeem through Chase’s travel portal. 

• You're limited to redeeming points with Marriott

  Marriott Bonvoy points can only be redeemed for award nights with Mariott and a handful of other low-value redemption options. Other travel cards like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card allow you to use your points across a number of different hotel brands and transfer points to other loyalty programs.

• Points expire

  If you don’t keep your Marriott account active, you risk losing all your points. Marriott points expire after 24 consecutive months of inactivity. You have to use your Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card, complete an eligible stay, or earn or redeem points with Marriott to keep them active. You can also transfer your points to another active member. In any case, if you aren’t a regular customer with Marriott, a general rewards credit card is a safer option for earning points.

Compare it to the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Unlike the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a travel credit card offering rewards on a number of hotel brands and other travel expenses. This allows you flexibility on booking a variety hotel stays through the Capital One Travel portal if you prefer not to have to choose one hotel brand.

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offers a better overall earning rate than the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card. Cardholders earn 2X Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 10X Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel; 5X Miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel. In fact, if you don’t mind booking through the Capital One travel portal, you can actually earn a higher rewards rate on Marriott hotel bookings with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.

While the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card comes with a $395 annual fee, the card’s $300 travel credit effectively brings the fee down to $95 and can be applied to most travel purchases. You will also receive far better travel benefits like lounge access and a $100 Global Entry credit. Unless you are planning on trying to earn Marriott status, The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a much better option for travel rewards. 

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Credit Card is best for those who exclusively stay at Marriott hotels and are hoping to achieve higher status and take advantage of Marriott specific rewards like the sign-up bonus and annual free year. If you’re not loyal to Marriott and you care more about maximizing rewards, you’ll find many travel cards with a higher earning rate and redemption value and more flexibility. The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card are two great alternatives for frequent travelers.