Quick highlights
- Rewards rate: Earn up to 14X total Bonvoy points at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® with the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Card, 2X Bonvoy points on other travel purchases and 1X points on other eligible purchases
- Annual fee: $0
- Intro bonus: Earn 30,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months.
- Regular APR: 20.74 percent to 27.74 percent (variable)
Current welcome offer
This card’s latest sign-up bonus offers 30,000 points after you spend $1,000 in your first three months. That's half the card's previous limited-time bonus of 60,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first three months. Based on Bankrate’s latest hotel point valuations, which give Marriott points an estimated average value of 0.7 cents per point, this offer is worth around $210 in Marriott stays — not bad, but far from the most impressive bonus on the market.
For example, this bonus is smaller than the sign-up bonus offered by one of Marriott’s closest competitors, the Hilton Honors American Express Card. That card also doesn’t charge an annual fee, but comes with a more impressive welcome offer of 70,000 Hilton Honors points and a Free Night Reward after you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first three months of card membership.
Rewards rate
The Marriott Bonvoy Bold offers bonus rewards on Marriott stays and other travel purchases, which can easily help you bring down the cost of your next stay. However, a higher-tier Marriott Bonvoy card that carries more practical bonus categories (like groceries and gas) could be far more rewarding — even if it comes with an annual fee.
How you earn
To start, you can earn up to 14X points at participating Marriott Bonvoy locations. Here’s how that works:
- 3X points at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy.
- Up to 10X points from Marriott for being a Marriott Bonvoy member.
- Up to 1X points from Marriott with Silver Elite Status, a benefit you qualify for by being a Marriott Bonvoy Bold card member.
A 14X rewards rate on hotel stays is solid (but not amazing) for a no-annual-fee hotel card. Many other hotel brands have entry-level cards that offer comparable rewards on purchases at their eligible hotels, including:
- Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card
- IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card
- Best Western Rewards® Mastercard
Keep in mind that not all Marriott properties will earn 14X points. For example, if you book at an Element, Residence Inn or TownePlace Suites and Homes & Villas by Marriott International, you’ll earn the base 3X points, but only 5X points for being a Marriott Bonvoy member and additional 0.5 points for having Silver Elite status. Stays at Marriott Executive Apartments and ExecuStay fare a little worse, earning the base 3X points, but dropping to 2.5 points for being a Marriott Bonvoy member and an additional 0.25 points if you have Silver Elite status.
On top of the bonus rewards for Marriott purchases, you also earn 2X Bonvoy points on other travel purchases like airfare, taxis, and trains and 1X points on other eligible purchases. Outside of the 14X points on Marriott stays, these bonus rewards are decent considering you don’t have to pay an annual fee, but not the best. Other cards offer the chance to earn bonus rewards on everyday purchases like groceries and gas or a higher flat rate on all purchases, which can make it easier for you to earn rewards faster.
How to redeem
Your points can be redeemed in various ways, starting with hotel stays. You can book rooms using your points and even cover hotel amenities like food, drinks, golf, and spa services. This redemption method will almost always give you the best value for your rewards.
You can also use points to pay for travel, including cruises and car rentals, or transfer points to an airline loyalty program to cover airfare. Marriott has 38 transfer partners, though transfer rates are typically poor at 3 Marriott points for every 1 airline point or mile, which could mean sacrificing a ton of rewards value. That said, Marriott will add 5,000 bonus miles when you transfer over 60,000 points to select partners. You can also redeem your points to gain access to airport lounges in the Priority Pass network or to help cover your TSA PreCheck fee.
On top of hotel stays and travel, you can also use your points to bid on Marriott Bonvoy Moments. These are unique experiences in a number of areas, like culinary arts, lifestyle, sports and entertainment. For example, past experiences have included the chance to have Thanksgiving Dinner at MetLife Stadium and Meet New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
Finally, points can be redeemed for shopping and gift cards. But with all of these options, it’s important to think about how much money you spent earning your rewards and ask yourself, “Which redemption option gives me the best value?” In most cases, redeeming your points for hotel stays will typically get you the best value.